A Fork In The Road

"Where are you going?" the old man with the crooked back asked the woman.

"I'm not sure." the woman replied. She was dressed in a beautiful big creme coloured skirt with roses embroided on it that swayed elegantly around her and covered her feet which were hidden in brown leather shoes neatly tied. Her top was red like the roses on her skirt and she wore big round yellow ear rings that dangled from her ear lope and attracted attention to her long neck. She was a tall woman and had small crow's feet around her eyes. She had learned from her years but was still a student which you could see by the wonder in her sparkling blue eyes.

"Well, you have come to a fork in the road, miss." the man said and scratched his head.

"Indeed, I have." the beautiful woman answered.

"You have to choose a path. Like everyone else who has come here before you." the man explained and tried to stand up straighter to get a better look of the tall, strong woman.

"Can you tell me what happens if I choose either one?" she asked the man and put her hands on her hips while looking for answers down either path.

"That I cannot. Although I stand here as a guardian of the fork in the road and have seen many people choose a path, I cannot tell you how the path you choose will shape itself for you."

"How do I choose then?" the woman asked and looked the old man in the eyes. He could see in her eyes she was desperate for guidance.

"Some people leave it to chance. You can borrow my coin if you want to. I've seen a few spin around so many times they got so dizzy they simply stumbled down a path. Others go with their gut feeling." the man said and looked down the paths as if he could see the ones who had gone before the woman in the distance.

"But my gut says both paths. How about I start walking down one and then cross over to the other and back again until it becomes one path?" the woman asked.

"Well, I guess that's what it means to create your own path. But remember, miss. The one who chases two rabbits shall have none. And either way you still have to choose which one to start with. I know it's no simple task, but you simply have to do it."

"I could always just go back." she said and sighed.

"You could. But you're here for a reason, right? You didn't walk all this way just to walk back, now did you, miss."

The woman put a stray strand of hair back in its place, groaned and put her hands on her hips again. "Can't YOU just decide for me?" she asked the man.

"I'm sorry, miss. I can't. One time I did and the fella came running back and beat me up so bad my back was never what it once was. The choice is yours and the consequences are yours."

"What if I just stay here with you? Somebody has to look after the paths when you're gone."

"I'm immortal."

"No way."

"Way, way." the old man said and nodded. He suddenly looked exhausted. "Please, miss. You can spend the night here, but in the morning you will have to choose."

"I'll accept that offer." the woman said and sat down on the side of the road with the old man.

All day and during the evening people came and walked down paths. A dapper gentleman winked at her and walked confidently down the path to the right. The woman got an urge to follow him and got up, but the old man put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "YOUR decision, miss."

At night they made a bonfire and the old man borrowed the woman warm blankets. They had been silent all day and the stars whispered to them to keep it that way so the world had peace before a bustling new day started. The woman laid in the dark, looking at the stars. Her left cheek was warmed by the fireplace and her right was cold because of the shadows carressing it. Maybe she would dream something and know in the morning. Maybe some sort of sign would appear to her and she would know. All she knew is that for now she had the night to decide and she closed her eyes under the millions of ancient stars who already knew her choice because her story was as old as time.