I walked along the paths, observing, as I once had ten years ago, home yet again, to the place I was raised, the place where I had lived so many long years of my life. I was tired and cold, wanting food and shelter. Those leaves were guarding the way again, shielding me from my home…forbidding me to see it yet again…one last time…as it was meant to be seen by the eyes of a man who is steadily getting older. I knew it would not have changed, and for all the years it had been here it never would change. The flowers would still be in bloom, the trees would still be a pale green, and the waterfalls still as sparkling and distant as they had always been. The water was so crisp, when you tasted it you felt as if your whole body was living anew…as if you were being born again. The air so fresh, it clung to your body, and when you walked inside your home you would smell not of the outdoors, but of a different scent…fresh…clean…rejuvenated. My childhood had been here, my life had been here. To come here alone and see it once more, was a dream come true. I wanted to see it, feel its beauty one last time. I wanted to sit in the shade of the trees, eat the wild fruit, sing songs as I had when I had been young. Youth was but a distant memory for me, shadowed by this place, and even though my years were long, I still missed my youth. I could feel my age beginning to catch up with me, even ten years ago when my life had changed…it had changed so much since the last time I had seen this place. I only wished that sometimes I could relive my youth once more…

Stepping through the leaves, I noticed the young blossoms hanging on the trees, remembering with tears in my eyes. Pushing away the branches my face was still, the only movement being the tears steadily dripping down my face like the waterfalls. I pushed through until I finally saw it. I couldn't believe my eyes, I was here again, lost in the mist and waterfalls, reliving every moment in my life all over again in my mind. I walked along the path, snaking its way around a cliff, remembering seeing her guide her horse steadily around that path…I smiled. I wound my way around, my feet bare, the wild side in me returning, feeling the stone beneath my feet, my arms loose and mind open. I walked, walked and walked, until I reached the bridge, staring at it in the morning sunlight. It always seemed to be morning here…something mysterious about it…this place loved new light and receding light…sunset and sunrise. I smiled to myself and carefully took the few steps forward, singing to myself in the old tongue, the tongue of the most high. I felt elated, young, true, and balanced as I made my way across the bridge. So much life was flowing through this place, even though a soul was no longer living here. I always wished this place could call back those long gone…but they would never return. I was sorrowful and the tears coming down my face discontinued, sparkling on my face in the new morning sun. Slowly I walked around the open patios, countless numbers of them, ran my fingers along the carved railings, feeling within the railings the past nearly forgotten. I missed the quiet that was here, the quiet to sing and to be the only one heard…to be the only one here, even when there were others around…it was something I had always treasured. Because even though there may have been others around…you still somewhat felt alone, because they would always listen.

I wove my way through the patios, until I came upon a statue I had not laid my eyes on for ten years. Draped in fabric it was, still whole, not rotting as I expected it would be. The long flat stone it held in its hands still covered with that same fabric. I touched it and found it smooth to the touch, I looked up and saw its face, so peaceful…so beautiful. I slowly removed the fabric touching its head and watched as it hit the ground softly, scattering the dried leaves on the ground…autumn was coming soon. I picked it up and touched my skin with it and smiled, feeling the silk hit my skin, remembering as a child, my mother wrapping me in silks…it was all such a blissful dream. Standing there I thought I would never come out of it…until suddenly beside my head I saw a pair of blue eyes, completely blue, not a speck of white, with dark blotches of black in the middle. As they looked at me they appeared mellow and relaxed, simply floating and staring at me as if satisfied. I smiled to it and it smiled back, the eyes reflecting a smile. I reached forward, could feel a figure, but saw nothing…nothing was seen before my waking eyes. It looked down to the stone the statue was holding so tenderly. I remembered this and I looked at the eyes again, but they just continued to stare at the stone, as if beckoning me. I knew what they wanted. I slid the long blade out of the sheath, hearing the glow yet again, remembering taking it in my hands for the first time, watching it glow in the low light…I placed it down on the stone and the eyes smiled, happy to see the sword reborn, resting on the stone, glowing brightly, illuminating the room as if beckoned by some magic to light up the whole area. I smiled and laughed myself, feeling vibrant, young reborn…no longer lost, I picked up the sword and placed it back in the sheath, the glow slowly fading. Staring at those eyes I felt a piece of the past float back into me, almost as if the whole longing in my heart was to see this place once more. The eyes beckoned me to follow and look behind where I was. That same painting, painted on the walls, reflecting that last moment, the strike before the defeat…I remembered my destiny. Sighing I stared at the sword held high, the light emitted from it, the evil vanquished…I smiled. Satisfying was what the picture was to me, no longer threatening or frightening…I had accepted my fate long ago…the question was…whether I would be able to carry it out.

The eyes carried me over to a mirror, framed in beautiful silver…this was all so strange…it was almost as if my home had been left empty to be filled by a ghost. I looked into the mirror, and saw myself. Just me staring back, shoulder length graying brown hair, graying beard, blue eyes…something else however was showing itself…the age. I suddenly felt aged again, until something happened that I could not explain, something arose in me, a fire, a spirit, and for a flash I saw that youthful face staring back at me, not the graying face of an older man. I saw the youth, and as I touched my face, I didn't wonder, I didn't question, I simply stared, taken aback by the beauty that was suddenly being shown before me. I remembered my face, remembered who I once was, having had to drop that image behind me. I remembered the wild in my hair, in my face, and the bright blue of my eyes. I looked over in a vase and saw the same image, youthful, beautiful, and I nearly cried again. How could this be happening, I wondered, some kind of magic…some kind of trick…or maybe those eyes were trying to show me something. I looked back in the mirror and the youth looked back at me again, I almost thought it was a dream…it most likely was…but suddenly it didn't matter to me. I looked to the eyes again, searching for some kind of sign, some king of signal, some sort of advice to understand what was to happen next. The smile appeared in the eyes again and they wandered off, past the waterfall where she had stood, past the woods of my childhood, all the while feeling in my heart there was a reason for all of this…there always had to be something behind such things. I continued to walk…

Time seemed to evaporate as one got deeper within the forest, and I knew this was territory I had never seen. All around it looked as if time was stopping, pausing, yet we seemed to be moving more quickly. I followed, young and spry again, able to keep up with the mystical pair of eyes floating ahead of me. I had never been this way before, and I felt a surge of panic inside me, but somehow managed to suppress it with the excitement I felt in my heart. In my mind I was growing, with each step I was regaining a piece of myself, and with the illusion of youth, I was brought back to who I truly was. It is so hard to find out who you are, and then have to abandon it…I thought I would spend my days in this place…but I became who I was born to be…not particularly what I wanted. Life didn't work that way, and I knew it, something told me it wasn't all that horrible as I had made it out to be, but as I walked relieving my self, I thought how could I ever go back….

I smiled warmly, feeling the warmth of the sun hit my face as the new day rose again. I did not ponder time, but after averting my eyes from the sun, I caught sight of the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I walked through the opening and down the steps. Before me laid a beautiful port, bathed in sunlight, encompassed in beauty…my eyes were delighted, my heart was tickled, and my mind was reeling. I knew where I was, and as I looked to the eyes, I expected to see them, but instead saw them sitting within a bright shining figure, streaming with light, emitting a presence that made my body feel warm and soft. I looked upon the great amounts of light, and instead of averting my eyes because of it, I looked and saw the figure, able to see through the intense light, I saw those eyes smiling at me. They looked towards my sword and continued to stare at it again. I slowly took the sword out of my sheath, the long blade rising up above my head. Feeling its weight in my hand, I felt power return into my body. It was almost as if the eyes knew how I felt, knew I felt empty…knew I was alone inside. It looked at me as I held the sword in my hands, and with one movement motioned towards the heavens. I stared in question, unsure what was going to happen next. I felt my hands grip the sword, and as I looked at my youthful hands, smooth and perfect, unworn by the many years of running ragged all over the lands, I felt a sort of new life spring forth again. Smiling I held the sword firmly in my hands and gripped it tightly, feeling the cold metal beneath my long, thin fingers. As I held it up a little higher I saw my reflection again and smiled softly. With a mighty jolt I raised it high above my head, and as if by some kind of magic, the wind picked up, the sun shone more brightly, and I could feel the life coursing through my body again. Heat, life, and strength flew through again, and as I stood, the wind becoming more fierce, blowing around me with enormous gusts, I felt standing still in time, not effected by the gust, simply stationary, feeling nothing except the heat of the sun. I closed my eyes and felt that comfort pass over my body, that knowing that I was always home, I was always who I thought I was, always here in this past was where my heart would always lie…yet still happy in my present and future.

Smiling I continued to hold the sword up high until suddenly, the gusts subsided, the sun fainted away, and a few clouds rolled overhead, blocking the sun from shining on the sea, covering the beauty of the water. I felt a jolt, and saw the eyes staring at me once more, beckoning me to look in the reflection of the sword once more. I saw my face once more in the reflection of the blade, aged, but somehow it didn't make me feel as weak anymore. I felt renewed after visiting my home, after seeing this place. I knew not many saw this place, not many mortals ever did…this place was reserved for the chosen ones, the ones who left, and were given the gift to come here and leave. I remembered them and as the darkness fell I cried in my heart, feeling the breaking of an aged heart once more. I looked over the water, the tears falling over my face, crying for the ones who were happy, happily crying for the chosen ones. I looked to the eyes and as I looked at them, I could have sworn I saw a tear, and then a slight smile, before the wind blew through again, the eyes melting away along with the wind. I felt a light pass before my eyes, and as I tried to grasp it I fell…

I woke up in a lounge, surrounded by light and beautiful sun rays…I was home again. I slowly rose to my feet and looked out over the trees and into the rising sun. Softly I smiled and rubbed my eyes, yawning from my slumber. Slowly I walked, paying one last visit to the place I had called home, saying good bye to the trees, the waterfalls, and the beautiful flowers. I looked for the eyes, but they were nowhere to be found. I felt a sadness, but found a new strength in my heart…I was still young, still able to be the wild man I had once been. This gladdened my spirit, and as I walked across the stone bridge, I sighed, never looking back, not wanting to cry at the sight of my home…once more.