Looking for the end

My whole life i’ve been staring at it, in the middle of the woods, through a small opening, are stairs. A spiral staircase to be exact. It’s been there ever since I was little. It’s even been there since the owl was little and he is the oldest animal in the forest. The stairs are so long they go through the clouds, higher than any bird flies.

Some of the bravest, or craziest, animals had tried to climb te stairs. Never had anyone returned. Until one day, someone did come back. The horse, the fastest animal in the entire forest. She had left on her mission two weeks earlier. It was said that if she couldn’t do it, no one could. She left so fast the air around the small opening seemed to be sucked away. She was above the clouds in a few hours. We couldn’t see her after that. And so we waited. All the animals were on edge, not sure if their beloved hero would ever return. But as you all know, she did. Two whole weeks we waited anxiously. And when she returned everyone gasped. She looked exhausted, so thin you could count her bones. What had happend to the pride of the forest? Once she recovered she told her story. How she kept on running and running and running and nothing would change. There was no end, she said. It was all an illusion.

Now you can imagine how fascinating this story was to a few of the kids that lived in the forest. Me and my friends included. So when the horse had just gotten back my friend dared me climb the first step. I was scared of course. But when your friend dares you, you do it. And so I did it. I climbed the first step. As soon as I touched it I felt it. The power. Something I’ve never felt before, something strange and dangerous, but also exciting.

After that day it was all I ever thought about. It became an obsession. I somehow felt that the stairs were there for me. That it was my destiny to reach the end. To do what no one has done before.

It is now or never. I’m not a child anymore, but not yet old. I will need all the time I can get. I have to do it. I have to know.

Some of the other animals came to watch me go. I know they think that i’m crazy. I couldn’t explain to them what this meant to me. My mom couldn’t bare it, she isn’t here. There I go.. The first step.The tiles feel cold and slippery, I’m grateful for my slime. The second step, I can still go back, but i already knew that that wouldn’t happen. I’ve finally started my journey.

Two years have passed. I kept on going. I’ve spent almost all my life on the stairs. I was thinking of going back after a year, but I wasn’t sure if I had enough time left. So I just kept on going. Along the way I lost my enthusiasm, I missed my friends and the forest. Everything looked the same here once I had passed the clouds. The air kept getting thinner. A long way for a small snail. I know I don’t have a lot of time left, but i’m almost there. I can finally see the gate at the end. I can feel the power coming from it. Pulling at me. That’s when it hits me. I’m almost there. The end. I have searched for the one thing that would always find me. That finds everyone sooner or later. Death.