A Burden, A Blessing.

I had just woken up. I had no idea where I was.

I remember I was in my room, and I felt horrible. My chest felt very heavy, I wasn't thinking straight and my vision was blurred. I had an appointment later on that day, an appointment I really didn't want to go to. It was always the same thing: Sitting at that table, surrounded by angry people who would never stop frowning. They spoke angry words, gave angry looks and looked like they hated the thought of living. It is as if they had given up on life, and were merely fulfilling a role. Genuine corpses.

…Who am I kidding? I was the same. I looked angry, talked angry, and most importantly, felt angry. All the food tasted horrible, and whenever someone said anything, I would get moody and blame them. I knew it was wrong, but there is a difference between knowing and caring.

I still had a few hours before the appointment, so I decided to take a nap, hoping this heavy feeling on my chest would go away. Lying on my bed, I began to think a lot of things about myself, and felt as my eyes began to close. The only real good time of the day is when it ends.

That's when I woke up, and found myself in those ruins.

I was lying down on the cold floor of these mysterious ruins. I was confused, but not desperate, since the ruins, despite being new and mysterious to me, felt strangely familiar. Getting back on my feet, I decided to go look for an exit, or anything, for that matter. Directly to my left, there was a huge entrance with beautiful decorations everywhere.

As I approached this majestic and colorful entrance, I felt warmer and strangely eager. It was as if I wanted to just burst into laughter and get there already. The room was huge and full of colorful decorations, torches and pictures hanging on the walls. Being the curious young man I am, the first thing I did was to inspect these pictures. Then it struck me.

I clearly remember whispering "I-It's me…!" when I saw the first picture. It was me and my dog, Chip, the day my parents bought Chip as a puppy and gave it to me. I felt something like ice thawing inside me and I couldn't help but smile, and when I smiled, I felt like I was using muscles I had not used for a long time.

The rest of the pictures where like the first one: About my childhood. Words cannot begin to express the ecstasy I felt during the whole thing. How could I have forgotten the time me and Luke launched that rocket bottle right into Ms. Jackson's window! That was the day I learned to fear loud old ladies… Or about that time when I tricked Sally into thinking there was a treasure chest on the backyard?? Oh boy, saying Dad was angry is an understatement! So many forgotten memories!

It felt incredible. I wish I could just forget about everything and drown in this happiness. Just me and my memories with a worry in the world: A true Eden… Of course, things are never that easy. "Anxious" can't begin to describe how I felt the moment I saw the next entrance. "What will I find there? Will there be more memories?" was all I could think as I sprinted towards this new entrance.

The moment I entered the room, everything changed. This room was not nearly as bright as the last one; in fact, it looked harder and colder, with an intimidating fog. My anxiousness quickly faded like a mirage in the desert. The atmosphere in this new room was incredibly threatening, my throat was dry and I felt a lot of pressure on my stomach. I didn't want to be there, and all my brain kept thinking was "Run. Run away."

Yet, it felt like my duty… Like an obligation to myself to see what was in those pictures. The air around me felt different, as if whispering something… Almost like taunting me. As I walked towards the pictures, my steps echoed in the foggy, cold room, but I could not hear the steps. All I could hear was the agonizingly loud beating of my heart, pounding and pounding as if saying "Do you really want to face it??"

And that's when it hit me: Facing it. I've never faced anything in my life, always running away when things get hard. I knew exactly what I would find in those pictures, but I've always been running away and constantly blocking those memories out. They are in the back of my head all the time, trying to burst out, but like a jailor, I keep them repressed and contained instead of coming to terms with them.

Before I knew it, I was in front of the pictures. In stark contrast to the last pictures, these were large and intimidating, but I already came this far and I can't keep lying to myself. I decided to begin by looking at the comparatively smaller pictures, and there it was: Chip's death. The moment I saw it, I felt an implacable sorrow taking over me… Like I was pierced by a very sharp Stiletto right through the heart, but that didn't stop me. I had come this far and if I keep lying to myself, never shall this cycle of perpetual torment end for me.

I tightened my fists and renewed my resolve, and I resumed looking at the increasingly big pictures: My fight with Luke, Sally's car accident and my parent's eventual divorce. I was shaking and sobbing the whole time but I wouldn't stop looking at them until I came to terms with the stigmas of my heart. A man can only run away so much, and at one point, eventually, he has to face his inner demons.

When I finally "defeated" every picture, they began shrinking until they were no longer intimidating behemoths, and the thick fog that was in the room was gone. I noticed that the previously cold and intimidating room now had windows and I could feel a nice breeze. At that moment, I heard footsteps behind me and when I turned around, I saw a man in a white suit with red lining, a red tie and matching top hat.

"Excuse me" – I asked the moment I saw him – "Who are you??" He simply walked towards me. "How was it?? I bet a tad too hard at the beginning, am I right?" I just nodded, and he grinned "Well, nobody said facing Life was easy" – At this point he lit a cigar – "But neither is hiding from it, am I right? Well, you must be going now" he said as he walked past me.

"Wait a second" I said, and the man turned to face me once again, with surprise on his face. I offered him my right hand, and seeing this, the man laughed "Oh, boy, I wasn't expecting this" and gave me a handshake. He seemed very happy, and before leaving he said, in a vanishing voice "Don't force me to fetch you here again" and vanished with a smile on his face, and an intense light engulfed me, blinding me.

I was back in my room, on my bed. I stood and felt much lighter and, honestly, felt much better as well. I was full of energy, ready to do anything. I had an appointment later that day, but that didn't trouble me. All I could think was about what I'd do after the appointment; I was eager to live my life, to do what I wanted to do and, most importantly, to dare to do it.

Now that isn't a problem. Hiding might have solved the problem for 15 minutes, but what I just did solved it forever, and I want to show this to everyone… The light at the end of tunnel isn't a myth.