Tuesday, July 2, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 28
by Angel S.
My being would whirl from right to left in a chaotic motion as I woke into this plane. When I hit the ground and stood, I scavenged what knowledge from my environment: cold, alone, dark, and accumulating fear. But I wouldn’t let those fears best me, no. I wandered at a steady pace for some time, and I couldn’t tell for how long. Further into my walking my body weakened, or maybe I grew tired, but whatever the cause… my movements became heavy. That’s when the panicking took hold of my mind, forcing me to run until I dropped onto this field, as if a large beast pounced on me.
Helpless, I knew this meant the end had come. I held my ground between the thought of Death and continuing to thrive on with my life. To hell with Death, I thought.
Supernatural cause or prey to the Damned, I had everything to win and lose: a child, a woman I loved, a promising future in my grasp. So I turned to my inner strength to claw at my escape, never to peer behind me of what followed. And rewarded for my vigor, I grew at least 24 feet tall, able to scour all horizons. I smiled, and then laughed when the heaviness no longer held me in place, able to roam free from all obstacles. Stomping wherever and however I pleased, a creature with no comparison.
My mistake soon revealed itself though.
Being large gave me an abundance of arrogance that masked as confidence, thinking myself unreachable due to my height. Yet, my size fooled me into a trap: I grew while the world is still larger than I. No crowns or recognition could change the Truth, yes, I learned the worst way possible: realizing that my size had not changed at all… small, I remained small.
“Come”, whispered Death, she stood one step behind me.
I stayed in place, eyes closed.
“Come”, said Death.
Clenching my fist and grinding my teeth, I stayed.
“Come!”
I refused in silence. A screeching behind me shuddered my spine, and I heard a roaring flame in the field behind me where Death once stood. I opened my eyes to see it: a trail of embers and ash leading me somewhere else. Pure instinct, I ran on the trail until I met the end, and there I found a cliff over an ocean. I still had much to learn.
