Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Gate

he gate loomed before him, an ostentatious iron guardian.  Through cracks he could see the orb of the sun, and the bright light it shed carved out grass, trees, a distant lake.  The night had been sleepless, fraught with unsettling dreams—but here came the warm whisper of morning.  He dug a hand into his pocket.  The key.  Where was it?  It was a heavy, metal thing, he thought… is that what he had thought?  Did he bring the right key?  He turned his pockets inside out.  Had he brought any key at all?  Whispers from the world beyond grew louder, rushing past him with gathering force.  He realized he had never possessed a key, had only heard it described in conversations, and as he stood before the immobile reality of the gate he wondered if the conversations had been dreams after all.  The breeze bent itself into a gale.  Warm air screamed through his ears, forcing him back.  He fell to the ground a short distance away.  The air quieted, and it was night again.  Well, he thought, as he slipped into another dream…  maybe there was no key.  But he had found the gate.