2085 by Alejandro Volnié Read Free Book Online Page B

make the way in spite of daylight. After all, last night’s walk had lasted just a few hours. He put his belongings away and threw his backpack over his shoulder. This morning’s clouds, completely covering the sky, looked threatening. Rain could be a setback, however, the covered sky would let him travel protected from skin burning mountain sunlight.
    He resumed his way along the steep descending path that connected the chapel with the creek down in the canyon. The soil was loose and at every step pebbles came off to tumble and push others in their way to the bottom of the cliff. He kept his descent hesitating, stepping on this uncertain ground, until the uneasiness caused by the continuous slips of his boots made him stop and sit down. His heart was beating wildly. All of a sudden he had been seized by an uncontrollable panic attack. Physical injuries and death itself were fears left far behind in his life, but now, the idea of hurting himself and end up abandoned amid the immense solitude of the forest had paralyzed. His mind had been invaded by doubts:
    “ Why am I here? How could I put myself in this situation? Hadn’t I a good life before leaving? What could have launched me into this adventure that now has me on the edge of danger? I cannot move, who will take me out of this place? My legs just don’t respond. I need to calm down. I am stranded. I must regain my ability to think. This is nothing more than a path that many others have traveled before me. If they could do it, I will make it too. Relax!”
    For the next minutes he strove to regain self-control. His mental training had been aimed to suppress thoughts discordant with of his former employer’s philosophy, but controlling his response to a situation of danger was a very different issue. He had not been prepared for this.
    One step at a time, he came back in control, until, first crawling and later standing up, he managed to get back on track. When he hit the bottom of the cliff his legs were trembling uncontrolled. He had to rest for a while.
    He sat down under the shade of a tree and started a review of recent events while waiting for his systems to be released from the fear that had caught him. It was only a matter of time to feel relieved.
    When he stood up again, his legs still responded clumsily. He had to walk for a while before everything had come back to normal.
    He walked the rest of the morning along the course of the stream. The thrill of sensing the finish line’s proximity began to take hold of him, until it turned into an overwhelming feeling of joy. He went raising his pace until the effect of the slope made his her walk become into a trot. His sweat was flowing in streams from his forehead and temples to roll down his cheeks and drip to the ground.
    He had to stop a fter a turn of the trail. The branches of a large bush were blocking his way. When he moved them apart he saw an immense valley that stretched beyond what the eye could reach. He was paralyzed by emotion. A slight sound came out from deep in his throat as the smile on his face grew and his eyes stared unblinking, as if he were absorbing the scene to let it completely take over him.
    H is personal version of the Promised Land was lying right ahead.
    He walked the p ath to the base of the mountain and stopped at a small pool of clear water, fed by the waterfall into which the stream he had followed all day long changed. He decided it was time to wash up. He smelled from previous days sweat buildup, and the dark shade on his face accounted for the days passed since his last shave.
    W ater was cold, this made his breathing paralyze when he plunged. He went back immediately to the bank to lather profusely. Then he stood on a rock and plunged again to rinse the soap, this time head first. He reached again the shore and sat on the same rock. The chattering of his teeth was uncontrollable. It would take him a while to recover his body heat, but it was worth it. This act symbolized a