In the dark I rose, awoken by something powerful yet anonymous. The air was thick and fog blanketed the long grass. As my head emerged, fireflies led the way out of the garden, I followed the trail and eventually a tree came into view. Coiled around it was an amber snake, frozen in time, its fangs were red and dripped with venom until the bottom of its jaws filled with the crimson temptation. In an instant the fireflies hid, and the heavens opened with rain. My clothes became soaked through and the venom was washed out of the serpent’s mouth. I fell to my knees as lightning struck the tree. After the almighty flash, first came silence as if the world had become free of evil yet the rain still poured. Second I looked up, still on my knees and the clouds suddenly scattered revealing a great chorus of birds and sunbeams. The sky was full of every colour imaginable and finally, I began to believe.
The sun revealed itself along the horizon and it beckoned me to follow. The path towards the end wasn’t easy: gaping ravines with grey hands reaching out from the darkness, ravenous for salvation; attempting to catch me and take me down. However, the pure strength of belief carried me over. Along the way, I met other people also searching for the sun. With one common goal, we work together to not only reach the horizon, but to introduce others alongside. On the 55th day we reached a desert; its desolate wasteland must’ve taken a further 40 days and 40 nights to pass fully through it. We had to ration the food and share the weight of our bags. Some people spotted an oasis in the distance. The hazy sight of green and blue lured a couple of us in as the heat was unbearable. I tried to convince them to stay with us. We never saw those souls again.
Weary, battered and exhausted, we made it to the horizon. A great wall of cloud, built of light and hope blinded us. You could feel the energy radiating off, almost pushing us away, we fought though. At the end a single hand reached out for each of us, hoping we would take it. My arm subconsciously reached out but I hesitated. Suddenly visions of the serpent, the hands, and the other lost souls flashed through my mind. Wind and heat bellowed off the wall yet my mind stood still. A single voice asked me “Are you sure you want to do this? You know this is the end, what if the other side isn’t real? Is this all real?” Finally, this delusion dissipated and my hand grasped the other and I was pulled through. My belief was strong enough and now, I had entered the sun.