Tarik stood motionless, staring at the figure before him. It seemed almost unreal, as if it didn’t belong to this world. Time itself had stopped, and the only sound he could hear was the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. The figure didn’t move, but its presence filled the space around him — heavy, incomprehensible, as if it were the essence of eternity itself.
Suddenly, the silence was broken by a sound. It was a voice, but not a human one. It didn’t come from the figure; instead, it echoed within Tarik, in his mind and in his very soul. The voice was deep, ancient, and yet strangely familiar.
“Why have you come here?” the voice asked.
Tarik flinched, unprepared for his thoughts or intentions to be questioned. He wanted to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. He felt the question wasn’t meant for his voice but for the depths of his being.
Finally, he gathered his thoughts and silently answered, “I seek the truth. I want to know why I am here and who I truly am.”
The voice responded, as if reading his mind:
“You have not come here merely for answers. You came because you feel that something has been watching over you for a long time.”
These words made Tarik freeze. It was true. He had always felt that something unseen, something greater than himself, had been watching him throughout his life. But to hear it spoken by another being was both unsettling and reassuring.
“Do you believe this watchful presence has been a blessing or a curse?” the voice asked.
Tarik hesitated. He had always wavered between these extremes. The watchful presence had given him strength, even saved his life at times. But it had also left him restless, plagued with doubts about himself and his reality.
“I don’t know,” he admitted silently.
“And that,” the voice replied, “is why you walk this path. To uncover what you are afraid to acknowledge. To face what you have always sensed but never dared to understand.”
The darkness around him began to stir, as if it had come alive. The figure before him dissolved into this movement, but the voice remained.
“Keep moving, Tarik. The answers await you, but they will demand more than courage. They will demand that you accept yourself.”
With those words, the voice faded, and silence returned. Tarik stood there, turning the words over in his mind. His fear stirred once more, but now he understood that this fear was a part of his journey, a part of what he needed to confront.
“To accept myself,” he whispered. Then he took another step forward.