Shifting Stairway

[ATMA]

I've long been perplexed by this shifting pathway; and, walking up the sliding, translucent, perpetually-rearranging blocks I often glance back with a sense of uneasiness and impatience only to be immediately calmed by the view. For although the path ahead of me rearranges itself unexpectedly before I can set foot upon it, the path behind me has become stoic, shimmering in the rays of sun that pierce down through still clouds, each willful step solidified into a million crystal-cubes. I wipe my forehead and drink from my canteen. I glance down at the dustless step under my feet, listening to the faint mechanics moving within, then shift my gaze to my bare toes. I wiggle them. They feel fine.

 

DATE: 01/01/0001

I woke up in the pitch dark last night not knowing where I was. I cried out. It wasn't until sunlight faded in that I regained my composure. Despite the scare I'm going to continue walking. I've decided to add dates to my journal. If for nothing else then my sanity, I feel like I've been here for years... I know I'm ascending but not to where. I think I know why but it's a kind of silent truth; I can't put it into words. However I can articulate the immense remorse I feel when the stairway's cubes shift to become a descending path. It's an obsession. It feels like I've lost my way somehow. I just now realized: I have no idea how I got here.

 

Date: 04/04/0001

I've been sitting here for a long time trying to work out how many days it's been. Why I forgot to document it, I do not know. Time seems to slip away or vanish here. Like a dream. I think it's been three months. Gone in a haze and somehow it doesn't even bother me. The days seem longer as of late. Brighter. There are less dips in the path though the inner workings of the cubes has grown to a deafening din. They shift in a DNA-like helix before me, only stopping the second I intend to step on them. I still can't remember how I got here. Can you tell me shifting stairs?

 

Date:05/02/0001

Breakthough! The cubes seem to be in tuned with my mind-state... It's bizarre... The less I care about the dips the less they occur. I was lost in a dip for days... Obsessive depressed at my lack of progress and only falling farther. It was only when I let go of disappointment and entered a state of indifference that the path shifted. My mind now settles mostly on the nagging question of how I got here. And the more I think about it the more violently the spiral meshes. It's loudest when I try to ignore it. I must plug my ears just to hear myself think.

 

Date:06/07/0001

I remember little of yesterday, save that I walked easily in silence. The sun was warm. The blocks slow and silent. I felt the breeze with my skin hairs. I remember the sensations... The details of things... I don't believe a single thought perturbed my climb.

 

Date:06/08/0001

Rain is soaking my book as I write this. The staircase spirals downward at an even steeper angle. Illuminated with lighting flashes. It was so nice yesterday. Maybe I was wrong about my mind-path link. My doubt and disappointment seem to grow with the storm. I just want it to be like it was before.

 

Date:8/16/0001

The geometric twister spirals down and up in a seeming inner battle with itself. I haven't been walking. Just sitting here thinking. I know I should give up this useless debating and get moving but the intensity of the stairway's dance is hypnotic. It feels familiar. I feel warm sitting in the rain watching.

 

Date:08/31/0001

The storm is gone. Lazy orange skies. I feel better than ever before and feel no fear in saying that. The steps lead up. Fine. Beautiful. They may collapse any second. Fine. Beautiful. Each thought passes through me without snagging. I hope to see a bird.

 

Date:09/24/0009

I've reached the summit. It's flat and wide. A platform of translucent squares above the clouds. My mind is pure. Sun reflects off of each cube.

--

Some cubes have started to fall from the edges, tumbling away into the fog below. The rubic-serpent that was my staircase is gone as well, whisked away into the fog without me even noticing.

--

It's silent. Only one cube remains beneath me. I remove my bandana and ring it out over the edge. I sit down and sip from my canteen: orange juice. I've never felt so unable to articulate something as pure and true as how I feel at this moment. I feel no desire to even try. This will be my last entry. All I will say is that I'm not afraid, everything is as it should be, and I no longer need to remember how I got here. I'm here... It's... Breathtaking. Oh my, you have to see this.

Edited November 4, 2011 by ATMA

[strawdog65]

I've long been perplexed by this shifting pathway; and, walking up the sliding, translucent, perpetually-rearranging blocks I often glance back with a sense of uneasiness and impatience only to be immediately calmed by the view. For although the path ahead of me rearranges itself unexpectedly before I can set foot upon it, the path behind me has become stoic, shimmering in the rays of sun that pierce down through still clouds, each willful step solidified into a million crystal-cubes. I wipe my forehead and drink from my canteen. I glance down at the dustless step under my feet, listening to the faint mechanics moving within, then shift my gaze to my bare toes. I wiggle them. They feel fine.

 

DATE: 01/01/0001

I woke up in the pitch dark last night not knowing where I was. I cried out. It wasn't until sunlight faded in that I regained my composure. Despite the scare I'm going to continue walking. I've decided to add dates to my journal. If for nothing else then my sanity, I feel like I've been here for years... I know I'm ascending but not to where. I think I know why but it's a kind of silent truth; I can't put it into words. However I can articulate the immense remorse I feel when the stairway's cubes shift to become a descending path. It's an obsession. It feels like I've lost my way somehow. I just now realized: I have no idea how I got here.

 

Date: 04/04/0001

I've been sitting here for a long time trying to work out how many days it's been. Why I forgot to document it, I do not know. Time seems to slip away or vanish here. Like a dream. I think it's been three months. Gone in a haze and somehow it doesn't even bother me. The days seem longer as of late. Brighter. There are less dips in the path though the inner workings of the cubes has grown to a deafening din. They shift in a DNA-like helix before me, only stopping the second I intend to step on them. I still can't remember how I got here. Can you tell me shifting stairs?

 

Date:05/02/0001

Breakthough! The cubes seem to be in tuned with my mind-state... It's bizarre... The less I care about the dips the less they occur. I was lost in a dip for days... Obsessive depressed at my lack of progress and only falling farther. It was only when I let go of disappointment and entered a state of indifference that the path shifted. My mind now settles mostly on the nagging question of how I got here. And the more I think about it the more violently the spiral meshes. It's loudest when I try to ignore it. I must plug my ears just to hear myself think.

 

Date:06/07/0001

I remember little of yesterday, save that I walked easily in silence. The sun was warm. The blocks slow and silent. I felt the breeze with my skin hairs. I remember the sensations... The details of things... I don't believe a single thought perturbed my climb.

 

Date:06/08/0001

Rain is soaking my book as I write this. The staircase spirals downward at an even steeper angle. Illuminated with lighting flashes. It was so nice yesterday. Maybe I was wrong about my mind-path link. My doubt and disappointment seem to grow with the storm. I just want it to be like it was before.

 

Date:8/16/0001

The geometric twister spirals down and up in a seeming inner battle with itself. I haven't been walking. Just sitting here thinking. I know I should give up this useless debating and get moving but the intensity of the stairway's dance is hypnotic. It feels familiar. I feel warm sitting in the rain watching.

 

Date:08/31/0001

The storm is gone. Lazy orange skies. I feel better than ever before and feel no fear in saying that. The steps lead up. Fine. Beautiful. They may collapse any second. Fine. Beautiful. Each thought passes through me without snagging. I hope to see a bird.

 

Date:09/24/0009

I've reached the summit. It's flat and wide. A platform of translucent squares above the clouds. My mind is pure. Sun reflects off of each cube.

--

Some cubes have started to fall from the edges, tumbling away into the fog below. The rubic-serpent that was my staircase is gone as well, whisked away into the fog without me even noticing.

--

It's silent. Only one cube remains beneath me. I remove my bandana and ring it out over the edge. I sit down and sip from my canteen: orange juice. I've never felt so unable to articulate something as pure and true as how I feel at this moment. I feel no desire to even try. This will be my last entry. All I will say is that I'm not afraid, everything is as it should be, and I no longer need to remember how I got here. I'm here... It's... Breathtaking. Oh my, you have to see this.

 

 

Interesting....

A dream?

A Story?

A reality unknown?