Fleeting Sensation
Shooting an arrow is easy. Draw the string with an arrow, then release it. It is done.But the arrow missed the target. Drawing is difficult without posture. The string hit a bit of the forehand, and now the part hurts, the skin turned red. Draw another one, this time mind the bowstring, and actively try to aim it. A hit. 2 points, but it was an actual hit.But the shoulders are dead tired. Both hands still shaking with pain from holding the suspension for so long. The stamia left can not afford to draw another one, and even if the recovery is complete, the three fingers of index, middle, and ring can't take the pressure of the bow string again with just how purple they looked.Back to basics. Archery seems easy- get into a stance and performs a chain of action, then every arrow will hit 11, or a 10+ depending on which rules are used. Today, tomorrow, and forever more, do it until perfected, and push it to the point beyond limits.But, performing it perfectly and constantly once, twice, then thrice... Perfect is a simple word- that doesn't mean that its easy to achieve."Hey, let us go somewhere nice after this, you have been practicing for 2 straight days already."A 7. A little more to the left."... Fine. A bow is drawn for too long, then left only its snapped pieces."Hit, a 10. "Haha talking riddles again huh? Well, that makes you, you. That's what I like about you... Ah, besides other things too, don't take it wrong!"Another hit, a 9, too much left."Shut up idiot. Don't forget the competition is on my birthday too, be sure to show up!"Right hand on the bow, left hand drawing the string... or rather, the arrow on the string, back to the cheek. Steady on the breathing rhythm, shoulders kept lined up while maintaining a straight posture. Aim with one eye, a little above the bullseye. "We... are so sorry..."-!With the holding force gone, tension was released from the bow, with its string snapped back into to bow limbs, hitting the badly placed forearm on the way. Missed. The arrow hits the straw wall behind the target, with signs showing that it has flown in a spiral route instead of an arc. The fault came from the interrupted breathing sequence, leading to the posture being broken and the right hand holding the bow moving unexpectedly. A newbie's mistake.I gasped. The burning sensation from the pain on the skin, even with protective equipment, add in with fatigues and an overwhelming amount of information from the senses coming back, and all falls on me with the force of a thousand waves crashing.I collapsed on the floor. The whole lower half of the body is paralyzed, while the upper lagged, still trying to move but with no strength left. The flow of time seems like it has started to move again.Rain falls heavily on the brick roof. My ears are still ringing with the words of the persisting one.Cold. Hot. A little of both, mixed in with the itch from hair that has become sticky due to sweat. Waves of heat run from all limbs back into the body, the heart beats fast, and the chest moves rapidly in response to the uncontrolled breath trying to fuel the body with air.Dry. Salty. Those are sweats on the lips. A little stinky too.My eyes opened. Bland roof texture, with a grayish light scale. I push my upper body up to see the target from afar.One in 8 to 9, most are in the 9 or 10 points zone, but none are in the 10+ today.Clear the mind, clear the heart, but it seems like I couldn't have done that. Not now, not anymore.Ah... only if this pain can just take over the mind. No more despair, no more loss. The eyes can look straight, and see the center of the target clearly, not seeing the same face over and over every time the string is drawn. The heart kept calm, pumping perpetually, unchanging for a hundred years, not dropping beats or jumping from a temporal stimulation. The mind... the mind...My eyes are hot. I can't see... I... I have to move.I walked into the unroofed part of the yard. Rain, o' heavy rain, cold tears of the sky, please wash away these sensations. Ah... It is no longer hot. But the mind can't be cleared, and the heart cannot stop pounding loudly in the chest. O' why can't I clear you out of this mind, even when you are now just a burning image of the past??? A fleeting memory, but ever persisting, even for a moment???Breath in. Hold.Breathe out, push the chest in, and clear the lungs. With that, slow the heartbeat, fasten the mind, and sharpen the sight. Entering a state of calmness. Meditation. Push out all those variables.I can see it clearly now. Through all of these drops, there is a curtain. When it is drawn, the blue, deep, mysterious dome will appear. After the rain, the sun will shine. Then after drawing the bow, the arrow will aim for the heart. There will be no more sensation, no more thrill. If the door to the house itself is closed, there will be no one coming in, making warms, there will be no one going out, leaving losses, then, it will never be broken again...Rain on the earth, tears of the sky, o' please for just a moment, hide the pain of this mind, 'cause after all of the whiles have passed, there is only the shell to be crashed.
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