Enveloped in the comforting void, Path drew her knees to her chest, the vast nothingness an embracing cocoon. Safe, warm, protected. She allowed her mind to accept a simple thought, awareness. She touched her ankle and felt the beating of her heart, felt her hand on living skin. A resonate hum tickled her ear. Eyes open, she squinted through the darkness finding a tiny golden light to focus upon. Path drew in a deep breath, held it and released. In tones hushed and small, she dared to speak, “I am here.” The words dissipated yet they were heard.
The golden light flashed and caught her attention. Path unfolded and reached towards the light. “Too far” she thought. She let her hand drop to her belly. The light pulsed again. Her heart beat faster as the beacon sent waves of gold in a steady rhythm. She calmed her racing heart. The light slowed in its display. “Curious, this pretty gem” she mused.
“You see beauty here my little one?” Path questioned the source of the voice. “Yes, yes…you are not alone in this sanctuary. I give you credit my Dear, these walls are indeed complete,” the voice answered Path’s unasked question.
“My walls are strong. I build them well.” Path squinted at the light. “State your business and move on.”
The voice deepened, the light crept closer. “Walls are for the ones that see them little one. I chose not to.”
The beginnings of fear rose in Path. “This is my place, she thought. None can enter. You are not real.” Path tried to move away from the light. There was nothing to push against, nowhere to go. The enveloping void did not yield an escape.
Cackling laughter echoed from the light, “Oh yes. The words of such a wise soul. Real? I am here. Do you not hear and feel my presence?”
The laughter shocked Path into realization. “Soothsayer!” She felt for her ring. Bare skin. The golden light stopped. “How do you follow me?” Path questioned. “Why do you taunt me so?” Path kept her vision on the light. It’s pulsing quickened. The intensity of the light concentrated and grew. Path dared a glance around her. The blackness, the light, her own being was all she perceived. She counted the pulses as they fired. One…two...three, again and again the pace increasing. “Answer me” she spoke to the void. Her own voice was sucked into the nothingness without substance. “Answer” she shouted.
The light hesitated. Path assumed a defensive stance watching and waiting. The gentle pressure of her cocoon increased. She found it hard to draw a breath. All stilled around her. She smiled. The light shot towards her. It’s golden glow an arrow to her heart. The light impacted and surrounded Path, blinding her to all.
“Oh little one, how you have fallen” the Teller teased Path. “Light is hope and an eternal spring,” the voice mocked. “Do you not enjoy my golden light? It was a gift from you.”
The unseen scar on Path’s wrist began to throb. She tore at the hand that held her. Fingernails dug deeper as she struggled yet she did not relent in her fight for freedom. The voice spewed sickly laughter. The smell of flowers, too strong overwhelmed Path. The light burned her eyes. The nails tore her wrist. With all her strength that remained, Path screamed.
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