Inspired by Sue Vincent’s Thursday Photo Prompt

I followed the path, to the West, and toward the expanse of water visible on the horizon. The distance was deceptive, the path rose slowly, and, after a few hours walk, it became evident that I would not get to the shore much before sunset. The vegetation was sparse, and did not offer much shelter for the night. I tried to imagine what predators might roam those hills.

After another hour walking through coarse grass and bushes, I made it to the top of a small promontory, high above the sea. The sun was sinking fast on the horizon. It is then that I saw the bird: a wide-spanned eagle, I thought, almost immobile in the golden sunlight, expertly using the air currents to glide, observing, perhaps listening.

Although I was not alone, as the apparition of the eagle showed, I felt a deep loneliness: where was the rest of mankind? Was I still the person who had boarded that aircraft, not that long ago, together with her holiday mates? How long could I keep walking in this wilderness, without apparent hunger?

The view from the promontory was breathtaking, the colours almost surreal: I knew something was very different, in this world, from where I came from. Or was it me who had changed, in ways I could not begin to understand…