And Then, The March Continued...

They were all tired. 

The bear cub, the fox, the rabbit, the rat, the bird, the frog, the fish, the squirrel, the skunk, and even the ant were all tired. Everyone was just... so... tired...

They had been marching for days, they had been yelling for days, they had been reading and writing and pushing and fighting, for days upon days upon days. 

They had been punched, they had been kicked, they had been sprayed, they had been pushed, they had been beaten, they had been jailed and some had even been killed... 

So they found a spot. A spot that had a little shade, and a little breeze, and they decided to rest. 

And when they decided to rest, they began to doubt. They wondered, sometimes aloud and sometimes just to themselves: 

Maybe we can stop now? We’ve already come so far. Maybe this is far enough? Maybe, it’s okay to just stop right here.

They had been at it for days. They had been at it for years. They had been at it for generations. 

They were tired. They took some rest, and they began to get comfortable. 

It was silent, it was quiet. A darkness felt as if it was approaching slowly, but surely.

Then, out of nowhere, the skunk sneezed. Like an idiot. And it was the dumbest sneeze that you have ever heard. 

It was one of those sneezes that makes you think, “there is no way that skunk sneezes like that all the time. How? How could it be? A sneeze that silly? All the time? No way, not buying it.” 

It was a funny little sneeze, it made everyone laugh. 

Even the skunk laughed. The skunk knew he had a sneeze that others had described to him as “among the absolute dumbest and weirdest sneezes they had ever encountered” so all the laughter was nothing new to the skunk. In fact, if the skunk was being honest with himself, he kind of liked all the attention he got from it. 

The silly sneeze surprised everyone and for a moment, they were all together, again. The approaching darkness was halted, even if for just a moment. 

And as they sat together, and as they rested together, and as they laughed together, they started to feel something. They couldn’t quite describe what was happening but they could feel it. It was like a fluid. A fluid that was made of light. Gradually rising within themselves, starting from the bottom of their heels and rising, rising, slowly rising, surrounding each muscle, each organ, each bone, each cell with an energy. An energy that was all their own and shared amongst all. And as they felt this feeling together, the group began to stir. They began to stand, together. They began to rise, together. 

And they remembered, to keep going. 

Because one day, either far in the future or maybe even tomorrow, or maybe even today... 

One day would be the last day that they had to keep going. 

One day, when they were tired, and they sat to rest, they wouldn't feel the darkness chasing them. They could sit, and they could breathe, and they could drink their gimlets, and the children could play, as they finally rested and lived in the light they marched towards. 

Because one day, will be the last day and it will all have been worth it.