A Short Non-Story

Disclaimer: This is an "art" article. I am not trying to present any theories or saying anything about my own spiritual beliefs; and I most definitely do not want anyone to take offense on religious or spiritual grounds.

I hovered at the edge of Oblivion, pondering the maze in front of me. At least, the little that I had been allowed to glimpse.

Like countless times before, I would soon be walking that maze. Innumerable forks and turns, each representing a decision in life; some big, some small. Some can be undone; most can't. At the end of that maze, I would know how much farther or closer I was to the end of the real journey. But in what appeared to be a cruel jest, some paths in the maze were lined with soft flowers, and some were lined with sharp thorns; and the flower beds rarely took you closer to the Destination.

In what I knew to be a cruel jest, I would be forced to walk blindfolded. Not in the conventional sense, but in the sense that I would be stripped of all conscious knowledge and memory of my past before this instant. I would have to learn my lessons all over again, and never even be told that there is a destination, nor how to get there. It was all one big test: and a test of the conscious, as we all know, is incomplete. Test the subconscious as well, and one who passes can be trusted forever. If you offer a man a great deal of money for doing harm to someone, and he resists his temptation, your job is half done. If the thought of accepting never even occurs to him, your job is fully done.

It was almost time to leave Oblivion. I sighed. I was loathe to give up all I'd become, even though I knew I would get it all back with interest soon. Perversely, I wondered why everybody called it Oblivion, because to me it was reality; the mazes were Oblivion. No, that wasn't fair; the Destination is the only true Oblivion. Freedom from the cycles of the mazes of life. Nobody really knew what it would be like once one reached the Destination, because nobody ever came back. People speculated that it would be like the Heaven imagined by mortals in the mazes. But I knew better. It would be true Oblivion. The Divine Reward.

It was time. Somewhere in a hospital, a baby was born. I took a deep breath and stepped into the maze, surrendering my identity.

The baby cried.