The Rope

She wakes up with her arm tangled in the rope. She sits upright, mind full of intent. The harness is of no concern, the rope an insignificance to be ignored. She begins the daily chores, organizing everything for the organized future, laid cleanly on polished tracks in her mind. Slowly, the chores become more difficult, as her range of movement gradually decreases. The play in the rope has disappeared. A growing franticness fills the intent in her mind, as the rope begins to pull her backwards through the house, down the stairs, out the door. Desperate to finish the day’s chores, she grabs at trees, sign posts, passersby. She manages to wrest a piece of paper from a stranger, and a pen from a tabletop, to write a note. Sliding backwards on her heels, she manages to document “Instructions to complete the chores” and press them into the hands of a wide-eyed person standing at an intersection, who, bewildered, drops it into the wind. She does not know where the rope is pulling her, and she hates that there are chores left unfinished.

She wakes up with her arm tangled in the rope. She rolls over slowly, intrigued by the rope. It is a curious rope, so she examines it. She does not remember attaching it to the harness, nor does she remember fastening the harness to herself. She spends some time studying the harness. Sturdy, strapped tightly, and locked to her torso. The rope is tough and, she perceives, not easily broken. Slowly, the rope begins to become more taut. Intrigued by this development, she stands and feels the gentle pull. Wondering where the rope is taking her, she follows its guidance through the house, down the stairs, out the door. Past trees breathing in the wind, past curiously-designed signs on solid sign posts, past new and unique passersby. A piece of paper flutters before her, and she picks it up. Someone has written “Instructions to complete the chores” and it has found its way into the wind. It is clean and organized and she appreciates it. She folds it carefully, puts it in her pocket, and returns her attention to where the rope is taking her.