The Descent
The man began his descent from ground level. It was a spiral stone staircase without any rails.
Deeper and deeper he descended, and as he did so, the light became darker and the air heavier. It became harder and harder to breathe. But he kept going down, thinking that there might be an end to the stairs where he could then take a break.
Finally he reached a door. It was locked. He realized that he had no key to open it with. But he an ominous feeling about what lay beyond that door. It felt alive, and was calling out to him. The air was almost crushing his lungs and all he wanted was to get through the door so he could complete the mission.
Wait. What was the mission again? He had completely forgotten already. Why was he here? How did he manage to come down so far, and why did he want to go through that door? Did he even want to do so the first place?
Then, as if by magic the key floated from above and landed at his feet. A golden key. Shiny and pulsating with a yellow glow. It was calling out to him to use it. Without much thinking he picked it up, but just before he inserted the key into the keyhole he paused and remembered why and how he had come down this way.
He decided not to open the door. The key still in his hand, it would be a long climb up back to ground level. And then there would be the other flight of stairs adjacent to this that was even longer than the journey down, except that it was in the opposite direction — up. But then he realizes that if he has the power to hold the key and not open the door below, then surely the climb back up would not be as difficult as he had imagined. Carrying the key with him would be a constant reminder of how he overcame himself.
He turned around and took his first step up.
