June 1 2007
A white moon shone down in bright contrast to the ashen sky. The angelic eyes of the stars were hidden behind an overcast of darkened clouds. I stood, adorned in a haze of drowsiness, at the edge of a shimmering bay.
The gateway was before me; a flickering shadow of the moon laid out as a pale pathway.
The wind held its breath, as did I. For a moment the clouds parted, and let the moon show its brilliance. A shaft of light streaked across the sky and a thin layer of unseen pressure descended like a thin film and blanketed the bay. Ripples flickered across the smooth surface of the water, emanating from the shore.
I felt as though the world had been shifted into an ultra-sensitive focus. Every ripple in the water was clearly defined, and after barely a moments pass, I grew dizzy with the incessant movements and had to close my eyes. The reflection of the moon shone white with iridescence. I opened my eyes, able to sense a change of light, and witnessed as the glamorous pathway slowly intensifying. I became acutely aware of the gentle, rhythmic lapping of water sloshing onto my bare feet. The froth from the receding wave slowly disintegrated with faint fizzles.
I took a deep breath, though it did nothing for reassurance, and watched in pure astonishment. Somewhere between the sky and the water, a low hum began. No more than a faint whisper. It steadily increased with the intensity of the light until I was covering my eyes for fear of blindness. When the light subsided into a manageable amount, I peeked out from between my fingers. The beaming starch of the moons shadow flickered once. Twice. A third time.
Then in melted into the water, creating a pasty colored plate that stretched to the end of the horizon. I raised a shaking foot, placed it gently on the surface of the white water, and shifter my weight onto it. I stood in relief on top of the luminescent water, as an odd sensation swept over my body, It felt as though a watery wind was circling my feet and swirling around me. I took a step forward, and again my feet came to rest on the ever-moving surface.
I could see the sand below the water, flowing back and forth with the currents. Ahead of me, the full moon resided in a glistening bed at the horizon. It seemed to glint with tranquility, and I yearned for its serene posture.
After convincing myself of the fact I was walking on water, I began to walk determinedly on the path leading out of the bay: towards the gateway.
I kept my footsteps light and even, subconsciously thinking that if I stepped down to quickly, the pathway would collapse beneath me.
Caught between Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and reenacting a biblical stunt, I grew tired quickly and my gait slowed. I stooped over to rest and take a breather.
Almost instantly, the whiteness of the water faded, and the sky began to revert to day. My feet became wet with water. I was sinking.
I scrambled to gain my balance, and by the time I did, I was up to my knees in water. I forced one of my legs out of the water, my adrenaline pumping. Just a second later, I was walking briskly forward, and the sky slipped back into night. The path beneath my feet became firm, and I decided that I wouldn’t stop walking.
It must have been hours that I walked in the endless night, but time would not deter me. Endlessly I walked, and relentlessly I pushed on until I wet the horizon. I was surrounded by the off white essence of the moon, and before me was the drop. It was the end of the Earth. Barely a foot in front of my unmoving, not-sinking feet, darkness like no other loomed. The water did not cascade into oblivion; it merely relayed against an unseen barrier. I peered of the edge of existence and saw the endless night, like a deep grave prepared effortlessly by Satan. Perhaps it had been. Perhaps it was deciet.
But faith overruled the devil, and I jumped into the pool of darkened tranquility with closed eyes and an open mind.
