I awake in a dark room and can’t see anything. I try to feel around me, to get some bearing, but to no avail. All I feel is freezing, hard rock as the ground. There is nothing at all, no smell or sound, no air flowing or noise. “Where am I?” I call out to the void.
From all around me the answer comes, “Nowhere, and everywhere. This is the void, the end of all things, and the beginning of all things. Welcome.” The voice is quiet but overbearing in the silence, echoing from everywhere and nowhere. It has no distinguishable source, coming from everywhere and nowhere, near and far.
“Who are you? Why am I here” I ask in a panicked voice. I attempt to stand up, but am unable to get my bearings.
“Do not panic, you are safe, at least for now. All will be revealed in due. Just sit back and wait for the show to begin.”
What is this voice saying? “What show?” As I speak, bright lights appear behind me, so bright that I have to look away until my eyes adjust. As I look back, I see a stage, curtains already pulled back and in mid-show. “What is this?”
“Shh,” a new voice comes from my left. As I look up, I see an older man dressed in white robes with an embellished black horse stitched onto his right sleeve. He looks down at me with a kind, teasing smile. “Don’t watch me, watch the play.”
I look back to see the play, now apparent that it is Romeo and Juliet, beginning the ending scene. As I watch, I notice the old man walking towards the stage. As he approaches, another person, who I failed to notice was sitting closer to the stage, stands up and steps in the old man’s way. “N-n-not this t-time, Merlin.” The other man, who is dressed in a dark maroon vest over a black shirt and slacks, steps towards Merlin, who is still smiling, and lifts his hand towards Merlin’s heart. At the last second, I notice he has a key in his hand. He stabs the key into Merlin’s heart. The interaction creates a huge burst of light, and the last thing I see is Merlin winking at me. I jump up and immediately begin to run in the opposite direction, feeling like something bad is going to happen soon.
As I enter once again into the disorienting darkness, I hear the omnipresent voice again. “Do not run from your fate. You know what is going to happen, and that you can not escape, correct?” I choose not to answer, fearing the voice is correct. I keep running straight ahead as fast as I can, as far as I can.
After a decent amount of time passes, I stop to catch my breath. I quickly realise my mistake. There in front of my stands the man with the key. As he raises his hand towards me, I hear him stutter, “Y-y-you can’t e-escape your fate, k-kid. You’ll d-d-die, just like your p-parents. Just accept it.” He moves closer, holding out the key. I close my eyes, ready to accept my fate…
“I told you to watch the play, didn’t I?” Merlin stands before me, holding the other man's wrist. “Just enjoy the show.”
I step back as I watch the scene unfold before me: Merlin takes the key; the maroon man punches Merlin; Merlin pushes him backwards; he tackles Merlin; they disappear into the darkness. I begin to run again. I see a light in the distance, and I begin to run towards it.
As I approach, I see it is a table with a lamp and some dice on top. I reach for the dice as I hear the invisible speaker say, “Dare to gamble? Just roll the dice and accept what happens.”
I go to roll the dice, ready to die at any moment. Out of the ground beside me rises the maroon man and Merlin. I see Merlin smiling as he was before. The other man is strange. His face is hard to describe, with no distinguishing features. He still holds the key in his hand, ready to thrust it into my chest like he did to Merlin. “J-j-just accept it. Y-you can’t r-run.”
“You’re right, I can’t run. So I won’t.” I take the key from his hand and thrust it towards his chest. I hear the hearty laugh of Merlin mix with the questioning of the voice and the horrific screams of the maroon man as a blinding light envelops everything.
“What have you done? You have undone fate, undone this world!”
“N-n-n-nooooooo!”
I feel warmth surround me as I take comfort in taking hold of my own fate. I came off my high to see my room, dark without light. I get up, quickly forgetting the hallucination I just had, but relishing in the feeling of taking hold of my own fate and no longer running away too drugs.