The Man Upstairs

The Man Upstairs and My Destiny

My legs did not fail me as I climbed what seemed to be The Endless Stairs to the Unknown. Driven by hope and Freyor, I made a vow to not give up so easily. As easy as these stairs were, they were leading me on a journey that required patience and integrity, of which I must keep true to my word and heart.

Losing track of the time, my stomach unexpectedly complained. Ignoring its complaints, I pursued up the stairs, the small white rocks lighting my path through the passageway. There was a mildly warm climate while a source of wind whispered gently onto my skin, keeping it and my thermal body temperature balanced.

You can do this, I told myself. You are getting a step closer to finishing your journey.

Just as I thought my stomach would start consuming itself, I saw a glowing shape at the end of the passageway. I hurried my steps and found myself standing in front of a large door that seemed to be carved out of light itself. The eventide flare whispered its fingers in swirling contours and shaping rings that protruded from the inked entranceway. A golden knob exclaimed a reason of opening, and I turned its smooth sphere and pushed the door open.

I stepped into what was the largest room I had ever seen. The ceiling was taller than the store rooftop Freyor and I sat on every day, designed with a large dome roof that caved upwards in magnificent stature. The dome and largely varied walls were covered in mirrors. In fact, they seemed to look like mirrors themselves, shining magnificently from rays of sunlight that seemed to be leaking through the dome above. The room radiated and bounced light off its surface and into multiple directions, lighting the room on fire with eventide light. It shone so brightly it nearly blinded me, forcing me to squint to make out the objects through the light.

I walked into the room, perplexed at my wondrous discovery of a room that I didn't know existed. How could this magnificent room be outside the wall? Freyor had to know about this! He surely had not seen this sight before.

I stepped up to one of the mirror walls and stared speechless at the surface. I didn't have a reflection! There wasn't one.

I gasped. How could this be? Mirrors always reveal reflections – why didn't these?

I turned away from the mirror wall and studied the rest of the room. There were very little objects that indicated that this was a luxury place of rest. No furniture was set by the mirror walls; there were no bookshelves, beds, or lamp tables. Anything that indicated at all that this room was occupied was a small globe spinning slowly and hanging mystically on its own in the center of the room and a figure standing in front of the far mirror walls, his back facing me.

My eyebrows furrowed. Who was that?

As if hearing my unvoiced question, the figure turned around and faced me. I gasped, instantly, stashing my bad hand behind my back. The figure was a male, who was even more blinding than the sunlight rebounding off the mirror walls and ceiling dome. His posture underneath his crimson robe defined calm, and his expression shone with deep kindness and integrity. His facial features, I found, were calm to look upon, as if I could stare at him and never become uncomfortable or self-conscious under his gaze. Gentle power radiated in his rich brown eyes, and his mouth curled upwards in a smile as he regarded me with full attention.

Under this man's gaze, I suddenly felt emotions rush through my body as I tried to comprehend the complex feelings that registered the similar kind of love Freyor had shone for me. I did not feel lonely nor afraid; I felt rather peaceful and reassured warmth that tickled my muscles and tingled my bones. Slowly, I pulled my bad hand out from behind my back and in front of me.

The man spread his arms in a graceful sweeping gesture. "My dear, welcome."

I stammered. "M-me? H . . . have you been expecting me?"