Guilt

I came here to atone. I swore before to the Most High and to my family that I would always be honest and faithful to my husband. And when I swore it, God be my witness, I meant it. With all my heart, I meant it.But I swore a lie, for when I landed on the shores of this godless place, and the time of my life stretched on forever to eternity, I came to resent the vows of love. Perhaps there are those, better than I, who loved more purely or swore with more intensity. Those whose vows and affections can bear the endless march to the end of time, never doubting, never ceasing. But I was not one of them. When I dishonored my marriage, the weight of my sin was suffocating. It dragged like an anchor on my heart, to what I thought were ceaseless depths. So I swore I would seek forgiveness. I traveled here, to this strange land, hoping to claim the riches of the dryads and return them to my husband. I thought that if he saw the extremity of my penance, that I might be forgiven. But I feel the weight of no sin here, amongst these eternal cliffs and groves. Here, the great responsibilities of my past life seem but a distant memory. So perhaps a memory is what they should become, and I should remain here, a creature of the present. -Yadira Ahmad