They had been moving at speed since forever, and Sam felt the vibrations of the rocky road dislocating his soul.
He saw the top of his horses and knew that they will run perpetually, handsome beasts of burden. Unlike them though, he was starting to feel the wear and tear of driving for so long.
He had to decide the direction, the speed, he had to be mindful of the road conditions and the weather. He needed to keep an eye out on the darkness of the forest for thieves and highwaymen.
The end of the road was no where in sight. The road itself was it and Sam, the charioteer, was starting to feel the burden of the endless journey.
For some time now an idea had started to form in his head. What if he would stop? What if he would allow the horses to relax a bit? What if he would allow himself to take a break? The road will always be there, no? It would not be a long break, just a brief one, enough for him to have a proper sleep and some rest.
Sam thought about it for quite some time and then, all of a sudden, he decided he will do it. He will pull the chariot over and stop. And so he did!
At first the horses opposed him, unused with not running they were sure something was wrong, in the end though, they had no option but to do what he instructed.
When Sam first touched the ground he was wobbly on his feet. All he knew was continuous movement, so being static caused him a bit of nausea. He sat down though and allowed himself to readjust.
As always, one gets used very quickly to a good thing. Sam loved the bit of wooden forest he had stopped in. A sparkling stream provided fresh water, there were lots of berries and mushrooms everywhere, the horses had all sorts of plants to munch on.
The stop proved to be a success, so much so that, when it was time to get back on the road Sam felt his heart sinking and tears clouding his vision. He did not want to go back on the road, he did not want it so badly that he began not to enjoy the break anymore either.
So now Sam was stuck in a space where he could not rejoice anything anymore, and he was wondering if maybe he should have just stuck to what he knew.
In short, Sam managed to drive himself mad with all the battles he was leading inside, and in this state of mind he fell asleep on the soft, fragrant floor of the wood.
In his restless sleep Sam saw himself in a dream in which the Gods were telling him he has to choose a path and walk it, or drive it, whichever. Sam saw all the things he could have in his life, glory, wealth, family, freedom of action, and the Gods told him to choose, but the trick was, he could only choose one, and he could not exchange it if later he decided he did not like it.
Sam was frantic in his dream, he could not choose just one, that was impossible, he needed so much more than just one thing.
When Sam woke up he was exhausted, but something had become clear in his mind and soul, he was a charioteer and he understood that only all the things of the road could actually make him feel anything close to fulfilled.
Choosing one thing was restricting his options, and he did not want that, he wanted the views of the road, he enjoyed the adrenaline rush he got when he overtook the perils he encountered, he was happy living in the unknown and discovering his path one day at a time.
Sam harnessed his restless horses, hugged them and thanked them for being his reliable companions on the road, and they all went back to it with God’s speed behind them.
And Sam, the charioteer, was happy to feel his soul vibrate with the rhythm of the road.
Card image from the Astromatrix deck, one of my favorites!