AT THE DOOR

"It's finally over" said Val as his shoulders relaxed for the first time today. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm alright" I said as I sat down next to the still passed out Rayla.

As we approached our destination, Val couldn't help but drive slowly as we cruised all the way.

Watching as the snow slowly fell upon us making everything we saw to appear to be but a winter dream, causing my mind to numb the pain and exhaustion I felt as I slowly drifted asleep unconsciously falling into a dream.

I opened my eyes just to find myself within a vast forest, walking around I realized that no matter how far I walked I still ended up in the same place I first appeared. Taking a moment to figure out where I was and get the whole layout of the forest I found myself entranced in its beauty as it the forest was constantly changing.

One moment it was winter, in the other summer, autumn, fall. As I slowly watched the falling leaves drift to the floor I couldn't help but feel at home, but I couldn't stop myself from feeling afraid as I stood there in the middle of it all. I constantly felt like I was being spied upon but when I looked around there was no one watching me but the feeling never went away.

I walked slowly towards the changing forest as I lost myself in all its beauty and splendor, only to find myself standing in front of a temple which was carved into a mountain making them inseparable for all ages.

In front of the temple stood a giant Rock with markings which I had never seen before on it, but for some reason I was able to read it. It said "ENTER ALL WHO THIRST FOR MORE", I stood there wondering what it meant but I knew that even if I stood there for all eternity I would never understand what it meant, unless I chose to walk the path before me.

I advanced on the path before me in search of what the words on the Rock meant hoping to end this search. Along the way I noticed the cave was getting brighter and brighter instead of getting dark the deeper I went, as I began to thirst for the answer I lost myself in the sounds of songbirds which came from the walls of the cave and the rocks which glowed above me illuminating the whole pathway, when I suddenly caught the scent of flowers and wine which wafted in the air causing me to freeze where I stood as I was lost in a dream within a dream of a middle-aged man as he drank from his gourd, watching the sunset.

I awoke from that dream only to find myself dying of thirst, I opened my eyes to see a pond which was filled with wine and had various beautiful flowers floating in it. I bent down and was about to drink from it when I noticed another rock which said "WOE TO THE ANCIENTS WHO WISH TO DRINK MY WINE, FOR ONLY THE ANCIENTS WHO UNDERSTAND MY LIFE MAY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT MEANS TO COMMIT MY CRIME".

I wondered what the crime of this man who watched sunsets while drinking wine had committed since I noticed that the words on the rock outside and the one inside the cave had been carved by one person so I assumed it was the man I had seen in my dream.

I stood there dying of thirst as I wondered whether or not I should drink from this pond filled with wine. My curiosity about how the wine tasted was insatiable but nothing made me die of thirst but the question of who the middle-aged man and what was his crime.

My growing thirst for what had happened completely took over as I bent down to drink from the pond. As I dipped my hands into the pond, I felt the skin on my hand being burned by the wine it felt as if the wine was being boiled but I endured it slowly lifting my open palms which I had joined together in a cupped position. I brought my hands out of the pond only for them to feel like they were frozen as I drank from them, my senses were overloaded with the most vivid feelings of a well lived lifetime.

Drinking the wine, I tasted the beautiful sweetness which I had never tasted before as I wondered if it was possible for anything to be that sweet, only for the beautiful sweetness to change into a terrible bitterness causing me to feel a pain in my heart making me shed but a tear as it slid down my face, only for the wine to become bland and tasteless almost making me spit it out. I thought that was the end of it all but the wine tasted hot and coarse causing my throat to burn making me boil in anger and finally I tasted the last feeling the wine gave to me which was an enduring peace and serenity which lasted for ever.

Opening my eyes, I found myself staring into the eyes of Rayla who had woken up as she laid there with a blanket covering her.

"You're finally awake" she said.

"hmm, how long was I out" I asked as I sat upright.

"It's ok we just got here" she said.

I was still able to taste and feel all the emotions I felt within that dream almost as if it was real and had just happened, pushing it aside I asked;

"And, where are we?" I asked.

"At the door…"