imp of the mind

Joan is in the back of the ambulance, holding the hand of a young man who is slipping in and out of consciousness. While her physical body is unquestionably in the present - checking his vital signs and communicating the results to her partners - mentally she is stuck elsewhere. Her brain stumbles over the same thoughts again and again, making a firmly packed pathway out of the snowy recesses of her mind. By now the trail is worn smooth; there is no need for her to continue travelling along the path with her eyes open. It is so familiar that each branch softly brushing her side comes as no shock, and each curve of the trail is followed with premeditated ease. This is all Joan can know. Creating a new, unfamiliar pathway through the tall spruce trees of her mind is daunting and not to be contemplated.