I remember dreaming of being lost. Alone with no one in sight to help as I walked through a forest that, while seeming awfully familiar, didn’t draw enough of a recollection to allow me passage out. It was a beautiful area, filled with lavish and lush trees as the warmth of the sun kept me in high spirits. I called out to the wilderness hoping for a person or even an animal to hear me and give some sort of reaction, but there was nothing.
I did the only thing I could and began walking, going in a random direction. The forest had to end at some point, right?
I walked for what seemed like hours as a thick fog began to form itself around my vision and the sun crept its way back under the horizon. The trees that had once appeared so full of life slowly became gnarled and rotten, turning my peaceful walk into one of pure terror.
The fog became thicker and thicker as the night became colder and colder, piercing its way into my very soul and chilling me to the core. It felt as though my very insides were being frozen as every breath of fog allowed for a blast of ice to enter into my lungs.
The ice crept its way into my mind, my soul, my heart. The very essence of who I am was freezing. Soon, the very fabric of who I am would become frozen in time and no more.
I screamed out for help, for someone to save me or even recognize I still exist before I faded away, but every time I opened my mouth nothing came out but more fog. I fell to my knees just praying for it to all be over… I was so cold, and I wanted nothing more than to be warm… I needed to be warm, more than anything else in the world.
I gave up all hope, opening my mouth to allow legions of fog to swarm out from me and completely obscure my vision. I felt the pain of ripping wind tearing into every fiber of my being. This was it, and I came to terms with that. But it wasn’t for what seemed like days I felt this pain—no break, no reprieve, no death, just pain… it was so cold. Every piece of my body felt like it lost its function; I couldn’t take any more.
Then, from out of nowhere, solace.
I watched in wonder as a bright light came from underneath the ground, glowing brighter and brighter and hotter and hotter in time. Sweet warmth. It kept growing and growing as flames began to bring themselves through the cracks in the ground at my feet, eventually growing into a roaring wildfire, taking me from chilling cold to a pleasant heat I couldn’t help but move towards. I needed this warmth more than life itself.
The fire spoke to me with a voice not unlike that of my own mother:
“Hi there child, are you lost in the cold? Come and sit by the fire, I’ll keep you company.”
I moved closer and closer to the fire, basking in the warmth in its escape from the cold. I smiled at the flame as my eyes finally adjusted enough to look directly into the blaze.
As I looked into the depth of the flames, I was met with a sight that won’t be erased from my mind any time soon. Faces—thousands of them swirling in the flames, screaming out into the void, their voices combining into the roar of the fire.
The flames began to heat up to an unbearable level, but even though it was burning my skin, I couldn’t help but move closer. The fire spoke to me with a sinister tone, an amalgamation of angry voices screaming at me:
“Don’t you want to be warmed? It’s lonely out in the cold. Join us, or be stuck in the cold forever.”
As the intense burning pain hits me, it took all of my strength to just take a single step back. This isn’t salvation, but a new hell. I tried to turn and run, but my feet just couldn’t seem to move fast enough as the fire’s voice invaded the very confines of my mind:
“Ungrateful child. You wish to reject the warmth of my fire? Then fine. Enjoy the chill of loneliness.”
Then… it was all gone… everything was gone.
I opened my eyes to find myself laying down on a cracked and rough dirt ground in an empty clearing, the embers from a fire staring directly at me. Where was I?
As I looked around to try and get a sense of where I was, I was stunned to find… nothing. For miles and miles, there was just… nothing.
I ran for as long as I could, just hoping to see something, but there wasn’t anything to see. I just ended up right back by those same embers.
Investigating the nearby site a bit more, I managed to find a backpack with some rations and a waterskin—full and more than welcome. Without thinking, I quickly drank through half of my water resources.
But, after some time, I realized I didn’t drink through any at all… The waterskin never seemed to decrease, and neither did the rations.
I now understood the meaning of the fire’s message… it didn’t want to kill me. It just wanted me to be alone…
I’m all alone.