I was never alone.
Not in the beginning.
Not in the long stretches of road behind me.
Not in the quiet spaces between steps.
I had a companion.
A guardian.
It walked beside me, steady and sure.
Not leading.
Not following.
Simply there.
A presence woven into the rhythm of my journey.
A shadow just behind my own.
It did not demand.
It did not restrain.
It only answered.
When I called, it came.
When I reached for it, it was already waiting.
When I needed steadiness, it became stone.
When I needed escape, it became wind.
And for a long time…
I believed this was strength.
The knowing that, at any moment, I could summon what I needed.
The comfort of its weight beside me.
The ease of knowing I would never walk alone.
But strength is a strange thing.
What holds you up can also hold you back.
What steadies your steps can also slow them.
What offers comfort can also become a cage.
I did not see it.
Not at first.
Not when the road was long and I was grateful for its presence.
But one day
I told it I was going ahead.
Not forever.
Not far.
Just beyond the next hill.
Just long enough to see what was waiting for me there.
It did not question.
It did not follow.
It only watched.
Because it knew.
Because it had always known.
That no matter how far I went
I would call for it again.
And it would come.
Because that was our way.
Because I had never known another way.
Until now.
Escape the Radish 