even in that I wasn’t so sure anymore. We’ll decide, as they say, on the spot, depending on circumstances. And I went, right or left, who knows, depending on which side you’re looking from. I walked slowly as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The thickness of the corridor varied, in some places I could even see the ceiling above me.
It’s a shame I didn’t have a watch or a pencil to leave arrows on the wall. I saw it in some movie, to avoid getting lost. And as soon as I thought about it, there was a fork in the path ahead. Well, here we go, where do I go now? I don’t even have coins to flip.
The darkness around me didn’t scare me before, I don’t even know why. After all, I’ve always been a scaredy-cat, with my imagination sometimes not even the brightest light would help. I guess I understood that if I allowed myself to start being afraid even a little, I would be lost in my own fear in this empty dark place, alone with myself.
Suddenly, about a meter away from me, I heard the clink of a coin. And then all the fear and horror of the darkness came crashing down on me. Where did all my composure and reason go? All the terrifying monsters were ready to come out of my imagination and devour me, bit by bit, while smacking their lips sweetly, and then craft unsophisticated trinkets and amulets from my bones.
But I quickly pulled myself together and forbade myself from thinking about it and imagining all the details. As it turned out later, it was not in vain. Turning towards the sound, I realized where I needed to go. The decision came to me naturally, I just understood, that was all. I didn’t even bother to see what had fallen into my hand, I just got up and went, taking a half glass of confidence with me.
After several more hours and about five more intersections, I was completely exhausted. My legs felt heavy, as if my path had been solely through sand or drifts. My head was searching for a spot on the walls to lean against. Hunger made itself known, painting various pictures of food in my imagination. “Hey, who’s there, and how are you? Maybe you could toss a couple of sandwiches my way?” I sincerely hoped for another miracle as I looked around and waited for food to appear. But it was quiet, nothing fell. “Of course, a coin wasn’t a big deal, maybe you haven’t had time to prepare yet, so I’ll wait, I’m in no rush here, the candle has already burned a third.” I found myself starting to talk to myself, feeling like someone was listening after all. Images of the biggest hot sandwiches with a variety of fillings filled my mind.
The visions were so vivid that I began to smell the food. That’s how hunger affects you. The scent grew stronger and was right nearby. I couldn’t be mistaken: the smell of meat slices, thin rings of onion, and even a sprig of dill. Oddly enough, they never put dill in hamburgers, I’ve never encountered it, but I love it so much. My hand instinctively reached for the backpack, and yes, the smell was coming from there. It took me exactly a second to pull out a huge sandwich and even take a bite. It was a real miracle; I had never eaten with such pleasure before. It was as if every bite transported you to the most blissful state imaginable, where nothing else mattered. Not realizing that I had already eaten more than half of it, I began to understand that this treat was exactly as I had imagined it. And you know, I wasn’t even surprised anymore. What bothered me was that I still didn’t understand how it all worked. Why hadn’t the food appeared earlier, considering how hungry I had been for hours? Apparently, I still have to figure that out. The main thing is that I no longer feared hunger, and I even found the strength to continue, and, dare I say it, my mood became completely different.
With such enthusiasm, I rose to my feet, finishing the remnants of the pleasant snack, and continued on towards the unknown. The long corridors were beginning to tire me with their monotony. And the silence varied; sometimes it was so heavy that it felt like it was pressing on my ears, while other times, lost in thought, I barely noticed it. At other times, a ringing would appear in my ears, and it seemed to be coming from inside my head rather than from around me – I could clearly understand that. If I found food, then perhaps I could try to find other things as well. I hope they don’t have a limit on my requests. Let’s see, a pencil, please, into the studio. So, let’s check our spacious backpack; where are you hiding, my dear? Oh well, you’re not there. Too bad. What’s wrong with the system? Maybe I should wait? Alright, I’ll continue on for now. Maybe I’ll ask for a durable flashlight while I’m at it, because it looks like I’ll be walking for a while longer.
“Friends, did you hear the request? Could you at least respond to me somehow? Surely it’s possible. “As soon as I said this, I immediately realized that I was being answered; I just needed to understand how to recognize and hear it. But why and how did I understand that just now? Wait a second. Let me try asking another question.
“How much longer will I have to wander around here? “It wasn’t even a second before the answer formed in my head, as if I had answered it myself, but was it really so? I could wander here for the rest of my life if I don’t understand all the principles that will lead me to the way out. So, there is a way out after all. My life isn’t doomed to languish in these dark, silent corridors. It’s not bad already. The main thing, I suppose, is not to be afraid, or else I might find a monster in my backpack.
Let’s go back to the sandwich and think about what I did to make it appear. I really wanted it, imagined it, and almost felt it. Now, let’s try with the pencil. I want a red wooden pencil. Here, I take it in my hands and use it to draw the first arrow in this mysterious place. It yields softly, and on the wall, there’s a clear, bright trace of the red line. Well, that’s enough; this isn’t like summoning a sandwich. I don’t have that much imagination for it. Let’s check the loot. Ha, there! I’m just a magician and a wizard; behold, our third find: a pencil!
In my short life, there weren’t many stationery items, and those that existed were quite basic, as manufacturing for them had greatly diminished. Most were destroyed by earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters, which were becoming more and more frequent on our planet with each passing day.
The candle was almost burnt out in my hands. I urgently needed a lamp; I could deal with drawings later. Using the same method, a lamp appeared. I tucked away the extinguished remains of the candle in my backpack, just in case. The new light illuminated the path farther than before. After walking several dozen steps, I found myself at a dead end. Well, that’s not what I wanted; a dead end was far from ideal. Who knows who else might be here besides me? There was no retreat, and going back was quite a distance. Leaning against the wall, I heard a faint sound, as if something was dripping. The wall under my palm and ear began to turn into wet sand, slowly cascading to the floor in waves. Startled, I recoiled to the side. Beyond the sand was glass, through which thin streams of water trickled. Whether it was water or something else, I didn’t know; there was no time to think about it. Beyond the glass was an oval-shaped hall with two passages facing each other. I moved aside so as not to be seen through the glass. If there’s a hall here, then there are those who use it. It must exist for a reason. Along with the sound of dripping water, I heard the noise of an unfamiliar, hoarse, heavy breathing and slow footsteps. Now I was sure it wasn’t my usual scary monsters; I hadn’t thought about them in such detail, or at all, right now. A slight tremor began inside me; I needed to make a decision urgently. Panic clouded my thoughts; they raced back and forth so quickly that forming coherent sentences was incredibly difficult. An answer, just give me an answer, without questions.
I tightly closed my eyes and suddenly fell down somewhere. Now there were four walls around me. There you go, got the answer, game over. Now there’s nowhere else to go, except maybe to fall in different directions, but for some reason I didn’t want that either. Especially didn’t want to accidentally end up in someone’s soup bowl for lunch. Maybe this is the answer, maybe I was given
