There is a road, dark, long, and far from civilisation.
It curves, flanked by tall trees that almost touch the sky.
He accelerates into it. His legs are weary, and his heart races. Darkness obscures everything ahead.
\'Slow down!\' a voice whispers in his ear.
The flicker of light behind the darkness seems to say, \'Proceed calmly.\'
Should he heed her advice? he wonders, but his mind is cluttered with yesterday\'s stories, and today\'s clouds hinder clear thinking.
He ignores the whisper and the faint hope it hints at, pressing on until dawn.
At sunrise, bathed in the glow of the rising sun, he slowly and fearfully opens his eyes, gazing through the small window beside his bed for truth, redemption, or some faint sign of honesty nearby.
Shahla Latifi
July 2025