202403251443 - 202403251501

Abyss
by Redforkian

The light has been slowly sucked out of my soul on this road. You see
it coming if you've been around long enough. Starts out as a fleeting
feeling of despair. Hopelessness. The desire to give up and a wish for
something to set you free. As Metallica says, I cannot stand this hell
I feel.

People tell you, just pull yourself up. Just get over it. It ain't that
bad. Sure, let me get right on that.

You start a walk down into a valley. You can see the void before you
even get to it. You're walking on top of it. Sliding on it, hoping not
to slip and fall. Make it slower, make it slow down, you think to
yourself. The other side is just over there! You can make it! But alas.

It takes only something small. Just a little nudge and the void comes
up to your ankles. You're sloshing around in it getting your legs wet.
You wrap a towel around your neck, ok, I'll just dry off as soon as I
pull myself back up.

But that something small turns into a hammer blow. Suddenly, you're
waist deep in black, the sun sets, the birds go quiet, and the
teardrops begin. Soon, you won't be able to hold them back from the
coming deluge you know is simmering.

It takes effort, you try running, but black ropes bind your feet. Your
knees go weak, the void is chest high, your heart starts to slow down
as the waves crash into your head. You can't help but scream. You know
what is coming.

When you try to breathe in, your body breathes out black. When you try
to exhale, you suck in fire. Over and over and over. That's when you
become numb. The body becomes limp. Weak. Too tired to resist. The
abyss is coming closer. You know the trench is there. You've fallen
into it so many times, it's like an old friend. Hello, darkness, my old
friend, indeed.

Resistance is all but gone now. You fall to your knees and fall over to
the bottom. At first it's just quiet. Then murmurs. Voices. Then the
screaming starts. All light has disappeared. You hold up one final
attempt. A lighter. You flick it, but the flames are black. The sparks
fall on your hands and arms and are merely as cold as snowflakes.

You slide into the abyss. There is nobody there to catch you. To hold
you or save you. You are alone. The blackness is complete.

How long will it be this time? Will it end? How will it end?

Is this it? Is this how it all stops?

Abyss.