Post by Fuckin' A on Jul 25, 2019 19:48:43 GMT -5
It's been a long journey to this lonesome country road. You chased rumour, corralled whispers, and blackmailed hope. You followed the signs no matter where they led. And where did they lead you? You remember a merchant from a few towns back; some nameless village where life was simple. He was a portly fellow with a crooked smile. He told you whispers of a road that only appeared when the sun kissed the horizon. When the sky turned red and the crows... crowed. All in search of one thing that will make you whole. The thing you crave. The thing you need.
You stumble upon it. You can't believe your eyes. It's... completely ordinary.
A dirt road that twists beyond the pines, into the ever encroaching dark.
Do you turn back, or do you push forward? It's been so long and... maybe just a little rest...
No!
You push onward. You stride confidently with your chin held high and your heart full with a song. It's enough to beat back the shadows as you draw your lantern, ready to light the oil when the sun dips below the horizon. But it doesn't. For some reason, as you walk forward with no sound but the crunch of dirt beneath your heavy feet, you realize that time seems to have played hooky. It can be found nowhere. You're sure that if you waited a thousand years, that the light would never diminish. That it would always filter through the pine trees casting the lush grass in shimmering gold. No matter. You press on.
After some time, though how much you do not know, you come upon it. It's nothing more than a rickety old shack. You walk the circumference of that place, wondering how someone might get in or out. There is a door in the back, but it's too small for any man to walk through. The front is likewise without an entrance. And that's when you remember. Back when this journey began...
You pull a small bottle from your satchel. It is unlabelled and a dark liquid swirls within. You were told by legend and superstition that to drink this elixir was to see a world of possibility. To leave this dull place behind and enter a realm of imagination. Seeing no other alternative, you pop the cork and down the drink. It tastes like earwax.
The world swims out of focus. You think you're falling, but you're standing still. Things without shape or explanation swirl by your head. Soon you regain consciousness, and see that you are now the same size as the door to the shack. You walk toward it, reach for the handle, hesitate, and then grab a firm hold. It responds to your touch. It opens. You walk inside.
And inside is the wonder you have been searching for. Your heart bursts at the sight of it. Through welling tears in your eyes, you notice a stout man with bulging eyes and a hunchback. He's even shorter than you are. He must be the proprietor.
He waddles up beside you and asks in a rough, warm voice: "what do you see?"
You stumble upon it. You can't believe your eyes. It's... completely ordinary.
A dirt road that twists beyond the pines, into the ever encroaching dark.
Do you turn back, or do you push forward? It's been so long and... maybe just a little rest...
No!
You push onward. You stride confidently with your chin held high and your heart full with a song. It's enough to beat back the shadows as you draw your lantern, ready to light the oil when the sun dips below the horizon. But it doesn't. For some reason, as you walk forward with no sound but the crunch of dirt beneath your heavy feet, you realize that time seems to have played hooky. It can be found nowhere. You're sure that if you waited a thousand years, that the light would never diminish. That it would always filter through the pine trees casting the lush grass in shimmering gold. No matter. You press on.
After some time, though how much you do not know, you come upon it. It's nothing more than a rickety old shack. You walk the circumference of that place, wondering how someone might get in or out. There is a door in the back, but it's too small for any man to walk through. The front is likewise without an entrance. And that's when you remember. Back when this journey began...
You pull a small bottle from your satchel. It is unlabelled and a dark liquid swirls within. You were told by legend and superstition that to drink this elixir was to see a world of possibility. To leave this dull place behind and enter a realm of imagination. Seeing no other alternative, you pop the cork and down the drink. It tastes like earwax.
The world swims out of focus. You think you're falling, but you're standing still. Things without shape or explanation swirl by your head. Soon you regain consciousness, and see that you are now the same size as the door to the shack. You walk toward it, reach for the handle, hesitate, and then grab a firm hold. It responds to your touch. It opens. You walk inside.
And inside is the wonder you have been searching for. Your heart bursts at the sight of it. Through welling tears in your eyes, you notice a stout man with bulging eyes and a hunchback. He's even shorter than you are. He must be the proprietor.
He waddles up beside you and asks in a rough, warm voice: "what do you see?"