Journey

Theseus set out on a journey through the Labyrinth, carrying Ariadne’s thread, so he could find his way back home again.
And so I too, set out on a journey carrying the life saving thread.
To find my way home on the way back.
I set out on a journey.
Hope filling my heart.
Fire of Knowledge blazing in my eyes.
Deep conviction and vision of Truth.

I set on a journey.
Carrying a thread, so I could come back home again.
But it is not a thread at all that I went out with, but a chain.
A heavy iron chain which I hold onto tight now, with bloodied fingers.
It is heavy, this chain, but I hold on to it as tight as I can.
Not letting go.
For it is the only piece of home I have with me on this journey.
Without it, how will I know where I came from?

And this is not a Labyrinth at all, you see.
There are no walls, no monster to defeat at the end.
Just endless open space.
Unending fields, wherever one sets the eyes.
Limitless horizons.
Sun never rises or sets in this land.
It is shrewd in perpetual fog and twilight.
Wretched cold winds of despair.
Steel heavy skies.
Never ending fields of dull grass.
No place to hide or rest.

I walk holding on tight to my chain.
The only solid thing I can hold onto.
My hands are open wounds.
I am cut and bruised all over.
Clothes torn and filthy.
Bloodied sores.
How long am I walking?

I see a reflection in muddy brown waters and I don’t recognize the haggard face staring back at me.
Matted hair, sad hollow eyes, wrinkled face.
I had fire in my eyes once.
This surely ain’t me, is it?
There is no fire in these bleak eyes gazing back at me.
Who are you? I ask.
Who are you? The drawn face asks me back.
Wind picks up and carries the question in the air.
Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? It echoes like a steel screech of laughter in this mad emptiness.
I do not know the answer to this question.
I knew it once.
Long time ago I knew who I was.
Surely one cannot forget who they are!
Who are you? Where do you go?
Where do I go?
I do not know.
I startle.
The only thing I know for certain is the heavy chain in my hands.

They say - drop the damn chain, you see.
Drop it and set yourself free.
Have you lost your mind? I ask. Laughing like mad at the gray skies.
Scaring off a pair of vultures who keep me company.
Who will I be without this chain?
It is the only piece of home I have.
The last shred of me.
Of me!

I give up.
I can’t go anymore.
I give up.
I resign.
I quit.
Again.
For the God knows how many times already, I give up.
I want to lie down in this endless field of grass and never move again.
Let the oblivion finally swallow me.
I do not want a thing anymore.
I am tired.
I do not know why I left and where I go.
I can’t.
Please!
But I keep going.
Mind numb.
Everything numb.
Defeated. 
Hollow inside.
Dead.
In this dead land.
Carrying my chain with bloodied fingers.

Reviews

[J.A]

Wow! You hooked me from the first lines with the Greek Mythology allusions. I found it interesting that you stated their were no monsters in the end, and yet the speaker sees their own reflection as if they were facing their own demons. Also the idea of the never ending vast space almost makes the reader feel more hopeless than a mere labyrinth with a dead-end. I hope there is a part 2 to this where the hero/heroine can overcome their trial and make it home. =)

[Lily Sage]

Thank you!
I hope so too, believe me