A day in Seoul

 2019 was a difficult year.

It was a difficult year for me too.

Indeed, it was a difficult year for everyone on the surface of this planet; it epitomized human alienation.

Those who know me do not quite believe I am not a sociable person; at least this is how I think. Many believe social togetherness is important and unavoidable, vital for the sustenance of a team, a community, a country or even a species.

After one whole exhaustive and sorrowful year, I decided to take a few days off to Seoul on my own. I bet I might have upset some people, but I needed that break, not for any purposes; just a break from the continuation of life at that moment. That was the first solo journey for more than twenty years.

The trail traveled

29 August 2020 after a long mental struggle at McDonald’s, I stuck to the plan I made the night before.

Thinking that some solitude into the countryside could soothe my soul and clear my vision, I headed up the hill through a run-down village whose people did not like the passing by of hikers who seldom respected villagers had their own life too.

The tide of hikers had long gone at 10:15am and the path was quiet but the heat was building up fast. Deep into the village, I froze at the hearing of the distant barking of a dog that was echoed by another one from the left. Damn! I made the wrong decision to start late and missed the crowd!