The Journey

Misty morning dew clung to the first lemon rays of light . Shivering on the edge of the canyon where the day lifted its head, a lizard and a tortoise stretched for the far off heat of the desert dawn.
     "We must  cross the rushing river today." The tortoise set his stubby legs on the lip of the rock. "The sun will leave us to freeze on this side of the canyon. We must follow it as it races across the sky."
The lizard bobbed his narrow head and glided past the tortoise to slip into the shadowed rock below. The tortoise crawled to the spot the lizard had disappeared. He could see the lizards silver gray scales bobbing in and out of the light as the lizard darted over the giant boulders that lined the canyon walls. The tortoise knew his short legs and heavy shell would never crawl along the path the lizard was taking. He cast his keen eyes to the shale covered slope beneath the larger boulders. The drop was sheer, the slope a distant image.  The tortoise inched its cumbersome body along the rock until he balanced his shell on the tip of a sandstone ledg. The sun glared its white hot fury down on the tired little tortoise as the lizard's voice drifted through the ravine. "The sun has made the rock too hot for my feet. I will rest in the shade and wait for the fiery stone to cool. You must brave the hot rock or you will never reach the river before the cold leaves you frozen."
The tortoise pulled his head and legs deep within the recesses of his shell and braced himself.
As the sun  wriggled toward the outer edge of the canyon, shadows covered the eastern slope and the lizard emerged to perch on the boulders before moving onward toward the river.
The sandstone beneath the tortoises shell groaned as the light and heat abandoned the outcropping. The tortoise closed his eyes and ducked his chin as the rock broke away and he felt his shell drop into the canyon.
The lizard reached the shale slope above the river bank in time to see his friend land in a shower of rock and dust onto the slippery slope and then slide to the mossy bank of the cool blue water.
Racing toward the dirty tortoise, the lizard saw a crack along one edge of the tortoises shell and a broken edge fall to the ground beside his friend. Slowly one leg and then another stretched from the shell until the tortoise stood and looked the lizard in the eye.
     "have we followed the sun in time?"
     "We are in time," the lizard assured. "but your shell is cracked and broken." The tortoise glanced over his shoulder to survey the damage. "My shell is only scarred.The journey was worth it."

I started blogging almost exactly a year ago and have enjoyed my journey as a writer, blogger, and student. Sometimes I felt like the lizard scurrying to outrun the heat of my own unrealistic expectations. Most times I was the tortoise. Unsure of my path and hoping the plunge would not be too much. I am immensely grateful for the author's who have allowed me to review their work. The friends and fans who have shared my blog with others, and my family for helping me learn how to "write blind."
Life is a journey. We can try to avoid the rocky paths and sheer drop-offs but in the end. The destination waits for our arrival, and the trip is a wonderful ride.