A Faultless Homecoming

It had been nearly two years, but when I stepped off the plane it felt like no time had passed. Instantly I felt like that girl again; the one who believes anything is possible and who can’t ever sleep at night because the stars are out and she knows if she keeps trying she just might catch one. And Juneau was the same in that way where even the few changes that have been made were instantly noticed like a new scar on the back of my hand. This place is as close to me as skin. I immediately stowed my bags at my hotel and took to the hills answering, after all this time, their constant if now faint, call. Only this time the snow fell and my feet made tracks that will eventually disappear. The bright white served not to cover but to highlight the details my mind has been so careful to calculate and preserve. Jagged corners of steep mountains and deep crevasses of avalanche chutes. The feel of rocks in my hand and soft purple hues of mountain air. I sensed the chill of the winds from the ice field and gazed with wonder at the Eagles who embraced it with their wings outstretched, soaring on what they too have learned to trust. I ran with my arms outstretched and lungs full of the sweetest air remembered. The fog of my breath went out before me and welcomed me home.