The Castle Of Dreams: by Nathaniel A Miller It uses the concept of the times, contemporary Fantasy and the use of a Elvish language u... [5,046 words]
The Daffodil by Vinod Sasidharan A fictious story about a young man.. [682 words]
The Mirage by Vinod Sasidharan A mystery love story of an young scientist working in kodaikanal ... Story Title : ... [3,052 words]
None1234 by Vinod Sasidharan none [1 words]
Ruins by Amit Shankar Saha - [1,644 words]
Nanotech by Susan Brassfield Cogan Alien technology is not for everyone! [971 words]
Carpet, 03.17 A.M. by Maurice Codourey From a series of stories about the town of zurich in the tradition of black humour. And horr... [673 words]
High Altitude by Tony James Sayers This one is an action thrilled, high octane story, yet to get off the ground. [1,715 words]
The Genome Paradox by Armand Waksberg A short story: What else is hidden in the Genome Code? [9,721 words]
Zen And Zoom by Kathy Lafollett When a husband and wife define their life, it's not always parallel, but it is entertaining! [2,437 words]
Wait ! by Buxton - [797 words]
Unwanted Company by Erasmus Flynt - [826 words]
Tribute To Abbie Angel by Allington Kinsley This short letter is for Abbie Angel, the teenager that I met two weeks ago in Toledo, O... [720 words]
Train Tracks by Hayley Burdett This is about a woman, remembering her childhood and coming back to the place where she's spent it... [132 words]
The Year Of The Cat by Maria Lapachet The Year of the Cat is writer Maria Lapachet’s first-ever collection of short fiction. The... [1,200 words]
The Sudden Riot by Jannah Akira Are you dreaming? Wake up! [2,982 words]
The Massacre Of Sierra Madre by Kevin Myrick The beginning of a series I'm calling "The Sierra Madre Stories", this is the firs... [3,637 words]
The Man From Sierra Madre by Kevin Myrick The second in the "Sierra Madre Series" with more death and an interesting plot twist... [3,659 words]
The Death Of Smith And Jones In Sierra Madre by Kevin Myrick The next story in the "Sierra Madre Stories" series in which descr... [3,072 words]
The Bus Stop by Hayley Burdett - [209 words]
That Extra S - Mile …. by Partha Pratim Majumder - [1,421 words]
Punk Club Saturdays -- A Memoir by Hayley Burdett - [444 words]
Lost Girl by Abbie Angel A true story about a girl who ran away from home when she was 15 years old. It's about me. [1,526 words]
Lost Girl 3 by Abbie Angel Abbie Angel, 15, is still running. This might be my last entry for a while. [884 words]
Lost Girl 2 by Abbie Angel More of my story being lost in a mean world. [619 words]
Lost Chances by J Shartzer "Sounds to me like a cheezy teen sopa opera." "Lily! That's so mean!" [850 words]
Life Is Beautiful - by Vinod Sasidharan This makes u understand why life is beautiful .. [340 words]
In The Beginning by Kevin Myrick The followup to "The Last Two Minutes of an Insane Man's Life", which takes the reader back to... [1,225 words]
Imagine Alone by Mungo Faust - [471 words]
He Grows Up... by Partha Pratim Majumder The story of Monty rotates on the issues of growing up of a boy in the illusion of much hyped ad... [4,098 words]
From Darkness Into Light by Larry Samuel McCrea A first person POV that tells of one man's struggle in a world trapped between a heave... [1,344 words]
Friendship, Oblivion by Skyler Drevan Have you ever had a relationship like this? Have you ever had a friendship like this? I th... [373 words]
Foolish (2) by Malia Harrison A short story. [857 words]
Flourescent Lighting by Hayley Burdett A woman who's mother is stricken with alzhemier's and how she deals with the problem. [287 words]
Engineering An Engineer by Partha Pratim Majumder In the community of contractors enlisted with the government, a newsitem has spread li... [1,897 words]
Boundaries
Blackout-Part One by E Rocco Caldwell A detective that suffers from alcoholic blackouts is hired to discover the affair of a client... [1,140 words]
Baby Shower by Maria Lapachet The Year of the Cat is writer Maria Lapachet’s first-ever collection of short fiction. The short st... [1,040 words]
Anastasia by Brotherman A love story, dedicated to my uncle.( im gonna work on it more, however) [3,561 words]
A Young Otters Dream by Mungo Faust Please forgive me this one, it is a bit silly but in my defence,I wrote it for my daughter... [556 words]
A Message From God by Abbie Angel From a runaway girl, inspiration from God? Possibly. [599 words]
Afterimage by J Shartzer An uncle's interesting occupation. [2,274 words]
Will Hunter Plays Golf by Higgins The game of a good golfer deteriorates. [997 words]
Waterworld by Bri Q Brisee The combination of muggy heat and absence of water were reaching unbearible levels in a dusty desert... [1,201 words]
Wanted - Unwanted by Partha Pratim Majumder - [1,891 words]
True Friends by Sapphire Lim About frenz. About frenz arguing and misunderstanding each other. [2,145 words]
Time Ripper by P J Lawton What if a serial killer could jump through time. Maybe he has! [1,459 words]
Thinking About My Father by Kevin Myrick A Sort of Essay/Short Story about the relationship with my father. [979 words]
The Watchers by P J Lawton A young man has a strange encounter and is orderd to keep quiet, after 50 years he finally decides... [1,874 words]
The Tornado Man by Seleta V Johnson A heartwarming tale about a child's faith in God. [1,060 words]
The Letter by Shelley J Alongi Instalment One. A plane crash, a letter, and twenty years of memory cause Alex, a deaf man, and Juli... [5,349 words]
The Great Galactic War by Josh Diodispazio It’s the year 2705 C.E more of the Universe has been charted there are 7 known quadrants... [2,506 words]
The Day The Irish Invaded Canada by Paul McCarthy A story of war, love, and intrigue - based on actual events (5.423 words) [5,418 words]
The Classic Good Guy by Lyss Von Puttkammer - [1,711 words]
That Really Burn’S My Biscuits- On Both Sides!!! by Seleta V Johnson A country girl’ s look at life [755 words]
Syberg by Lawrence Peters Part one of a science fiction story... [956 words]
Soul Trip by Evelyn Canarvon A fun look at life and what it might be all about. [2,166 words]
Sonnet 35 by Jannah Akira They move to a new house. Hoping to start a new beginning but instead they found that they are not al... [7,152 words]
Prince And The Porch Swing by Seleta V Johnson A heartwarming tale of a little girl and her dog.. [1,064 words]
Power To Live by Buxton - [82 words]
No Crib For His Bed by Seleta V Johnson A very touching and heartwarming story of God's love and miracles.. [847 words]
My God by Ryan Watts A short tale of how difficult it is to get rid of door-to-door salesmen, with an ending that will leave ... [3,894 words]
My Birthday Treat by Mungo Faust - [548 words]
Mums The Word by Alessandra Mace 16-year-old Sky is mortified when her careworker, Jack has to leave for the US for the birth of h... [3,830 words]
Man Undaunted by Matt Brown - [1,883 words]
Living And Leaving by Partha Pratim Majumder The place is a crematorium. The characters are three dead souls leaving the world in disgust... [859 words]
Last Two Minutes Of An Insane Man's Life by Kevin Myrick The story of a man who is insane and has his inner demons leave him af... [914 words]
Killing Rohan by John C Popiel A story of how a man's brother is killed and how he gets revenge. [1,969 words]
In The Womb Of A Bomb by Partha Pratim Majumder Humor sprouts from a real life situation , when at a far off place, a bomb was located in... [2,417 words]
Human Abstract by Skyler Drevan Unusual art exhibit. [4,254 words]
Home At Last by Krista Weiss A short story about a woman's strugle with the transition from single college girl to married moth... [1,281 words]
Future Shock by P J Lawton A young woman gets a glance into the future, can she change her destiny? [1,035 words]
For Love Of Maple Bars by Young Salinger-esque. [1,541 words]
Don't Let Your Horseshoe Hit The Plum Tree by Seleta V Johnson A funny little tale about a country teenager [854 words]
Dake by Jannah Akira It’s really hard to fall in love. When you fall in love, you’ll find it so hard to let go. When you have l... [7,220 words]
Cogito, Ergo Sum by Erasmus Flynt - [708 words]
Bird Of Prey by E Marc Coe - [2,585 words]
A Walk Through Town by Cristina Sanidad A story of magical realism. [1,132 words]
Time For A Killing by Gregory Jackson A story of a passion and psychological twist which takes place in a rural town. [2,331 words]
Transform by Reid Bryansmith - [4,892 words]
Trail Of Hope by Matthew Hooper - [1,216 words]
Tony Sayers Ideologies by Tony James Sayers This is an extremly good bit on philosophy, took me 6 years to do, and I'm damn proud of... [5,889 words]
To Whom Beauty Holds by Skyler Drevan All about Vanity. [2,545 words]
Theme Of Life by Okkida A short story. [3,072 words]
The Unfortunate Magician by R Campbell A magician learns the true power of magic, and that all is not what it seems. [4,782 words]
The Surprise by Shelley J Alongi This story was given as a speech at a Toastmasters meeting. A little girl, all grown up, reflects... [690 words]
The Mother Of All Birthdays by Skyler Drevan - [1,850 words]
The Earth Fights Back by Armand Waksberg What happens when the earth can't take it anymore. A short story. [2,142 words]
The Chronicles Of A Great Warrior by NeedhamT The twisting turning medieval based story of awesomeness! [3,269 words]
Strangers In The Mist by Nur Syafiqah A Jaaffar A thrilling piece. Hope somebody could review it. [1,667 words]
State Of Consciousness by Reid Bryansmith - [5,567 words]
Oil On My Mind by Charles Evans A story of greed and patience. The struggle to obtain what's yours against incredible odds. Da... [4,401 words]
Joe's Life by James Mudge Short story about Joe Warner's life. [1,239 words]
Forbidden Goddesses Part One by E Daugherty - [817 words]
Eighth Day by Erasmus Flynt - [1,423 words]
David's Life by James Mudge The story is about a boy named David. Davis is a very athletic person. [744 words]
An Error In Judgment by Valerie J Gawron A story that shows once again that all is not as it seems. [3,590 words]
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 [27] 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
Boundaries |
DESCRIPTION
It is only natural that we would seek out and discover the borders of our kingdom, for a kingdom it is, and each of us its proud king or queen.
[1,178 words] |
TITLE KEYWORD
Relationships |
AUTHOR
Stormy |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
-
[August 2004] |
AUTHOR'S OTHER TITLES (4)
A New Beginning (Poetry) A poem about a very misunderstood man. [188 words] [Relationships]
Good As Gold (Short Stories) Getting good grades in high school shouldn't have been a bad thing. [2,359 words] [Relationships]
Just Me (Short Stories) The story of a little girl home from the hospital. You would think her parents would be happy to see her, wouldn't you? [888 words] [Biography]
Of Peppermints And White Knights (Short Stories) I took my first drink at age 10. [2,179 words] [Biography]
|
Boundaries
Stormy
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep ..."
That one line keeps running through my head as I walk along the barely visible pine needle covered path on this quiet summer morning. I shake my head, frustrated that I can only remember one line of the poem. For an English minor, this is pitiful.
It is only natural that we would seek out and discover the borders of our kingdom, for a kingdom it is, and each of us its proud king or queen. My kingdom stretches as far as my legs can carry me, and when I get the urge, I often set out to discover just how far that really is.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep ..."
But not dark enough to keep me from enjoying the rising sun. Sweat drips down my forehead to slip under the frame of my sunglasses and collect in small pools on my nose. It’s going to be a hot day.
I used set out on these walks to get away, to leave it all behind. But I am discovering that when I leave it all behind, what I have left is nothing. Sometimes nothing can be a good thing. Everyone needs a little nothing, every now and then. No pressures, no deadlines, no swirling emotions. There is just you. But after awhile, you get tired of yourself. The peace and isolation begins to wear thin and you discover that leaving it all behind isn’t what you need after all. My trouble is, I have no idea what I seek any more. So I just keep walking. Not to leave it all behind so much, more to see what’s up ahead and how far I can really go before something or someone stops me. Deep inside, I believe there are no boundaries.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep ..."
The line continues to run through my head, the melody of the next line just beyond my reach.
The trees in these woods are massive hemlocks, close and towering and very old. Beneath them, life abounds, some four footed, some feathered but mostly, six legged and biting. I swat at a mosquito as it lands on my arm.
I stop for a moment and let my eyes slowly pan across the landscape before me, the wilderness of uncut forest and the purity of an undisturbed, clear lake. It is quiet, as usual. A little eerie, as usual. All mine, as usual. This is my kingdom.
I am about to head down a familiar path when a break in a thicket of ferns catches my attention. A path, just barely visible, stretches back father into the enchanted woods. It appears to have been made by deer or other woodsy creatures. For some reason, they have decided to vary their routine. I think for a moment, or perhaps longer than that. It is hard to tell for time has no meaning in the woods. There is only day and night and I can see no signs of night approaching. I will take the path.
I widen the break in the ferns as I trample more of them to the ground. They will forgive me as the forest holds no grudges against those whose only motive is personal exploration.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep ..."
Although I have been wandering these same woods for many years, a new path is always a new adventure. I would like to think that I am the first human to set foot upon this tranquil ground, but always I see signs that others have been here before me - a rusted can, a shotgun shell, a plastic bottle cap. I am not the pioneer I imagine.
The path widens and the trees spread out as if to welcome me. A gentle breeze cools my hot face and the leaves rustle softly. I feel a certain magic emanating from the trees. My feet quietly tread the forest floor where the softest moss spreads a carpet, golden rod and wild grasses flourish in spots of sunlight, wild berries cluster, and pale mushrooms grow at the base of fallen trees surrounded by rocks and tangled vines. This path presents many distractions and it is hard to know what to look at. Secrets seem to lurk everywhere.
I continue on, happy with this newfound excursion. These woods seem to stretch forever and I decide I will see this journey to its end. This journey will be different. Perhaps at the end of this path, I will find what my heart has been looking for.
And just as I am enjoying this expedition into the unknown, it all comes to a sudden and disappointing end. The trees up ahead have been defaced with omens which make me shiver despite the summer heat. No Trespassing signs have been nailed into the tender hides of the majestic guardians of the forest. An entire angry row of them, ugly and foreboding.
The sun darts behind a cloud and I notice the woods are harshly quiet. I step up to the signs and see something else that makes my skin crawl. Barb wire has been strung through the trees and across my chosen path. Someone has placed a boundary in my kingdom.
I imagine myself ignoring the signs, stepping over the jagged, rusty wire as if it was nothing more than a fallen branch and continuing on my way. I am so far back in these woods who would ever know? But beyond the repugnant signs and twisted wire I see even more signs. Someone does not want me in these woods. The fantasy journey beginning to form in my mind loses its shape in the real world. I have reached an impasse.
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep ..."
I had dared to dream of an adventure to humble all adventures. I had envisioned, without really being aware of the meaning of my dream, a world that had no limits. And now hideous squares of plastic and angry coiled wire have stolen it from me; for no matter how much I desire to trespass and continue, I will not violate the law. The signs have been tacked here for a reason, and I will obey them. These are the laws of my kingdom.
“But I have promises to keep . . .”
There is a certain thrill that comes with being somewhere you’re not supposed to be. About being alone in that quiet, somber construct of someone else's life. I carry the thought of this thrill with me as I turn around and head back towards what is safe and familiar. All is not lost.
I memorize my surroundings and look for landmarks. The journey was a pleasant one if nothing else, and I will return, every so often, to check the signs and monitor the health of the trees. Life has taught me that just when you think you know your boundaries, everything changes. The signs may someday fade and fall; the wire will rust and crumble if neglected. Only then will I continue the journey.
“But I have promises to keep . . .”
|
|
Submit Your Review for Boundaries
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for Boundaries
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2004 Stormy |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
August 2004 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
1868
|
|
