Mr. Tasha rose from where he sat. Night was still draped over the world, he lit the fire and sat beside it to warm himself.
He felt the cold air deeply, and his heart felt it as well… It was wavering.
'Will I find the answer? What a dream.' Mr. Tasha thought about the dream he had that day.
He was certain it was an internal message from himself, a method his mind had created to lead him toward his desire.
Yet whenever he thought about the previous dream, his perspective shifted.
He was no longer sure whether that day had been a dream or reality.
And so he considered that his mind's reaction had turned the girl into a key to reaching his desire.
In the past, when he was young, his mind used to direct his anger, and channel his pleasure toward his ambitions. As a result, all his decisions worked in his favor.
He believed that controlling his thoughts freed him from emotional impulses and foolish decisions.
His discipline and mental direction made his choices stronger, clearer, and wiser, and that was how he reached what he had achieved, far removed from distorted perceptions.
Mr. Tasha was steady, he had achieved everything he desired.
Yet now, he stood before a new obstacle in his life.
Emptiness.
Why was it an obstacle? Because it had distanced him from his emotions and from his true self.
To his mind, the girl was a trap, a way for him to deceive himself into believing that love was the solution.
But how could Mr. Tasha feel love when he had not even felt happiness for a long time?
Even the sincere and clear reactions he had experienced in recent days were temporary.
They were merely proof that his mind had deceived him slightly, and also proof that Mr. Tasha's emotions still existed.
That was why he had tried to illuminate those emotions through different experiences and by breaking routine.
His mind's deception led him to realize one thing.
'I was distracted.' Mr. Tasha thought.
His inner calm and stability had been shaken, and that had caused him to fall into the trap. In that state, Mr. Tasha was truly desperate.
Yet the reason he did not fall into the trap completely was that his despair itself was incomplete.
His instincts, habits, and behavior over the years of his youth up until now had been the reason.
'She may have been real on the first day, when I changed my path… but the second day was a dream.' Mr. Tasha thought of the girl once again.
Her striking image against the sunset had become an imprint within his emptiness.
Despite everything, Mr. Tasha felt grateful to her, for she had been the reason he moved.
In this way, Mr. Tasha drew closer to himself, he extended his hand nearer to the fire.
The sensation was warm.
This journey of travel was bringing him closer to himself once again.
It allowed him to realize.
And to feel.
Mr. Tasha returned to his place and fell asleep once more.
…
Morning arrived.
The sweet sounds of birds tickled the sky, and gentle winds played among the tall, towering trees.
Mr. Tasha was in a deep slumber, he had slept peacefully.
As noon approached, Mr. Tasha woke up. He stepped out of his tent and looked upward, the sky was clear today.
"I don't feel any heaviness, as if a great burden has been lifted from my body," Mr. Tasha observed himself, sensing a clear difference.
His time alone the previous night, and the river of flowing thoughts, had borne great results, allowing him to realize many things.
He took some charcoal and brushed his teeth with it, then took a bottle of water, rinsed his mouth, washed his face, and drank a little afterward.
He lit the fire and took some tea and a small kettle from his bag.
He boiled the water, then added the tea.
Mr. Tasha did not add sugar, as he preferred to consume only natural sugars.
Once the tea was ready, he poured it into a large cup and began sipping it calmly.
Mr. Tasha gazed at the world and at life from the height of the mountain.
The world was vast.
And life itself was vast.
At last, Mr. Tasha smiled.
It was a bright smile.
His heart finally felt a warm feeling… toward himself.
…