Out Of The Pigeonhole

Short Story 07

“I’m leaving home. I’ve had enough.”

“But you cannot. You’ll die out there. It’s a bad bad world out there.”

“So? You want me strapped to the walls of this house forever? Don’t you think it’s about time I start taking my life my own way?”

“Let’s not get there. Your life, your way is an oxymoron. Your life is never yours alone. And your path is never yours. Someone has already carved it out for you. And how you choose to walk on it determines the fate of so many others.”

“If that is so, then take it that I’m walking on the pre-decided path.”

“How do you know it is the right path?”

“How do you know it isn’t?”

“Go if you must. But I know you’ll come back.”

“No one really knows. We think we do.”

“If you’ve lived as long as I’ve, seen as much as I’ve, then you would disagree. Of course you never know. But if your eyes and mind are open, you’ll see patterns.”

“I’m sure as hell I’m not seeing any. But I’m leaving now. It is about time I find my way and reconcile with my demons. It is time I find peace.”

“Just one word. Take it as the sum of all the knowledge I’ve learned during this lifetime.”

“What is that?”

“You can seek and search as much as you like. But if you cannot find it within you, do not expect to sense it in the outer world.”

“And that is why I need to leave. To find what I know. To learn to unlearn. And to know that I don’t know.”