Erase

A point of reference. A rallying point, an X marked on a map, a set of coordinates - the place to which you will return or hope to arrive at some future time. There has been, will be, something waiting for you there. 

A photograph of someone kept in your wallet, in a locket, on your phone, or preserved carefully in your mind's eye may serve a similar purpose. 

But who are you without these things? What will you do when there is no one waiting for you anywhere? Where will you go when no place represented on any map has meaning to you?

I dreamed of walking up over the top of a mountain at night. Once over the crest, I could see the glow of a campfire against the rock walls below. I knew that in a few minutes I would emerge from solitary darkness into a community of light. It was just a glimpse, but it felt like coming home. A sacred beautiful feeling. That was a long time ago.