Departure

Leaving a place is never easy. Despite the prevailing mood, there is always that undercurrent of uncertainty, one that we all experience when leaving a comfortable, familiar home on the path to somewhere new. What will we find when we get there? Will it be shabby, dingy, scary, unfriendly? What will the neighbours be like? Suppose we don't like where we've come, or something terrible happens to us on the way there? And more importantly, did we remember to pack that bloody toothbrush? Leaving is a difficult thing, because it can imply a sorrowful abandonment of a long-loved place, as well as joyful anticipation of what lies in store ahead.

The two persons leaving now are just such an example of this principle. One of them is full of the joys of discovery, looking to make his mark in territories unexplored and dreaming of the possibilities. The other is striving not to look back upon the place she abandons, lest the awful sight stir any doubt or second thoughts in her mind.

Try and see which is which.