The path

Ukraine administrative divisions are called oblast. It could be translated as the regions or areas of the country. One of those provinces is the oblast of Cherkasy, located in the very center of Ukraine, along the Dnieper river. In winter season, the temperatures drop below freezing, but the sun still shines.

Bogdan owned a little farm near the river. He's been living there for the last 20 years and he knew the area and the woods very well. His rough appearance hid a friendly behaviour, that could barely show to others, due to his relative isolation. From time to time, he had to cross the woods to get to a warehouse where he stored some tools. He shared the facility with another farmer of the region, the only contact with the civilization that he could have in months.

That saturday morning, the sun started to melt some of the snow that covered the fields, due to another cold night. Bogdan put on his coat, his wool cap, and after feeding the cows, he took the path to the woods to grab some tools from the warehouse. The round trip used to take him no more than one hour, and despite the lack of a visible path, he knew it so well that he could walk it blindfolded.
About forty minutes after leaving his house, Bogdan realized he wasn't even close to the facility. He could not be sure about the time spent, because he wasn't wearing any watch, but he could identify some trees and rocks around, and he was sure he was in the right path.

A while later, Bogdan started to get unconfortable and worried. He knew exactly where he was, but he should have arrived long time ago. He also noticed the sun was always in the same place, as he was trapped in a time loop.
Without any other clue, he continued walking the same way, with the hope that maybe the cold, or even the hunger, were confusing him. But nothing changed, and Bogdan was completely sure he wasn't lost in the woods as he knew exactly were he was, but could not manage to get anywhere, walking the same road he walked so many times before.
Fatigue appeared on him, and he sat on a rock, exhausted and completely desperate. The sun was always up in the sky, in the very same position. He started to fall asleep, and losing consciousness, blending slowly with the surroundings..

Same paths lead to same places, different paths may lead to different ones

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Comentarios

  1. Unknown2 de marzo de 2020, 10:59

    For poor Bogdan it's already too late. He will be consumed by the forest and the rocks with no escape. The only hope of the warehouse workers is to come to know that this building is cursed, and that the road that once led to it now only leads to despair.
    If someone had warned Bogdan of the danger he was in, of the fate that lay ahead, he could have built a new warehouse. More suited to his needs, closer to him, his own.
    Each path leads to an infinite number of places, although we have the bad habit of calling only one of them destination.

    ResponderEliminar

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