Being At Ease

It was a series of trials and failures. Still, I was not daunted or bothered by the failure part. Rather, I kept on trying and I will only continue to do so for as long as I still draw air.

I went at it again, and again, and again, and again. Slowly and notably, I was getting closer to my goal.

My earlier three steps had upgraded to four steps and then to five. That was when I got stuck in a second loop.

Overcoming the fifth step and ascending to the sixth step was considerably harder than I assumed it to be.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but this seemed almost hopeless.

For one, I had my stamina to thank for not failing me in crucial moments like this.

It was as though my daily activities had prepared me specifically for moments like this. However, I could feel it getting drained faster the more attempts I made.

Still, it should be able to last me another fifteen or so tries before I drop to the ground dead tired.

That was more than enough.

Also, I could take breaks and slightly catch my breath in between to replenish my stamina. Though time is of the essence, the break cannot be a lengthened one.

I kept at it, with every jump I made and failed at, I saw to it that I increased the distance between me and the tree. I did that so I could gain more range to run from and at the same time prepare my body to make the jump.

While I ran and jumped, there was something odd I noticed about my body.

It was as though all the functions in my body were aiding me to make the jump and do better than I did the last time.

I know it's weird thinking that way, but that is how I felt. I mean, logically thinking about it, does it make any sense that I with a four-foot height would be able to make five walks on a tree trunk?...

Stamina or not, my short legs would not be able to keep up with the jump range.

Forget it. I must be getting delusional from being exposed to a life-and-death situation.

That's it, nothing more.

Seven attempts more and I find myself easily making the seven steps, leaving just one more step to accomplish.

It was both astounding and gratifying.

I felt like I was walking in the air with my head turned toward the sky. I was so far off the ground that I almost believed I was never going to go back down.

A new feeling surged up in me, one that felt like a child being gifted a new toy they had been so desperate to get their hands on.

"Was this supposed to be humanly possible?...".

A thought I never bothered to dive deeper into due to the cruciality of the situation.

I moved back and ran intending to finally reach my goal.

One step! Two steps! Three steps! Four steps! Five steps! Six steps! Seven steps!!!!

At the seventh step, my leg leapt and disconnected from the tree trunk, following the heavy lifting of my body and my hand propelled toward the branch.

Eight steps!!

Once my leg made the eighth step, I hurriedly stretched out my hand and wrapped it on the tree branch before I fell back to the ground.

I held tightly to the branch and climbed my body atop it. From there, I looked at the ground to see how far away it was.

No time to babble. This branch is thicker than I thought.

If climbing my body on it will not be able to break it, then I would have to put in more effort.

The question is, what?...

There was no sharp object at my disposal that I could use to cut off the branch from the tree trunk.

I slowly got on my two feet and had my weight rested on the branch, then I started jumping up and down, pressing my weight on the wobbly branch.

The branch started to shake the faster I jumped, becoming unstable and making my foot unequal and fragile.

To be on the safer side, I stopped and moved to the far end of the branch closest to the tree.

I hugged the tree tight before resuming my jump on the branch. This way I won't have my footing be shaken by the unsteady branch or fall off the moment the branch snaps.

With every march brought down on it, the branch ever so slightly bent downward soon with a cracking sound let out.

It was a sign that I was getting to my goal, and that made me even more resilient as I sought to increase my pace.

The cracking sound got louder and closer. Soon, the branch fell abruptly, in haste to take me down with it.

I clutched tightly to the tree bark as I wrapped my body around it with legs situated on both sides of the tree.

The tree was so robust to the point that my legs were not able to intertwine on the other side no matter how much I tried to force them to.

I poked my head out and saw the fallen branch lying on the ground. Seeing it brought a sense of relief to my mind.

With my body still wrapped tight to the tree bark, I gently slid down the bark and got to the ground.

I moved closer and observed the branch from way up close only to see that it was at least twice my size.

With a contented face, I retorted; "This will do". I assured myself.

I did not take too long on the commendation and shortly after, I turned my body in observance of the surroundings for the next closest branch I could feel.

I still have a long way to go to accomplish my goal. But honestly speaking, I don't feel that way.

You know, that feeling of getting fatigued and overwhelmed with immense content from simply completing a single task when I know there are yet many ahead.

What I feel is the desire to continue going and until my tasks are accomplished, I feel like it is then I can start being at ease.