Could You Give Me Directions To... (fiction)

Her lips pursed, a soft airy snore rhythmically echoed the cadence of night as I listened to music of a bygone era. I was coming to terms with the reality that home was anywhere except for where I was at at that given point in time. Then again maybe home always is a place on the horizon-- a place we're always traveling towards but never really get any closer to, no matter how long we're on that road.

So we keep traveling, keep roaming-- always hoping our next address will be more permanent than the last. We long and ache for the soft ground where our roots will take, so a more solid and firm foundation can be built.

I wondered what she was dreaming, what far off land she was calling home-- What corner of imagination she'd been lucky enough to escape to. I glanced at her briefly and returned my eyes to the road. It was late, my mind was starting to mire itself in the cobwebs that are a symptom of staring at a never-ending patch of asphalt illuminated only by a pair of headlights.

I knew at that point I should pull over and nap, find a motel, or even an all-night service station with plenty of caffeine on hand. However, I was running short on reason, having traded it in for my overwhelming desire to get home. The trouble was, I wasn't sure where home was any more.

I pulled over slowly ans softly. She stirred slightly, opening her eyes to tiny oriental slits.

"Where are we?"

"It's okay, go back to sleep." She was too tired to pursue it further. Her eyes closed and once again she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I stepped out of the car as the curtain of clouds pulled away exposing the glow of a full moon. A patchwork of flat farmland and asphalt was all I could see-- an ocean of infinity in all directions.

Even though I knew exactly where I was-- I suddenly understood what it meant to be lost. I no longer had any idea where I belonged or where I wanted to be.