In the light of a candle - The Roads

A Story by D.Y.Petkova

Hello and welcome. We are still on Mount Desert Island, Maine, and tonight I will tell you about the roads. Not the roads here, but The Roads. You have never heard of them ? Let me enlighten you...

Have you ever been on an empty road ? I am sure you have. No cars anywhere near, only barren landscape, maybe a few trees. And the sky. And when there, did you feel like you were somewhere else ? Somewhere not between this town and that down, but somewhere ... alien ? When nobody else is around you can not be sure of anything. You can scream and nobody would hear. You could go in one direction for days and nobody would see you. You would not meet a living soul and the time will melt together, leaving you in a dark limbo of endless landscape. Have you ever had this feeling ? I am sure you have.

Now imagine something for me. Imagine you had to go to your friend's house. She lives right outside of town and you have only about ten minutes of empty road on foot. You have walked this route thousands of times. You can probably walk it with your eyes closed. You know every single tree, every wildflower and every crack in the road. The landscape has become so familiar you do not even look at it. We all have one of those roads. The one you know like the back of your hand and do not even notice walking. Imagine being on a road like this. Ten minutes. That's all.

And after half an hour you notice that something is wrong. You know you only have ten minutes, but your watch says it's been more than thirty. And it feels like more than thirty. But you have been so deep in thought that you haven't noticed. And the road still looks the same. Of course, now you notice that it does not have the trees you know, but the landscape is the same. Some hills, some forests and endless even ground. The sun has not moved, there are no birds, the air is still. The world itself has stopped. So you keep walking. For hours and hours and hours. Not a single car in sight, nor a change in the view. Crisp, unmoving air and still grass. That's all. And then you notice something else. Your watch says it's been more than four hours but the sun has not moved. You are nowhere and your only companion is Time. And you know, you have all the time in the world. It may take a while, but you will feel like you are going insane. You will lose your grasp on reality and concept of time. It is not exactly the feeling that can be described only in French, but it is close. Some believe this is hell - the endless waiting for something to happen, for someone to show up, for a cloud to hide the sun.

Those are The Roads. They can be seen in every type of path you can imagine - mountain trails that lead to other unmarked trails and never allow you to see over the trees. Abandoned city streets that stretch into eternity. Deserted highways that end into the horizon. And all Roads are connected. Those passageways are hidden by thick fog and are impossible to find. You can't search for a gate. It may show itself to you or it may not. And almost in all cases the passage leads to a different Road.

Are there people who actually escaped ? Yes. Did they find themselves near the place where they entered the Roads ? No. Did they find themselves in the same time ? This is relative. When you have wandered for so long, you lose the concept of time. You have no way of knowing how long you have been walking. Nothing works on The Roads. All watched stop, no electronics work. But still, if it feels like it has been only a few days, but the calendar says years, who is right ?

The Roads are connected. Not only to each other, but to every roads, path, alley and trail. You can walk on your street and end up on a Road. You can run on a short forest path and end up on a Road. You can live your whole life without ending up on a Road. And you can live your whole life on a Road. Although it would not be exactly life, would it ?

So do something for me. Be careful. If you feel like something is watching you on an empty street, get out of there. Use the road you came from and do not wander. If you feel like the time has stopped and the air is still, try to leave and pray it is not too late. If the silence around you is so thick you can actually feel it, almost touch it, well, it is probably too late. The only advice I can give you - do not stop. Because The Roads are meant to be walked. They do not like people who try to be locals. And when you are on a Road, you are at its mercy. They are not merciful. Trust me.

Sleep well.