How I Came to Be

by Orbis Unum

January 5, 2016

falling deeper, deeper and deeper

until finally, I hit the bottom

crashing on the cold, hard floor

completely alone, I look all around me to only find a barren wasteland

the darkness overwhelms me, and I can only see two feet in front of me

until total darkness absorbs the dim light

I look down, and realize the bruises on my arms, then legs, and then I look directly down at my chest

I notice a little latched door on the left side of my chest, and I open it

nothing

no beating, no joy, no heart

I'm not sure where it went, all I know is I don't have it

I decide to sleep to pass the time, completely drained by my painful fall down

I wake up only to find the two feet of concrete around me, then the same eerie darkness

out of curiosity, I touch the concrete just beyond the two feet of light

claws latch onto the back of my hand, and I pull back frantically

The demon retreated back into the darkness, only leaving a bleeding scratch on my hand

I start to wonder if I will ever leave this place or if it will consume me

in a panic, thinking I will be stuck here forever, I get up and charge blindly into the dark

suddenly, I hear the snarl of the same demon I encountered before, but it's too late

Before I could go back, the monster bit and scratched my arm, then my leg, then after one quick swipe at my face, it threw me back to the spot of light

I force my fists under my body, and lift myself up onto my knees

wiping my face, the blood that I smear from my face scares me, and my eyes fill with tears

but right as I start to cry and think all is lost, I see a figure with an unlit lantern and matches walking towards me

as the figure kneels down and wipes the tears from my eyes, I realize it is my mother

suddenly, my cuts stop bleeding

she puts the lantern in front of me and hands me a match

I take the match and attempt to light it, but the flame blows out

she encourages me to try again, so I do

this time, the flame catches and I light the lantern

the light grows and grows until darkness dissolves

in front of me now stands my demon, and I realize it's an exact replica of myself

it briefly smirks at me, hands me a box, then suddenly the demon dissipated, never to be seen again

I open the box and see my heart

my mom smiles, takes my hand and we walk together hand in hand

we walk silently for a long time until we come across a clearing, where a group of my friends throughout the years are sitting in a circle, all with smiles on their faces

I notice one spot left open in the circle as my mother gently pushes me towards them

I hug her, then join the circle and slowly hand my wounded heart to the person next to me

they stitch up a cut in the heart then pass it on

when it finally makes its way around the circle I open the latch on my chest admiring all the intricate stitches as I gently place it back inside

I feel it beat once again, and feel the warmth pulse through me

finally, I smile

I then place the lantern inside next to my heart, where it forever remained shining

I shut the small door and latched it tightly

and the light never went out again

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