I stood at the edge of the cliff looking at the sea. Having run out of breath after the two mile stretch just covered, I dragged myself all the way up, to the edge of the jagged rock-face. As I bent down, I could see fierce waves crashing against the shore, raging and deafening, my face wet with the mist spraying on me.
To tell you the truth—this is the farthest that I could go—not a step more. No. Not even to save my life. I had reached my limit.
For years, I have been used to chasing boundaries—I have always pushed myself to climb higher, sometimes, dive deeper or run farther. Each time I manage to reach a goal, it has melted into another. You could say, it was more like a mirage, pulling me ahead.
They called me ambitious. I called it hunger.
Today, the weight of all that felt utterly unbearable. I stood transfixed, almost as if paralyzed by my own inertia, frozen and fixed to the ground, where I stood. Below me, the cliff wasn’t just a rock—it was my own reflection. The point where striving meets stillness.
And suddenly, it dawned on me that the limits aren’t just lines to cross—they are thresholds to respect.
I closed my eyes and listened to the ocean’s rhythm. And there, thousands of miles away from where I started, I could hear voices coming from far…the ocean was whispering truths I had ignored for too long:
“You are enough. You were always enough.”
I turned away from the edge, with steady but measured steps.
I could hear a voice telling me that I need not leap to prove my worth to the world. For the first time, I learned to set my sights not on conquering but on being—being myself, just as I am.
Not until many months later, did I learn that some limits weren’t meant to be broken. Some were meant to hold you safe, so you could just be.
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Joining Vinitha Dileep for her Fiction Monday. The prompt for this edition is ‘Limit’.
What a beautiful piece of writing, Esha! Love the wisdom you’ve conveyed in a few short paragraphs.
Thank you so much, Shinjini. Glad to know you enjoyed reading it. 🙂
This is such beautiful writing, Esha. Such a wealth of wisdom distilled into it. And so relatable too. Looking forward to more brilliant stuff from you in 2025.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Corinne! I’m so glad it resonated with you. 🙂
This was so so good Esha. Such a reassuring piece of writing. Saving this one up for multiple re-reads.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Tulika! Means a lot. 🙂
Esha, I am completely blown away reading your story. It is brilliant. The final lines are truly captivating – some limits weren’t meant to be broken. Some were meant to hold you safe, so you could just be. Mindsruck!
Thanks a ton, Anamika! It’s very encouraging to hear such wonderful words of appreciation when one starts writing fiction with oodles of self-doubt. So glad you liked it, Anamika. 🙂
Wow! This is a brilliant piece, Esha. I read it multiple times, and each time I discover a different perspective. You’ve packed layers of wisdom in this passage.
I’m so glad you wrote this and decided to share. Thank you, Esha. 💛
Thank you so much, for sharing such an inspiring prompt, Vinitha! I loved the prompt and started writing right away, but I was almost not publishing it because it was way past the deadline. Glad you nudged me on to get it out. So happy that this resonated with you as well. Thanks for the kind words. 🙂