Part 2 of 19 (Path A)/Part 2 of 21 (Path B)

Friendship is…2

Luca continued his ascent, but his attention was now caught by an old, weathered wooden fence that separated the path from the adjacent grazing fields. Almost as if in a trance, he fixed his gaze on each individual slat as he walked, gray and rough in the sunlight. An inexplicable impulse came over him—a sudden, almost instinctive urge to leave the strict order of the path behind. Without thinking twice, he leapt lightly over the brittle wood and landed on the open pasture beyond.

Even though he was now off the official trail, he kept moving in his original direction. The ground beneath his boots felt softer and more yielding here than the rocky gravel before, making his steps more spring-like. Luca enjoyed this small act of rebellion against the prescribed route; it intensified the sense of freedom he had been craving that morning. The pasture stretched out before him, a gently rolling plateau swaying in the light breeze.
With every step he took deeper into the open terrain, he felt more connected to the solitary mountain world around him. The grin on his face grew even wider as he continued on his way, now a guest upon the land of the herds, which welcomed him with its own quiet, peaceful stillness.