"At the end of the horizon, the truth lies by the sea. Those who sought out in blight of it's truth, shall rain asunder and flee."
Those words echoed throughout a dimly-lit room. A Man preaching words incomprehensible stood in the middle.
The single lightbulb continued to shine beneath the man, as if making sure he's in the spotlight. Circling the man, are countless tables that stretch through the darkness.
Shadowy figures stood straight from various places, not too near yet not too far from that man himself.
They watch with no eyes and no mouth. Their silhouette only stood, no movements shall be done; as it is never the intention.
"To seek out truth, you must find it's meaning through yourself first! Those who shan't not heed my words will be turned into ashes."
The man flaired his white robe across the room in a circular motion. His arms swayed like a swift wind on a turbulent day.
Among the crowd of silhouettes. Lein, was also in this rather... Weird service. He recently turned 16, and his parents immediately brought him into this.
'What were they thinking?' he said to himself as he is locked in place.
Ever since Lein appeared in the service as a shadowy silhouette like everyone else, he couldn't shake off the dread of how heavy everything is. Even though his parents described him of what it would feel, the atmosphere was entirely different.
Lein kept that feeling bottled up as felt more shadowy figures emerged in someplace. Lein couldn't see or move, but he can still feel, hear, and sense.
'While I am curious what all is this about, isn't this just nonsense? Why would my parents pay such a hefty fine for a man to just... Yap about an old fairy tale?'
The man was indeed talking about an old fairy tale; it was a story that was orally passed down through generations.
It is a story that will continue to exist for eons to come. It won't go away from day to day life, it was something that was meant to etched in time forever.
It's about pursuing the knowledge of creativity. What it means to innovate and conjure between the fine line of something absurd or something revolutionary.
Through the heroine of the story, we were able to see what it means to be creative. Something that we should encompass in our lives.
However, the story's meaning goes even deeper than just creativity, and that is why there was a service held in the first place.
The man kept shouting his interpretation of the story, adding twists of truth and theory. He continued until his voice was no more.
Lein, even though he knows what he was listening to was pure nonsense, continued to attentively listen as if it was something important, even though he knows it was not something to take notice of at all.
'How boring...' Lein was getting sleepy. The shadowy silhouette of his was slowly fading away. However, before he could vanish and leave the service:
"Do you know what it means to live such a devoted life? It's absolutely boring!"
Lein responded, as if he was talking to the man, subtle and inner.
'Yeah that is kinda boring, imagine devoting yourself to something of the past instead of putting your head into the future.'
In Lein's train of thought, he subconsciously assumed the man was talking to him.
"But the reason why I have devoted myself to such an extent is not because I want to. But rather..."
Lein chuckled inside,
'It was out of boredom...?'
The man put his hand onto his chest,
"It was an epiphany. Like I was meant to pursue this path. Someone merely guided me to this, and I took it's advice and stretched forward."
'...' Lein stopped his inner monologue. The service is going somewhere different from what was leading before this.
"So, as a piece of advice: Please, never be guided. I regret this position. I want to live the way I want."
After uttering such words, the lightbulb mysteriously shattered. And Lein was awake.
"..." Lein clutched his chest as if he was having trouble of breathing.
Those last words resonated like a sword stabbing his heart. From that experience of death, he woke up.
Rows and columns of tables and chairs stretched throughout a large tavern. Every chair was occupied with people basking their head in a large bowl of water with a towel beside it.
Lein was the first one to wake up.
Beside him were his parents are doing the same thing. They haven't woken up yet. It was only a few minutes outside but during the meeting it took longer than what was perceived.
"..." Lein grabbed the towel and pat it on his face and hair. After that he left the tavern and sat down beside a large tree.
"Never be guided, huh..." He took those words with consideration.
It was dusk already. The view of the plain fields were beautiful. With the hue of crimson red and light orange, it filled the horizon.
The stars were in perfect contrast with the sky, shining bright as the dark-blue stratosphere took over.
It was definitely a sight to behold, Lein took gratitude and enjoyed the view as he slowly fell asleep.
***
"mnh..." Sunrise pierced through his eyes, telling Lein to wake up from slumber. It was morning, dawn had approached fast and mellow.
Lein slowly opened his eyes. The brightness was intense. He reflexively covered his face with his hands.
The smell of fresh air swept through the fields, a mix of nature and water. It had apparently rained for a bit, but Lein wasn't wet because of the tree.
It was morning dew. The droplets on each blade of grass was reflected by the sun—shining like pearls in the sea.
After much idling, Lein stood up and stretched his arms and legs. He figured that his parents were worried about him, especially since the place where he laid rest was not in plain sight.
Lein walked back to the tavern with a fresh mind but a lingering thought. What the man preached in that dream was a dilemma and a rhetorical question.
And lastly, that final phrase echoed through Lein's mind like a broken recorder.
'Please, never be guided.' What could those words mean? Lein couldn't even decide whether or not to do something—let alone be responsible for his own actions.
In Lein's interpretation, the phrase seemed incoherent. Although he sensed a hidden meaning behind it, his understanding was superficial and naive.
Lein isn't a bright kid, he gets into fights often for petty reasons. As a result, his parents had to take the blame every time.
While his parents harbor resentment because of what he did, they still love Lein because he's their son.
After contemplating what the man preached during the service, Lein stood in front of the tavern door.
'The service should've ended while he was asleep, so I'm assuming that there is currently no one in the tavern but the owner, Gerard.'
Gerard is the current owner of the tavern in their village, despite his dwarf-like height, his beard reaching the floor, and his pronounced baldness—He took pride in his work: making the finest dishes and beverages for the townsfolk.
'I bet he would say along the lines of—
"Hey kiddo!! Your mommy and daddy told me not to give you beer, gahahahahahaha!!"
—Or something like that.'
Lein reached out the handle and gently opened the door...
"...Gerard?" Lein's words were laced with concern and fear. His eyes quickly scanned the entire tavern.
The smell was pungent and nauseating, similar to an animal's carcass. Except... It wasn't an animal.
Before Lein could cover his nose, his eyes had found something more significant—It was blood dripping from the ceiling.
He couldn't shook off the feeling of dread and despair. The sudden coldness ran across his spine, goosebumps emerged from every part of his body.
As Lein composed himself for what is about to come, he slowly looked up from where the blood was dripping from.
...And there, hung Gerard. His neck strangled with a rope. His arms and legs tied to his back. His face covered with a white cloth.
There were lacerations in his Achilles heel and soles. The deep gash and the sight of rotting flesh made Lein throw up on the spot.
"Gerard?" Lein uttered his name, over and over again. A looming sense of terror filled his mind from head to toe.
Lein's stomach churned and he laid on the floor in a fetal position. A persistent tinnitus raged through his ears. In response— he covered his ears with his hands.
But the ringing won't stop. It continued, and continued.
Amidst the tinnitus, Lein heard a voice calling out for him. It was a rough and deep voice, as if it was reaching out to him.
"Lein... Lein... Lein!!!" As if the world shook violently, Lein jolted and suddenly widened his eyes.
Lein was out of breath and sweating profusely. His heart pounding out of his chest like it was trying to escape.
In front of him was Gerard. Looking at Lein with confusion and a hint of concern.
"What's wrong lad? Did you smoke something?" Gerard jokingly said.
"...It's nothing." Lein replied.
"Where's mom and dad?"
"They went fishing. They'll be back in a few hours." Gerard informed, his playful demeanor was replaced with more serious and direct response.
Lein's knees gave out and knelt on the floor. A sigh of relief was exhaled. It seems like a vivd hallucination had dawned upon him.
It felt a bit too real to be fictional, maybe a scenario painted by the pessimistic mind? Or something much more than that?
Lein sat down on the chair, hunched forward and clasped his hands together. His right leg shaking in a rhythmic manner.
While he tried to compose himself once more, someone bursted inside the tavern in a hurry. Disrupting his self-recovery. It was Gerard's friend, Nicolla.
Nicolla is one of Gerard's closest friend. Owning a huge acre of land and plenty of crops, he provided food for the people in exchange for money. Even though he is skinny and slightly taller than Lein, his knowledge of agriculture and business are top-notch in their town.
"Gerard!! Gerard!!" Nicolla shouted with all his might.
"Hey! It's unexpected of you to just barge in and scream like that. What happened?" Gerard calmly reassured Nicolla.
"Xerxes, the one who led the service, had been executed via firing squad. The City had put out a message to those who participated in his service, will meet the same fate."
The Tavern fell silent and heavy. Those words hung around like a flag of imminent death. Lein and Gerard were baffled with the sudden death of Xerxes.
Gerard sighed,
"Is it because of what he said?"
"Yes. It's because of what he said." Nicolla sullenly replied.
Lein suddenly stood up and ran out. Running with all his might to the nearby lake where his parents were fishing.
With the impending danger looming close, Lein rushed to see if they're alright. However, unbeknownst to him—someone was quietly watching from afar.
With a terrifying grin, he looked at Lein before vanishing into the trees.
"None shall be free from knowing the truth. Those who have listened to the forbidden knowledge will disappear without a trace."