Nothing Ends Here

It was heartbreaking. I could hardly breathe. The long-awaited email arrived that morning during my hike deep in a forest in Thailand, and it was a big rejection. I took myself down to the river and sat with sadness. Then my eyes fell on a tiny living thing rising from a great dead log, her red leaves burning bright against the dull grey. Something lit up in me. “Nothing ends here, and neither do I.” Let’s try again. Somewhere new. Somewhere no one thinks to look. At that moment, hope quietly flashed back into my heart.