En Route to the Sun

En Route to the Sun - Image courtesy of Håkan Johansson

The path leading to the sun is straight, which, in my opinion, is a little strange. I would have expected it to be littered with obstacles and dead-ends and little side streets that appear to be shortcuts but really end up leading you nowhere close to the destination. But no, not this one. No twists and turns. No hairpin bends. It is straight as the truth. 

For some reason, it seems right to walk single file, and so we do. When we reach the end of the pier, the path leading to the sun ends abruptly. The ocean lies sprawled at our feet, its waters shimmering like diamonds on fire. 

The old man says we are ill-equipped to cross the ocean to reach the sun, and that it is best to turn back. His wife nods in agreement and they walk back single file, she stepping into his footsteps.

The young man thinks it is a shame to give up after having come thus far. So he decides to build a boat that would take him across the ocean. And so he turns back, planning to head back into the forests for wood. 

The little girl sits by the edge of the pier and dips her feet in the water. She calls out to the mermaids who say they’d ferry her across but only if she sings for them. And off she goes.

Caramel suggests we try to leap across. I am skeptical at first but he keeps tugging at his leash. He puts a paw over the edge and a fragment of a bridge appears under his foot. He steps on it and puts another paw over the edge. And more of the bridge comes into view wherever he intends to step. And that is how we skip all the way to the sun, one sure step at a time. 

When we look back, the bridge has disappeared, as if it had never existed. Caramel tells me to not worry. We will find it again when we need it, he assures me.