Cusp

It's cold. Not in a way that chills your bones but just enough that you wish you'd brought your sweatshirt with you when you left the car. Still, looking down the winding path that you just struggled to climb, you grimace. It feels like it took forever just to get this far. To turn back now, to go backwards? You know that you wouldn't try to climb this hill again.

And you want to climb because you've heard the rumors about what is on the other side. No one speaks of it directly. To do so would perhaps diminish the magic of the destination. That is your guess, anyway, for all you have to go on is the rapturous look that washes over the faces of those who have made the climb before you.

So you sigh, brace yourself against the breeze that grows stronger as the altitude climbs, and you keep going. To your surprise, the mere act of going forward seems to change everything. The sun's rays push through the clouds and your goosebumps diminish. The air blowing around you is no longer as cold as it was when you thought of turning around.

Shrugging, you don't bother to wonder about this change. You simply keep walking upward. The path, though still winding, doesn't seem to be as steep. There seems to be fewer rocks and you don't feel as nervous as about tripping as you had earlier on your trek. You even find yourself humming, something that you now realize you haven't done in a very long time.

Cresting the hill happens sooner than you had expected. But suddenly you are there, standing at the peak, looking below you. The path continues forward for just a few more yards. Either side of the path is swept in color for the fields are filled with wildflowers of more hues than you knew existed. The breeze brings you the scents of these flowers as well as a nearly tropical scent that you can't name and that you didn't expect but that you inhale deeply all the same.

At the edge of the path, the world ends. Not in a frightful way and not in a forever way. To your amazement, though, is the fact that you find yourself somehow above the clouds. Below you is sure to be the earth, but right now it's like you have found yourself standing on the cusp of heaven.

You feel exhilarated and only a slight sense of trepidation slips vaguely into the back of your mind. This is to be expected, of course. No new journey begins without a slight sense of fear. But you smile and the fear is dispelled.

This is the moment that you have struggled to experience. This is what you had hoped in your heart that you would find. You now understand why no one put this moment into words. It is something only to be understood through experiencing it; it is something that, as you now understand, will be different for every person who crests the hill and stands on the cusp.

You spread your arms and fly.

Leap of Faith

(Model Source: Faestock)

(Birds and Textures Source: Distressed Jewell)

(Sky is my own image)