I'm walking up a mountain. It is steep. No curves--like the initial hump of a roller coaster without the luxury of a seat and pulley.
Lots of other people are ahead of me. Lots of people are coming down as well. We're all marching in two lines, up and down, like ants on a hill.
The path we're walking is clear. Just dirt and smooth gravel. The path is well beaten. There are trees on either side that arch overhead. It is a beautiful, lush tunnel of earth and green foliage. I am taken by it.
As far away as I am, I can just make out where the trees let out at the summit. A spot of blue sky gleams through the leaves like a railway lantern in the dead, black night. I am fatigued but determined to reach it.
People look at me strange as they pass on their way back down. I can't tell if they're disgusted by me or if they're exhausted. They have a look of troubled awe on their faces I cannot place. It is unsettling.
I can feel the leaves brush against my face and the path becomes more narrow the farther I go. Finally, after what feels like hours of trekking, I reach the top. I emerge from the tunnel and step out into a plateau. No trees. No dirt. Just green grass waving in the gentle breeze.
People shuffle around, making their way to the edge of this cliff we are on. They are looking at something, "oohing" and "awing". I cannot see what all of the interest is over. This is when I hear a small voice.
"Take my hand," the voice whispers. I can tell it is child. I turn to see a young girl in a yellow sundress holding out her hand. "Come. I'll take you," she says.
"What is this place?" I ask. She says nothing. She smiles and grabs my thumb with all five of her soft, white fingers. She is cold. I am cold as well, I realize. Panic strikes me. "Are we dead? Is this heaven?"
"Silly!" She laughs. "Now, look!" She is pointing towards the edge. I hadn't noticed that we were already there..
It is an ocean. But how? An ocean at the top of a mountain at the edge of a cliff? We are surrounded by it. It is too much to take in. I am so overwhelmed and amazed--my heart struggles to bear it. I feel my pulse in my throat and my head swims. Then, just before I wake I hear the girls voice once more.
"Stay or go?" She asks me.
.
-The End
