Somebody that I used to know

A tear drop slid down the sunken cheek. It continued on its downward path, finally falling free from the edge of the slightly oval-shaped face. She had finally escaped. Finally. She felt free. Alive with pleasure! And yet... Yet, she felt that something wasn't right...

She saw a rock. A big boulder jutting out from the otherwise soft and pliable muddy floor. A rock that represents strong, firm steadiness. She headed towards it, hoping to find some sort of comfort. When she reached it, she lunged for it, afraid that any moment spent not touching it would result in its disappearance.

The rock held firm as she clawed on to its jagged sides. Heaving a sigh of relief, she continued holding onto the rock for dear life, depending on her grasp for some sort of energy. After a while, she took a deep breath. 'The rock isn't going anywhere,' she thought, and gently, she released her death-like grip on the boulder. Almost immediately after she had pried her fingers from the hard edges, the rock began to sink into the soft mud below.

'NO, WAIT!' The girl's eyes shot open. She had only thought of letting go for a second! Instincts took over and her arms went around the hard stone once more. But it was too late. The rock continued its descent into the ground, at first slowly, but as the girl tried frantically to lift the rock back up again, it seemed to detect the girl's desperation and sunk down at a faster rate.

The rock was almost gone now, a little part of it still jutted out, but it was no where near as comforting or as steady as before. It was just a tiny piece of rock. The girl stared at the mockery the tiny rock seemed to represent. Laughing at her for being so trusting. It was a rock, yes! But it wasn't as firm or as steady as once perceived. 'You stupid fool!' It seemed to taunt.

The girl stood up. Once again finding herself in the middle of the huge forest. Huge tall trees surrounding her, the ground soft and breakable under her toes. She was alone again. She was afraid to move. Any sudden action may cause the forest to swallow her whole. Like the story. What was it? Jonah and the whale, wasn't it? Yes, she was to be Jonah.

There was to be no happy ending to this tale. Because life is just that fair. The girl would slowly move along the forest trails. Sometimes, she would meet a nice, helpful animal who would help her get food or scavenge for her next meal. Sometimes, that animal would die from old age, disease, or the sly, cunning predator that had its eye on it. Sometimes, the girl would find a stream, next to a beautiful meadow in the clearing. Green grass, pretty, tall flowers, soft grounds, clear blue water. The epitome of beauty. And she would live there for a while because it was just too beautiful and majestic to leave. And then she would have to go because well, maybe it seemed too dangerous to live there anymore.

Seems that only the sweet release of death would provide any long-lasting comfort.

But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough.