Darkness and Despair
You’re in a room, feeling trapped by the four walls that surround you. You see no way out, but how did you get in? You scramble around looking for an escape, frantically feeling at the walls while thoughts of despair and confusion dance around in your head. Everything you come to drives you deeper into the darkness that binds your mind. Your thoughts of despair come to the fore as more and more time passes without discovering an exit to your situation. As you scurry around still searching, claustrophobia sets in. You begin to panic and shout for help, but there is no one there to hear your cries. Then, you remember, there is always a way out. It’s nearly foolproof, but is only useable once. You scramble through your pockets to find something, anything, which may help. You frisk yourself to increase the odds of you finding something of use. At last! You find an old cutting blade in your breast pocket. Your best friend gave it to you, on that day long ago, on the day of the tragic accident. Convinced by fear and isolation, that blade is your one way ticket out of there.
Time appears to slow down as thoughts of your freedom trigger old memories; you and your friend playing in the meadow in the height of a summer, long since forgotten. Your wedding day between you and the one you loved, your first kiss as newlyweds and finally, the throw of the bridal bouquet. But as soon as that dull rusty blade meets your skin, your mind shatters. Only nightmares and negativity remain returning long buried memories to your eyes; being beaten as a child by your drunken adopted father, your frequent beatings at the hands of the school bullies and, worst of all, you re-live the moment when your parents were taken from you long ago. The only sound you hear is a deep, dark, evil laughter that clears your mind to black. You see a figure standing before you and as you try to get closer, the figure moves further away. You try to call out to it, but no sound leaves your lips. As you take time to look at the figure you conclude that it is your best friend, and as you catch up to it and spin it around to see its face you can confirm its identity. You see that it IS your best friend, but you can’t shake an unexplained eeriness that surrounds you like a cloud of smoke and engulfs you within it. Your friend smiles at you and tells you that you have nothing to fear. Soon you will be freed from your despair and anxieties, freed from your prison and a shining light will banish the darkness. All you have to do is one small, simple movement. Your trust and love for your long lost friend overpower the nagging feeling that tells you that something is wrong, and the feelings that invaded your personal space and infiltrated your mind are forgotten. Now comfortable, you know what to do. You draw the blade across your wrist and suddenly, everything turns sinister. What you thought was your friend transforms into an apparition. A pawn of darkness. A foot soldier in the army of “The Evil One”. As you try to stem the flow of blood from your self-inflicted wound, your mind relaxes and brings forth memories of your friend. You see your mother hold you as a baby while your father provides you with safety. You accept what you have done and you begin to submit to your fate. As more and more blood continues to flow from your severed vein you hear a loud, shrill scream and feel as if all of those who love you are giving you warmth and comfort in your final moments. You think you see your mother try to bind your wrist and apply pressure to hold back your blood flow, if only for precious little time. Your blood forms a pool around you. It flows outward and dissolves the darkened room that was once your prison and your coffin. You drift in and out of consciousness as a bright light shines through the black and stops time.
A spirit appears and tells you “It doesn’t have to end this way. Think of all the pain you will cause, just to relieve you of all of yours. You have much to learn, and I can offer you a second chance. You can either accept this as your destiny and become a painful memory in the minds of those who knew you, a shadow of what you used to be, a shadow that pledges its allegiance to “The Evil One”, or you can return to the moment where you put that blade to your flesh and slashed the thread of your life and carry on with your life. You could change the world if you carry on; your future is yours to make of it what you wish. You do that, and you defeat “The Evil One” in this battle for your soul. Now make your choice; do you choose life; the chance to fight another fight and rise to a greater glory? Or death; the final journey, the inevitable end?” As the last of your mortal strength leaves your weakened body, you make your choice. With a snap of her fingers, the spirit disappears and you are once again at that moment, just before you once chose to end your life. You return to the nightmarish illusion, armed with a newfound strength and belief in yourself. The apparition grins with anticipation as you were prepared to escape this hellish place on a one way trip. Everything feels different to you now; you question whether you did actually slit your wrist, as the ghost in front of you appears not to know of the divine intervention that brought you back here.
You stand defiant to the darkness and throw the blade to the ground. It shatters like glass into dust and is blown away by a sudden whirlwind. The ghost screams as it resists the whirlwind, but is inevitable swept away. You look back over your life and cherish everything and everyone you hold dear. As this love fills your heart, you emanate a light brighter and more powerful than any you have ever seen. It seems vaguely familiar to you, it is almost divine in its luminosity, but as the last of the darkness begins to fade you hear a deathly voice that you have never heard before but it sounds weirdly familiar to you. “You may have been rescued this time, but next time you shan’t be so lucky! Your soul has my name written on it, but evidently now is not the right time to claim it. I shall wait for you here and one day, I will return to take what is rightfully mine” You step forwards to a mysterious door left behind by the darkness. You pause to admire its ornate design as you place your hand on the doorknob. You twist the doorknob gingerly and, not knowing what lies on the other side, step through the doorway. “Welcome back, this is the first step to a better, stronger you. The journey is long and arduous and the terrain is rough and hard. But at the end of your epic adventure you will find peace and everything your heart truly desires, for that is your destiny.”
