The darkness surrounds me, as I feel the evening draw near. The room is weaved into perpetual darkness. The only source of light, a dimming window.

I feel my body aching, as it lies on the wooden floor. 

How long have I been laying here? Turning sore upon this tiled surface. 

I feel my stomach rumble, as the hunger whines once more. 

How long have I been starving? Depriving my body of its basic needs.

I feel my mind churning, conjuring the most grotesque thoughts imaginable. 

How long have I been deluding? Believing that I am still sane? 

    I hear the door creak open, as a cooling breeze sweeps the room. I turn my head to a pitch black doorway. It’s dark, but I just can barely see.

There are shadows in the doorway. Swaying back and forth. 

“Are you the one who calls us? The requester of a darkened convoy?” 

The shadows gaze with deep green eyes. Pinning me to the floor where I lay. 

“Have you, well prepared? To begin a journey that will lose you everything?”

The shadows step forth into the room. Gazing down, at my still unmoving body.

“Are you certain, this time? That a new start will end any differently?”

    My eyes take to the ceiling fan, watching it spin in a definite direction. The room grows hazy and blur, but my eyes won’t even blink. A sigh escapes my chest.

I ask a question of regret. Projecting, from within. 

“Would it matter, any differently? Had I chosen another choice?” 

I ask a question of worth. Speaking, from experience.

“Is this body such a vile tapestry? That it won’t even know, the slightest bit of color?”

I ask a question of anguish. Speculating, from fear. 

“Had I really, been so mistaken? For seeking shelter, under the burning rain?”

    The shadows, step closer. They surround me, as three distinct figures. Kneeling beside me, looking down, they usher the vaguest answers. 

A shadow with a deep man’s voice. Places a hand, upon my shoulder. 

“You may lie here, all you wish. But lying, here, is all you’ll be.” 

A shadow with a gentle woman’s voice. Runs a hand, through my hair.

“You can think it through, all you wish. But closer through it, you will never get.” 

A shadow with a sweet girl’s voice. Rests a hand, upon my chest. 

“You might not be, where you wish. But if not here, then where?” 

    Their words confuse me more. But I hear them, for what they are. I shake my head, and refute the things they’ve said.

Denial, in my voice. I ask of the eternity that awaits me. 

“What lies beyond the garden? The Hellish Orange Inferno, or the Gleaming Palace of White?”

Spite, in my tone. I question the reality that befalls me.

“Am I to never know it? Life, beneath the sun beside them?”

Impatience, in my words. I demand the sentence for my sins.

“Are you the emissaries of Death? Is this what the gravity of my actions have earned me?”

    The shadows exchange vague glances before standing up. They walk back to where they entered, their footsteps, airy thuds. They turn to impart me words.

One shadow spoke with strength. Then disappeared, through the open doorway. 

“I am the shadow of Reason. This garden, will bloom once more.” 

One shadow spoke with conviction. Before stepping out too.

“I am the shadow of Love. This lingering pain, is proof that you have found me.”

The last shadow spoke with affection. Then closed the door behind them.

“I am the shadow of Hope. And I trust, you will find us again.”

The door creaks shut, and I am alone once more.

The night, closes around me.

I await tears, that do not come.