The Endless Road

I woke up on the hard ground beside the road and sat up. I felt refreshed and alive. We would reach the end today I knew it. It was night like usual, but walking the road was easier after the sun had gone down or that was what Danny told me. I looked up at the stars and they seemed brighter than before. Before what I asked myself, I couldn’t remember anything but the road.

I reached over and shook Danny awake. ‘Time to go sleepy head.’

He smiled as he climbed to his feet. ‘Ready to go?’

I nodded, and we stepped out onto the road, the road that seemed to stretch on forever. ‘Do you think we will reach the end today?’

‘Today or maybe tomorrow.’ Danny smiled and took my hand. It was like we were out for a stroll under the stars like we had done before. Again, that before, but I couldn’t remember any of the details.

We walked for what seemed like hours as nothing changed to indicate any time had passed. My feet began to hurt, and I leaned on Danny for support. We had to keep going if we were to reach the end.

We stopped at some rock and sat on them giving our feet a rest. ‘Danny what do you remember of before?’

‘Before what?’

‘Before the road, before all this?’

‘Just that we had to leave, we had to take the road it was the only way.’

‘Shouldn’t we be able to remember something of before?’

‘Are you sure you want to? Maybe you don’t really want to remember, you just think you do.’

That made no sense, why would I not want to remember. I felt like we had rested enough so I stood up and started walking again. Danny caught up with me and took my hand, it was just a small gesture, but it made me feel so good.

Hours passed, and I struggled to put one foot in front of the other as we walked. We were holding each other up as we walked down the road. We should have stopped hours ago, but I refused to. I had to reach the end tonight.

I began to wonder why we hadn’t seen anybody else. ‘Why aren’t there more people on this road?’

‘It is a private road, just for us.’

‘That makes no sense.’

‘But it does in a way.’

‘What do you remember of before we came to the road?

He hesitated before he answered, I hadn’t realized, but he always did when I asked about before. ‘Nothing.’

‘Don’t lie to me Danny.’

‘You don’t want to know, I wish I didn’t know.’

‘I do.’ I stopped, pulling him to a stop also.

‘I made a mistake, one mistake and you couldn’t forgive me.’

I stepped away from him. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I cheated on you one time and you found out.’

I was confused why would we end up here because he had cheated. ‘What does any of that have to do with this road.’

He lowered his head. ‘Please just forget this and walk with me please.’

‘No tell me!’ I screamed. I felt anger and scared.

Danny lifted his face or what was left of it. Half of it was gone, blown away. It all came back to me like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind from me. I had learned he had cheated and I had shot him with the shotgun we keep in the downstairs closet. It was only after I had pulled the trigger did I realize how much I really loved him. I had felt so alone in that minute after he was gone so I did the only thing I could think of, I joined him.

‘This road is our personal hell and we must continue to walk it for all eternity’ Danny tells me before he turns and starts walking again.