A tunnel of darkness lays before him as he walks along the dirt path hidden beneath overlapping trees. His parents told him and his siblings about the all mighty path growing up. Traditionally told to every child of age by his or her parents about its mysteries and where it's said to lead you, so that if the day came for you to walk it, you'd take honor knowing that, out of the hundreds of people to be chosen from, you were the special one.
Never did he think he'd be the one. After all only few get to experience the power it has to offer.
Despite all the good things he's heard a weight settles on his chest, the rising and falling between breathes, scarcely noticeable before, becomes unmistakable as he wipes his trembling hands on his jeans. He stops partway and turns just enough to see the light filtering in from where he entered. Deep blue skies beckoning him to come back. A war gives birth in his mind. He takes a step forward, stops, and puts a palm to his damp forehead.
He glances at the black hollow pit threatening to consume him. His desire to see what it has to offer takes control of his senses. He rolls his shoulders, stretches, then continues down the path wondering if anyone who entered ever came back, and if someone tried to come back out minutes after entering declaring they couldn't do it, what happened? If he turned around and walked back out there what would happen?
There were never any stories about that and curiosity gnawed at him as if a dog were chewing on his leg.
He had a long time to dwell on this idea for the stretch seemed endless. For hours he walks in what he thinks is a straight line. He can't tell. His mind so accustomed to light spins out of control when theres been none, not even a stray whisker seeping down through the branches and leaves. The only thing he has to go by is the feeling beneath his feet, it hasn't changed since the start so he mustn't have veered off, but his feet are beginning to ache and his throat feels like its going to crack.
He stops and lays down, sucking on his cheeks.
"They always said this path lead to greatness. Well where is it? Why haven't I reached it yet?" He hears nothing in return, complete silence.
He fingers the dirt, drawing patterns he can't see, until he feels he can walk again. He looks back to where he came from but finds no light at the end.
Shaking his head he continues forward hoping that what he was promised isn't much farther away.
"Come on! Where is it?! I'm tired! I'm hungry! I'm thirsty!"
He begins running, the little energy he has left is running out and after a few yards he trips over his own lame foot, hitting the ground in a fit of rage.
"Those liars!" He spits, curling into a ball. "They lied to me! They lied!" He pounds his fist into the hard ground, tears running down his cheeks. "What do I do?" After long moments of eery silence mixed with the sounds of his guttural sobs, he falls asleep.
When he awakes the first thing he hears is a gentle male voice off in the distance, "Get out of your own way."
"Who...who said that?" He looks around expecting to see someone or feel their presence.
No response comes.
He remains seated.
"Get out of my own way?" He waits. "What do you mean by that?"
When no response comes he sets off again, mumbling to himself, trying to figure out the meaning of the voices words. "Get out of your own way... who says those types of things?"
He keeps on the endless journey until he physically can't take another step. Never reaching what he desired the most or knowing the meaning behind the mysterious mans words.
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