I had been submerged in a pool of thick, all-consuming blackness
since time unknown, moving in and out of a surreal unconsciousness, etched with
bits of life and snippets of moments long past. My gods had clearly abandoned
me, but the lady whose face I’d first seen eons ago entered my desolation at moments,
providing some small semblance of hope and sustenance within the molevolant
blankness that enshrouded me. Days, months, years, upon years, upon years
passed as I floated somewhere between life and death with little understanding
and no final decision on either. Until one day…the earth shook.
It was just a night, or two, or three ago, I’m not sure really, but I
can now recall it in great detail - the desperate sound of my first breath
sucked into my lungs, the rapid hammering of my heart against my chest, and the
total confusion and unsettling dizziness of coming out of such an immense, deathlike
trance. And amongst all this, the earth continued to tremble and beat against me. Pieces of rock struck my face and body from above, and my mind began to register the rumbling of rocks, breaking away and falling to the ground; then a wrenching motion beneath me was followed by a loud and thunderous shattering of stone. I was almost thrown from where I lay.
Then, as rapidly as it had begun, everything ceased – the sounds, the
violence, the fury, the quaking. I finally dared to crack open my eyes but was
still met with total and unending darkness, a darkness so complete that my mind
began playing tricks on me, issuing forth bright flashes that gave no warmth,
nor did they allow me any discernible vision. Without knowing it, I had been
grasping the sides of the platform where I lay so firmly that my fingers ached.
I released them and slowly brought my hands up close to my face, but no matter
how hard I stared, I saw nothing – no movement, no fingers, nothing.
My breath quickened. Panic set in and overwhelmed me. I had no idea
at that moment who I was, where I was, or what had happened to me. I simply
remained still and reticent, unable to think or act rationally. A few more
moments passed – a few more breaths deeply inhaled – then I knew I had to move.
I had to do something.
It was unbelievably difficult. Every muscle, every joint, even my
skin screamed from the pain of immobility, but I persisted and finally rose to
a sitting position. I was sweating from the effort and felt weak and shaky. I
didn’t know if I could continue, but knew I must. I again gathered my strength
and swung my legs over the edge of the platform. Then I scooted forward, not
knowing how far it was to the floor below. I felt around for something to drop
over the side and found two items. One seemed to be some type of head
adornment, possibly a crown, the other, a small ring. Curious. Then I dropped
the ring and could tell that the floor was only a short distance away. I
prepared to lower myself off the platform by first hitching up the long, thin
cotton garment that inconveniently hung down to my ankles. Turning over, I
lowered my feet over the side very slowly and hung on to the opposite edge of
the platform. I couldn’t quite reach the floor with my feet and knew that I had
to let go. I didn’t have the strength to control my fall. I felt my arm hit the
crown as I fell, causing it to strike the floor with a sharp, metallic sound. I
landed with a thud, knocking the breath from me, and lay still until the
muscles in my chest relaxed enough to allow me to breathe comfortably again.
Whatever energy I’d had at the beginning of all this had almost
entirely left me. There was no way I had the strength to stand, so I started
crawling, cautiously reaching ahead with my hands to protect myself and feeling
my way forward. As I did, I caught my garment with my right foot and tore off a
piece of the hem. It didn’t concern me. I just needed to find a way out of this
terrible blackness.
I could tell from the sounds echoing from wall to wall that I must be
in a chamber of some kind, probably underground, and I could only hope that it
had an exit. I moved forward on trembling limbs until my hands detected a wall.
I followed it for a short distance and discovered what I’d been looking for. There
was an opening. I felt around for something to throw and found a pebble. I
threw it into the opening, and it took some time to land. It had to be a
passageway. I crawled through.
I soon reached what felt like a stone stairway. I blew out the breath
that I’d been holding and after a short rest moved forward again, crawling
upwards. It was extremely steep for a stairway, but as I progressed, I was
rewarded. Just ahead of me was a slightly less dark shade of black. My heart
jumped, and my adrenaline kicked in, pushing me onwards. Reaching the end of
the stairs, I passed through and sat on a flat surface. The fresh, cool night
air shocked and invigorated me, and as my eyes adjusted, the moon’s silver rays
lit up my surroundings. I could see that I was sitting on the floor of a circular
room with two tall archways on opposite sides. I sighed and took a deep breath
then crawled to the one on my left. Through the opening, I could just see a
grassy knoll, a glorious night sky, and the moon that had lit my way. I immediately
fell to the ground and spread myself out on the luxurious grass, letting out a
heavy sigh of relief. It wasn’t long at all before I slept. When I opened my
eyes again, the sky and moon were gone, and I was shivering. A dense and
moisture-laiden fog had rolled in.
I could tell that I was stronger after the rest that I’d had, but
regardless of my newfound energy, I knew that I had to find a way out of this
fog or die, especially considering the flimsy cloth that covered my body. I returned
to my hands and knees and started moving again. The ground seemed to be
slanting downward, and soon my hands touched another slab of rock. I crawled
forward and found a second one, slightly lower. I was on another stairway, less
steep but much longer. It hurt my hands and knees to continue, but I did. When I
reached its end, I scrambled forward a few more feet and then fell over, exhausted
and completely spent. I curled up on the wet grass and closed my eyes. I knew
that I was done and that whatever was to happen now was not up to me. It was up
to the gods.
