The Call of the Void
/Laying in her dark room
Heart aching, chest tight
Holding her breath involuntarily
Tears wet her face, the need to inflict pain into her arm suffocates her
Outside she hears the wind howl through the darkness
It’s calling again
She follows the whispers into the night barefoot and desperate
The trees are massive, strong, and twisted
The forest becomes more immense as she follows the winding trail
Leaves fall to the grown,
The smell of the green decomposing is powerful
Looking for familiarity in the shadows
Are there footsteps leading the way through the dirt and vegetation?
Her hands touch the saplings
Feels rough, though comforting
Grounding herself through each stroke of the bark
Recent rain left the scent of yearning in the air
The damp, aromatic oils released into the breeze
The moon providing the only glow of light in the darkened woodland
Varied earthy tones are inhaled into her lungs
She grows hungry as the journey continues
Tasting the berries explode
Tart and sweet on her tongue
Tickling her taste buds and dissipating the deep hunger
A gust of wind picks up
Alluding to the return emergence of showers
Once again, she hears the howl
Calling her further into the unknown
The trees are so thick now she can barely see the luminescence
The whispers get louder…
Where are they calling her to?
Why did she evacuate the safety of those walls?
Running into the darkness without abandon..
Did she feel safer in the vastness of nature than in her home?
All her senses are magnified, her heart pounding faster..
Louder….
The thumping is deafening
Causing the fear to rise in her throat
Where is she being led?
Who are “they”?
Unsure of friend or foe, helpless except to trust the sense of familiarity
The thoughts are not hers, though it is her voice
The whispers are not manifesting from her own thoughts
Why is it comforting, nevertheless?
Reaching the edge of the forest, the moon once again illuminates the way
Her eyes adjusting from the obsidian night
Feeling sand beneath her feet
Cool breeze coming off the water hitting her face
At last, she hears it….
The water crashes into itself as the tide comes ashore
Tears wet her cheeks, recognizing home
The water, it calls her
The forest grounded her
She is at peace within herself
The whispers fade to silence
The call home…
Far more substantial than intrusive thoughts and suggestive whispers
“Don’t hurt yourself sweet girl,” it pleads…
The call of the void can’t reach you here
By Becca Hulen
From: United States