by futilevariable
The alarm did ring, and so did my head, as I rose from a deep, dewy slumber. From this retreat of reality a dream, otherwise described as a child of my idle brain, sprouted into so vivid a vision throughout the nightly hours that I could only assume that I was awake. The vision was that of an unusual one, one I did not see wholly at first. Yet, as the dream floated on through my thoughts more and more, the meaning of it became all too clear.
Recalling that I stood at a lonesome road, deserted by civilized practice, save for a long, straight road appearing to be created out of concrete, this is where it all began. A voice then, amidst the darkness and fog that surrounded and enveloped me, whispered to me, "Hurry, hurry, you fool! Do not hesitate to make your choice. Seize this moment! But, hark! In your decision be wary, for both roads are none too kind." At those final haunting words - which still reverberate in my head to this day - the voice drifted away, dissolving into the dark abyss. The road ahead of me, now split into two equal parts, beckoned me forth, and as I reached the fork of the paths, a sign appeared before me. The newly wrought post read "CARPE DIEM", with the message etched in a crimson hue. Almost without thought, my mind drifted to the right path, urging my physical self to follow suit. I soon gave in to the temptation that the note upon the sign read, and fresh footsteps can now today be seen treading the right path.
Blackness soon overcame my sight. Had I made the wrong decision? Is this my deathly passage? Yet, I could not, though odd as it sounds, release the burden my eyes set before me. Try as I might, a figure was always ahead of where I now stood. The figure then proceeded to sit at a rather small table. At the figure's right, a hand grasped a spoon that before his visit had been left alone. But as the fingers curled around the silver of this spoon, my very vision blurred and dulled, yet only for a mere moment. Then, almost immediately, the image of the table appeared again before me. However, the figure was now gone, yet not completely vanished from this picture. For now at my feet were the hands of the dark character that, just a moment ago, sat, innocent and unknowing of my presence. With spoon in mouth, he was still, never moving, and appearing quite ominous. Startled and surprised, my eyes caught the back of this shadow, and I now stared in fright, for the head of the figure now turned. From his lips he spat out the spoon, and proceeded to avert his gaze towards me. A glare pierced into me so strong that I could not, even for one quick moment, look back at him. Gasping for breath, he continued his cold stare until he finally reached his last breath, and with it, a word soon reached my ears. Traitor. With confusion did I finally meet with his gaze, then, upon seeing the own horror he created in his pupils, down at my hands. The very same crimson hue that was seen on the sign was now dominant upon various spots of my fingers. And the knife, forever embedded in the shadow's back, is now covered, in blood.
