Over

We searched all night, shining our flashlights into the dense forest.
I scanned the ground, often seeing your tracks travel a distance and then disappear mysteriously.
Where did you go?
What happened to you?

I heard your voice calling to me, and then falling silent as I neared. I gave up in frustration so many times, only to hear your faint whisper again. It haunted me.

I couldn't sleep for days. Couldn't think of anything else but finding you. The hours of searching long into the night were tormenting me, killing me. Others thought I was crazy. I wondered too.

I dreamed I would find you, and we would walk out of the forest together. Our hands linked, swinging together in rhythm.
This was my prayer.

And one day I caught a glimpse of you through the trees. You reached out to me. And with my barely healed heart in my hands I stepped forward, only to see you disappear again before my eyes. And then, your voice drifted through the undergrowth, telling me to leave. I knelt trembling on the ground as my heart agreed, "Enough." My search was over.
I walked away and left you in the forest.

Because a person who wants to be lost can never be found.