Journey

Something I wrote for an assignment in school. Hopefully you'll have an enjoyable time reading. Feel free to ask any questions in the comment section.

Why do we wake up when the sun provides us with its first rays of the day, and why do we go to bed in sync with its last? As I sit and enjoy my tea while scrutinizing the sunset, these thoughts swirl around me. A self-satisfied smile slowly spreads across my lips as my greedy psyche once again pushes my focus to my inner world. It's time for another journey, I suppose.

The first time was as soon as a couple of months ago when I was just heading out onto the streets of Athen in time for my routined afternoon walk. As I bent down to retrieve my sandals, something wavered in my periphery, but when I focused on it, it was no longer visible, whatever it was. I allowed neither feeling nor thought to linger on the incident this time.

The second time was about two months ago, just before the fourth Olympiad. I was dozing in the shade, enjoying watching the seamless flow of people when a figure suddenly appeared in the midst of the crowd, right in focus. It towered over everything around it. Not even the most well-built and sturdy gladiator had reached its shoulder, even if they stood on their tiptoes. At this time, it resembled a human in form, but the resemblance ended there. It was as if its existence distorted the surroundings around its empty form. It was as if it held all the weight in the universe but at the same time existed in total weightlessness. I sat there in amazement and studied it in horror and wonder. How is it that I am the only one who sees it? But it was there, I could swear to it. It stood there, I sat here. Neither moved from the spot. Its contour constantly wavering, as if struggling to maintain the shape of a human. I felt it place me in its focus, just as I had placed it in mine. An immensely heavy silence swept over me. In the same moment that I gasped for breath, the shape expanded until everything became pitch black and infinitely void. The next moment, everything was back to normal, as if I had just emerged from underwater after being drowned for several days.

After the second time, the empty form began to visit me more and more frequently, in many different forms. Everything from a sundial to a human and even in forms that I had never seen before. Once, it took on a form that could best be described as a gigantic mechanical bird, at another time it covered the entire sky in its void like emptiness, darker than the darkest night.

When the existence of the shape became tolerable, something changed, always keeping me on my toes, or perhaps because it felt it was time to escalate as I was ready for the next step; only the shape itself knows the truth. At first, it began to come closer and closer, now it can exist wherever it wants in my field of vision. Then it began to change "color" in sync with my mood, now it is one with it. Finally, it took on any shape I asked it to, whether consciously or unconsciously, and it reflected me. The shape became a myriad of different colors with a deep blue undertone even before my lips opened, and it answered me, to my surprise but at the same time not surprised as before, right in my head, telepathy. The sweet, strange but at the same time raspy voice sounded:

"Well, what do you think? Are you me, or am I you? Who are we, we are who, who is who, everyone is one and one is all. Truth becomes falsehood and falsehood becomes truth, for the true truth is beyond sight, beyond touch, beyond your world. So believe what you want, believe what you all want. Make truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth, make truth into falsehood and falsehood into truth. Make falsehood into truth and truth into falsehood, dance your hopelessly hopeful dance and enjoy while you can. My only purpose is to make sure that you at least can control how you dance, and that's why I am your guide on this journey. "

Now as I sit here, I have complete control over my appearance and it has complete control over me, so a self-satisfied smile grows, even if I wanted to, I couldn't stop it. The appearance, now dressed in all possible colors, some without names, whispers in my ear. "Now that you have mastered your exterior, it's time to master your interior." At that moment, I knew it was time for a new adventure, in other words, a new journey.

Author's Note

I am most interested in hearing your theories regarding what the story is about. Since I tend to have an obscure vision that I am quite inexperienced in conveying.

Sidenote: It was originally in swedish (as it was an assignment) and I had chatGPT translate it to english for me so there might be something lost in translation.

Reviews

[FourLeafClover]

A very enjoyable read! I could tell from the first few paragraphs that the character is from Ancient Greece. I love the description of the "gigantic mechanical bird", as it does a good job of cementing the setting and creating a contrast to the modern day where most of us know the word for plane or helicopter. I am a bit confused by the second part. I can tell it's some sort of alien consciousness causing visions, but I can't tell if it goes deeper than that. The last paragraph also has some ambiguity-is the character now able to shapeshift or is it referring to being able to control their outward expressions of emotions? Though sometimes ambiguity is fun, so that's not necessarily a bad thing! Overall, I'm very intrigued, and I'm sure it will be taking up my thoughts for awhile.