Image: Johannes Plenio@pexels.com.

It all came about in the strangest of ways.

What started out as a bush walk through country he knew so well ended in tragedy.

He remembered tripping on a tree root and then falling. It seemed an interminable fall, and during it, he felt an incredible sense of calm.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in a forest of pines trees. He didn’t have any memory of hitting the ground, he felt though a sense that he was ok that there was something he needed to do.

Looking around, he saw the light poking its way through the standing pines.

It seemed to beckon him, and he started to move towards it.

As he stepped forward, he felt an exhilaration go through him as the light intensified the more steps he took. Overwhelmed by the light’s warmth, he pressed on, the trees appeared to part and provide him with a passage.

Away to his left, he could see other people walking in the same direction as him. They were focused on the path ahead, a path they were following separate from his own but intent on the same destination.

It was when his mind wandered to where he had come from that things changed slightly for him. He felt vulnerable, alone and suddenly unsure of where he was going and what he was going to find when he got there.

At that moment he became aware of a presence beside him. Just to the left of his shoulder, there was someone walking with him. Fearful of the unknown, he hesitated slightly, then a hand slipped into his own.

Looking over, he saw who it was. Glowing beside him was his mother, and taking his hand, reassured him as to where he was going.

Written for: https://fivedotoh.com/2019/07/22/fandangos-flash-fiction-challenge-23/