Three Way Path

<<Three Way Path>>

A Short Story
By Chris Takata

Here I am standing in the middle of nowhere. The gritty sand below my feet swirls around with an unfelt wind. There is no sun, but a light shines from some unknown source above my head; blinding light.

Before me lie three paths. One belongs to someone who I like very much so and have known for a mere month. It lies to the far right. The one in the middle is someone I’ve known for four years, I have liked them since I've met them. The last belongs to one who I met only a few days ago but my heart longs for them as I stare at the path right now; it lies not too far from the left. These paths are not just a lifetime of that individual, but also a certain lifestyle as well. But why must these three choices deal with my most compelling question and quest? The one to the right and the left are the major forms of the lifestyle, while the one in the middle is the happy-medium.

A voice beckons for my attention. It pleads to me, telling me which path is the right path to take. This voice belongs to the one, but who is one to say that is true? I’ve heard this voice once along time ago. But no, I don’t care what it is trying to say to me. I make my own choices in life.

Sometime back, I made the choice to be the keeper of my own fate.

I hold the strings to the puppet. I am the puppeteer!

So I cast away the ever-pleading voice from my mind with walls of ignorance. It has no power over me anymore. Following it just wasn’t for me, so why should I listen to it now? Banish it into the darkness!

Silence.

Silence evermore.

So here before me are three paths. I know I must choose one of them, but which one?

The first, on the right, is very dark. The asphalt doesn’t travel very far before disappearing into the darkness. The black tar begins to melt the longer that I stare at it.
The second, in front of me now, is shady. I can see down the path a bit, but not much farther than the first. Wooden slats warp and shine at me with their finished coats. It is a straight and narrow path, but it too fades off into the distance.

Why am I not allowed to see what future this one beholds to me, too?

The last, not too far to the left, is the brightest of them all. It doesn’t shine with blind light. Twists and turns, ups and down, a few shady areas, a few bumps. I can see very far down the path. It doesn’t fade off like the others, but my limited eyesight can only go so far.

I long for the path on the right because I long for an adventure. Walking blindly on this path wouldn’t be much different than what I’m doing right now. It provides surprises around every corner, the path that would make you think on your feet. And who could resist getting dirty in wet tar? I can tread this path. My abilities allow me to. But the one in front of me is so welcoming. I’ve always enjoyed walking on wooden floors. The warping, though, is…perhaps not too welcoming. Yes, I can walk this path, but will I stay on it? The last is the most puzzling of them all. Why concrete? Why the deformities? Yes, it is travelable; anyone with enough stability can walk this line. But why is this one the clearest of them all? It frightens me of how matter-of-fact this one seems to be.

I stand here, and before me lay three paths. I must choose. My instincts tell me so.

Warning, you must choose only one.

You must stick with the path you choose for the rest of your life.

You will change according to the necessities of the path.

There is no turning back.

So choose.

Do I truly want the first? The second? The third? I must make up my mind right now, because I feel my internal clock beginning to run slow.

I’m suddenly sucked into the future of the first path. I see so many faces: my family, my friends, and, more than the others, strange people I’ve never met. Everything is dark, uncertain. This is thy future! There is some joy, but it isn’t everlasting. A half-life, a façade.

I’m thrown out of the path and sucked into the second. Content. Like before, I see many facesmy family, my friends, and a few strange people I’ve never met. I’m happy with what I have right now. This is thy future! There are very few ups and downs, but for the most part it is simply straight forward.

I’m instantly sucked into the last path. Happiness. Everlasting love. Much family is here, yes, and friends too. I know everyone here, and well. This is thy future! But that is all you are allowed to see…

Here I am, standing before a fork in the road. Each of them belong to a certain lifestyle. Each of them belong to someone important in my life.

Choose.

I take a step. Here we go. My toes are on the path now. One more step and I will have chosen. No going back. No regrets. What’s done is done. This is my lifestyle.

I chose the right path. The cold, white, dull stone felt like ice on the tip of my toes, but it rapidly begins to warm to my touch.