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The Path Less Traveled 
by Kendra Smart 

The origin of The Path had long been lost. It wouldn’t even be fair to say that there were secret conversations held with fast pulsing hearts and hushed voices. No campfire stories, no legends of old. No, the story of The Path had been entrusted to her and her alone. For it was through Donna that the story of The Path would begin again. Many knew about the ceremony, but the story wasn’t for them to know, only for the town to gather, that was their only purpose. 

Like the cliff sides that bordered their town, time had worn away at the youth that Donna had once held. At ninety three years old Donna Montgomery looked far different than she had eighty five years ago when she had been chosen to lead the town.The Path had shown her the way and her faith remained unwavering as she watched the children entering the forest in a parade of white.

She felt the wind catch up to her in the clearing where she waited. Her silken silver dancing upon the breeze was beautiful, it also made her draw her crocheted scarf closer to her small but still able frame. The clearing had been decorated with care by the denizens of the rural town of Leahma. She stood slightly elevated behind the ornate oaken podium that literally spewed forth from the Earth. There was power here. More than they knew but it was almost time to begin. 

She stood as the only Elder left in Leahma. But The Path had ensured that there had been no other way. For their town to thrive, a deal had been crafted. Once every eighty five years a ceremony must happen. The parade in white had almost made their way to her, she reflected on the uncomfortably starched formal gown that she too had once worn. As they stopped in front of her and the other members of town made their way to the clearing as well, Donna knew there was no more time for reflection in the past. It was the present  and she should be present for it.

 “Eighty-Five years ago I stood where you are, dressed as you are. You are nervous, perhaps scared. All of that is normal. Let me tell you The Path’s true purpose. The Path is a trial, one that at its end will crown our next leader. The Path is a true gift left to us by the settlers of this town. 

The Path holds no bias and chooses whomever it feels is the best among us to keep our town safe, the fields prosperous, for another eighty-five years until it is time for the next parade. 

The beginning of The Path used to look like rail lines, that was our source of finance. But the world changes, time shifts and forces us to adapt or decline. The Path for me was harrowing but I had faith that what was to be was destined to be.”

Donna paused, she looked at the adults and that look said everything. They moved to take their places here and there, scattered along the way to the end. As she looked back, she brought her best smile out. The one that defined the crinkles around her eyes. 

“At the end of The Path you will find me. I look forward to meeting my replacement. The Path will provide.”

The ones before her knew their role to this point and parroted her words. They took their steps to the beginning of The Path. Sun setting and lanterns to light their way, Donna began her journey to the end of The Path to wait. 

She found her throne lit and the table ready. The book was opened to the beginning of the knowledge that would be passed along. Donna had made her own additions to the heavy tome. There next to it shone a metal blade. Against the firelight the grooves and etches in the blades seemed to move. Alive. 

There would be only one to make it down The Path. Only one to succeed her. Those poised along the way would provide the ampoules to be possessed by those ready to take the less worthy out of the fray and as sacrifice. She could hear the screams now. Donna’s heart beat as it hadn’t in years. She knew those screams. 

A myriad of images slammed her brain as she remembered her own journey down The Path. 

It took half an hour before the screams had stopped and one child had stepped forward to the end of The Path. 

The Path had chosen.

She knew that look, his hollow eyes. She waited patiently as he sized her up. Blessed, it happened fast. She barely had time to gasp as the blade hit home. 

Her soul knew peace as the demon gleefully took its new vessel. 

“The Path provides.” Donna whispered as darkness crept in.

The hollow eyes told her that like Donna, the boy now knew the story of The Path. A voice answered her in the darkness. 

“The Path Provides.”

Fiction © Copyright Kendra Smart
Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

More from author Kendra Smart:

Just Emotions:
A Gothic Bite Magazine Anthology

A collection of poetry.

‘Just Emotions‘ is exactly as it states, a group of writers who had feelings they wanted to express in poem form. Inside, there are a range of emotions to explore. Each writer has given a bit of themselves to you, each in their own way.

We hope that you enjoy these writings and that among the poems you may find some thing you can identify with or relate to. Thank you for giving us this chance to open the catacombs and share with you.

Available on Amazon!