…and pulling the chord tight, my pack was secure. I certainly felt good enough to get on with the day. According to the map, I was closing in on what appeared to be yet another fork. But this one was smudged, as if the cartographer hadn’t drawn it right at his first go, or maybe changed his mind upon it. In either case, I knew I’d reach it just past noon, raising my nerves to a heightened pitch all morning long.

Footsteps became heavy as I walked, and it seemed as if I was walking in water. Where was the intersection? As far as my eyes could see, the path simply stretched straight down. High hedges on either side of me drenched my perspective an emerald green, and the color felt warm to my sight. But warmth only makes things slower, and now even my eyelids pulled to the earth. What was wrong with me?

I was sure that I’d had a good night sleep prior, albeit on a thin mat, spread upon the hard ground, but after 21 years you find it’s great for support.

Suddenly, though millimeters small just on the horizon, perhaps over a mile away, it hit my sight like a freight train. I shook my head, I rubbed my eyes, I performed every common mannerism indicating a clearing of the eyes. A need for affirmation upon second sighting.

And so I did, and so I saw. I saw it. I saw an apex of green in the middle of my path, so so far down, but I knew this was where my path would need to diverge. Strength rushed through my tendons and veins. My stride became full of focus and determination.

The moment… was upon me.