grace, found {final part of sort-of-a-story}

With the pearl's light casting a spotlight around the rock field, the woman felt renewed vigor to once again resume her uncertain journey towards the mountain peak. The longing she held for familiar comforts faded as the fire of the pearl inspired her to go onward. She began to walk up the rocky slope and soon, the meadowed valley fell further below as she ascended into the forest of the mountain's belly.

Groves of evergreen trees clustered in herds like the towering skyscrapers of her childhood city. She breathed deep the mountain air. Vigorated, she began to sing. Alone she was in the empty wood, and yet alone she was not as she felt the Presence envelope her like a delicate mossy veil.

The woman had traveled far. All that she knew had been left behind. When her strand of wisdom pearls broke and fell, a part of her invisible self broke and fell as well. She no longer walked with the swagger of certainty. Humility found it's way to hidden caves of her inner world as she lapsed into a twilight of faith and hope.

But now, here on the mountain slope with a lone glowing pearl guiding her footsteps, the woman swelled with welcomed gratitude, welcomed like an old lost friend nearly forgotten. The pearls lost, yet one found, the most important one, which was now light to her in a wilderness of shadows. It seemed a miracle of sorts to her.

And thus, we end our tale of the woman and her pearl here. There is no ending to tell of, for she has yet to reach her destination. The mountain peak always remains before her, always ahead of her and never behind. She does not fret. She has learned to soak in the moment that is right before her.

The small pearl glows with steady light, assuring her of which steps to take. The long strand now long forgotten. She has found grace in the wilderness.