For the past two hours Andrea had switched from walking to jogging and back to walking again countless times along the giant sycamores of the deciduous forest. Her scanty being, led by aimless feet, had seen no one and reached nowhere. The fatigue on the soles of her feet had started crawling up the untrained muscles of her calves. “Good sneakers can only offer this much,” she muttered, annoyed.
She allowed herself some rest upon finding a nice spot on the riverbanks overlooking a crystal-clear river stretching faithfully as far as the never-ending forest; as though they were meant for each other. The strong scent of fresh water in the massive conveyor-belt-like-river reminded Andrea of her unquenched thirst and it wasn’t long before the sparkling fluid reached her palm and moistened her tongue. She was satisfied. It tasted like nothing she had ever known. Her joints felt better and her left-over strength was rejuvenated as though she had never worn it in the beginning.
The sky had begun to darken and Andrea quickened her steps with such a determination to come across someone or at the very least stumble upon something…alive. She needed an explanation…a good explanation over her where-about or why she ended up in such a strange place. The air of uncertainty had somehow directed Andrea’s path; stomping on the endless multiple layers of crisp-dried maple-like leaves blanketing the entire ground of a seemingly untraveled path. It wasn’t long before a still shadow caught her attention and her feet managed a sudden halt.
The mansion stood proudly overlooking its meek visitor. Its red-bricks were concealed fully by grayish-silver paint to resemble the color of ordinary stones scattered randomly along the entrance of the metallic steel-gate echoing that of the gates of Holyrood Park. The mansion looked like a palace, to be anciently correct.
The visual experience had left Andrea bewildered as gentle breeze greeted her all so sudden and whisked away a handful of dried leaves covering the steel gates. Her eyes caught an inscription marked on the polished bronze-plate embedded a few inches away from the tall gates standing like a protector of the property.
It was written,‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.’
~to be continued~
