The Path To One Question

Once upon a time, there existed a traveler in a faraway land. He wasn't a merchant seeking buyers for his goods, nor was he an explorer in search of riches beyond this world, but a mere man - broken and lonely, crossing land upon land to break free of something invisible to his eyes but felt by his soul. Walking under the skies stitched with shimmering stars, he met bizarre wonders known to not many people. He gained knowledge of this world and beyond, from books and scrolls and from scholars and legends, he found truth and he found myth. But even after knowing so much, one question still puzzled him all the same - as it has done for all those past years. 'Why was he so devastated over the loss of something that wasn't his to even begin with?' The wound burned in his heart alive and fresh every day, refusing to give any reason or to be forgotten.

One fine night he stopped at an inn, close to a vast desert known for misdirecting many wise sons into its very depths only for never to be seen again. The bar at the inn was full of chatter. Glasses clinked at every table and laughter erupted at intervals, jokes were shared and friendships were forged in front of the crackling fireplace. Only one man sat in a dark corner, where the warmth of the fire could not reach him. His face hidden under the hood of his cloak and the only thing illuminating his table was the moonlight spilling through a window next to it. It was the traveler, sitting at the table with maps spread out before him and books stacked so high on the table that made him invisible to the other occupants of the bar as if effectively blocking the joyous atmosphere that he regarded as mere nuisance.

After years of wandering aimlessly, the traveler had finally found a silver lining in the clouds - an opportunity presenting itself like a ray of sunlight bursting through dark gray clouds after a heavy downpour. The infamous desert that was despised by the locals and dreaded by merchants and travelers, was said to possess the answer to any man's query - presented to him if he dared to earn it. But to access that knowledge was no small feat and many had sacrificed their existence to the temptation to achieve it. The traveler on the other hand found it of no harm, for the blisters on the soles of his feet from walking on burning sand said a different story and his tattered clothes, absence of a home and lack of yearning for anything but an answer told him that he had nothing left to lose now - but everything to gain.

The next day the traveler set out to seal his fate at last. Under the scorching heat of the sun his determination burned even brighter and he moved forward, each painful step a metaphor for his resolve. The sand storms blinding him and cutting his cheeks screamed at him to turn around — to give up and go home. But he had no home and no one to go back to. He only had the wisdom he had gained over the years and he took pride in it. He didn't let his confidence falter for even a moment, he didn't succumb to tiredness. Day turned into night and the cool breezes soothed the burns afflicted by their daytime peers. The traveler didn't stop till he reached the heart of the desert, a door to his salvation.

In front of him stood a great temple that shone like gold under the sunlight. Based on the legends and rumors that circled the desert, this temple was home to The Oracle, the all-knowing being, truthful but mysterious. Those who found it were granted one question, a question that can changes their life in a way they never expect. The Oracle only talked in riddles, puzzles that can only be solved by those wise enough. The traveler hesitated for a moment before leaving all his belongings on the sand and took a leap of destiny as he entered the temple.

The moment he stepped inside, the temple swallowed him in its darkness, an eerie silence pressing down on his ears. Relying on his other senses to guide him to the main chamber, the traveler marched on. Walking through a void, he finally saw a glimmer of light at the end of a long path ahead of him. As he follows the light, it took him to a large room, supported by pillars in the four directions. There was a window cut high into the ceiling of the room through which sunlight flowed inside like water, illuminating the room in an unearthly breathtaking manner. The floor was a large circle of pool, graced with fresh flowers floating on its ever still surface. A grand throne, cold and untouched, sat at the far end of the room - silent and grim.

A voice boomed through the walls - loud and clear, vibrating through the body and soul of the traveler. The Oracle spoke, "O, accursed yet beauteous soul, what is thy question thou dost hold?"

The air in the room was heavy, as if pressing down on the very being of the traveler. His whole body screamed him to run away, to get as far as he could from there. His throat felt full of sand and his lips refused to open. But his heart was set, it blazed with only one desire and the world with its entirety didn't matter now. The consequences were of no significance for him and so he asked, "O, The Great Oracle, the knower of great truths and the master of riddles. I have only one question to ask you, a question that has infected my very soul from within and had drove out every desire and longing, every happiness and joy and had only left a void in its wake."

"Go forth, O valiant soul, ask what thou wilt. Yet take heed, for the answer may not be what thy heart doth truly seek."

"So, answer me, O Great Oracle, what do I feel such great sorrow over the loss of something that was never mine to claim? Why did she leave me with an emptiness so profound even when there was nothing there to being with? Why does the silence scream so loudly in my ears while she sleeps so peacefully at night? And why does the moon that soothes the lovers burn me up?"

"This question is truly thine to answer, O seeker of truth. For the void within thee is not as thou claim’st it to be. Ask thyself, what is't that thou truly dost miss? For it is not she, it was never meant to be she, for how canst thou lose that which thou hast never held? It was ever thy own expectations, thy illusions of a world thou hast built for thyself. Thou dost not weep for the departure of a loved one; thou dost weep for the ruin of a world that could not be. So, ask thyself, O broken soul, what was it that thou truly didst desire? And what is't that thou hast truly lost?"

The Oracle's words resonated within the speechless traveler, leaving him with a question deeper than the one he came with. He opened his mouth, to ask and to cry for help, for just someone to get him out of the turmoil he was in. He screamed his question to the world, but only the winds heard his plea and they too carried it away with them. The temple was nowhere to be seen and the hard cold stone floor under him had turned to sand. He stood up, barely able to do so - his mind still a tangle of questions and his heart sick of a realization he didn't want to bear. He cried to the world for just one more chance — one more question to ask, one more answer to end his suffering. And in reply, he heard a whisper ever so gentle, unlike the bold voice in the temple it felt like a lullaby, a voice to calm down an agitated child.

The Oracle bid its final goodbye to the traveler, in words that were a deadly poison laced in the sweetest honey. "Wander, O traveler, with thy answers and thy pain, which are thine alone to bear."