You are the thief.

You are the ghost in the walls.

The house is breathing.

It smells of damp stone and old blood.

Your hands shake.

Not from cold.

From hunger.

From the weight of the years you have stolen.

You are Elias.

You are forty.

You are no one.

You wear a coat that fits no season.

It hangs on your shoulders like a shroud.

Inside, your pocket holds a map.

It is torn.

It is stained with grease and tears.

The map points to the center of the house.

To the heart.

To the thing you must take.

But you do not want it.

That is the trick.

That is the lie you tell yourself.

You are not here for the treasure.

You are here to stop it.

Or so you think.

The door at the bottom of the stairs is locked.

The lock is ancient.

Iron.

Rusted.

You pick it.

Your fingers are clumsy.

Time has made them stiff.

Time has made your joints ache.

You remember your father’s hands.

How they moved like water.

How they never trembled.

He is dead.

You are alone.

The lock clicks.

The door swings open.

Darkness pours out.

It is thick.

It is heavy.

It smells of sulfur and lilies.

You step inside.

The floor is cold.

Stone tiles.

They are wet.

Something is dripping.

Water?

Blood?

You cannot tell.

The air is still.

There is no wind.

There is no sound.

Only your own heartbeat.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

It is loud.

It is deafening.

You walk forward.

Your feet do not make a sound.

The carpet is thick.

It swallows the noise.

You see a figure.

Sitting in a chair.

Facing the wall.

It is old.

It is small.

It wears a white robe.

It is your mother.

She is dead.

She has been dead for ten years.

You know this.

You buried her.

You watched the dirt cover the wood.

And yet.

She is here.

Her back is to you.

Her shoulders are hunched.

She is praying.

Or weeping.

You do not know which.

You approach her.

Step by step.

The air grows colder.

Your breath fogs.

You reach out.

Your hand hovers over her shoulder.

You are afraid.

You are curious.

You are angry.

Why is she here?

Why did she leave you?

Why did she take the secret with her?

You touch her.

The fabric is cold.

Like ice.

Like death.

She does not move.

You whisper her name.

Eleanor.

Nothing.

You push her.

Gently.

Firmly.

She turns.

Slowly.

Her face is not your mother’s face.

It is your own.

But older.

Much older.

The skin is wrinkled.

The eyes are hollow.

The hair is white.

It is a mirror.

It is your future.

It is the end.

You recoil.

You fall back.

Your back hits the stone wall.

It is hard.

It is cold.

You look at the figure again.

It is watching you.

It is smiling.

It is sad.

It is happy.

It knows.

You do not.

The figure raises a hand.

It points to the floor.

Behind you.

You turn.

There is a hole.

In the center of the room.

It is small.

It is dark.

It is deep.

You see a light at the bottom.

Gold.

Bright.

Blinding.

It is the thing you are looking for.

The prize.

The truth.

The power.

You look at the mirror-face.

It shakes its head.

No.

It says without words.

No.

You look at the light.

It calls to you.

It sings.

It is beautiful.

It is terrible.

You want it.

You need it.

You must have it.

You are the immigrant.

You are the exile.

You are the one who was left behind.

You will not be left behind again.

You will not be forgotten.

You will not be erased.

You will take it.

You will keep it.

You will be safe.

You look at the mirror-face again.

It is crying.

Tears run down the old cheeks.

They are not water.

They are light.

They are gold.

It is giving it to you.

It is sacrificing itself.

It is giving you its life.

Its time.

Its pain.

So that you can live.

So that you can be young.

So that you can be free.

You realize.

You understand.

The map was not for the treasure.

The map was for the sacrifice.

You are not the thief.

You are the vessel.

You are the bridge.

You must jump.

You must fall.

You must let go.

You look at the light.

It is so bright.

It is so warm.

It is so close.

You look at the mirror-face.

It is so sad.

It is so kind.

It is so gone.

You make a choice.

You do not want the light.

You want the life.

You want the youth.

You want the time.

You want to go back.

You want to be safe.

You want to be loved.

You want to be known.

You step toward the hole.

Your feet do not move.

They are heavy.

They are tied.

They are rooted.

You are afraid.

You are old.

You are tired.

You are done.

You look at the mirror-face one last time.

It smiles.

It nods.

It closes its eyes.

It fades.

It dissolves.

It is gone.

You are alone.

The light is still there.

It is still calling.

It is still singing.

You are still there.

You are still young.

You are still old.

You are still you.

You step back.

You turn away.

You walk to the door.

You open it.

You walk out.

You climb the stairs.

You walk through the hall.

You open the front door.

You step outside.

The air is fresh.

The sky is blue.

The sun is warm.

You are free.

You are alone.

You are safe.

You are old.

You are dead.

You are alive.

You do not know which.

You do not care.

You walk away.

You do not look back.

The house stands behind you.

It is silent.

It is empty.

It is waiting.

For the next one.

For the next thief.

For the next ghost.

For the next mirror.

You are gone.

You are here.

You are everywhere.

You are nowhere.

You are the wind.

You are the dust.

You are the silence.

You are the sound.

You are the light.

You are the dark.

You are the beginning.

You are the end.

You are the middle.

You are the space between.

You are the breath.

You are the pause.

You are the silence after the shot.

You are the silence before the word.

You are the silence in the house.

You are the silence in the soul.

You are the silence in the heart.

You are the silence in the blood.

You are the silence in the bone.

You are the silence in the air.

You are the silence in the time.

You are the silence in the space.

You are the silence in the light.

You are the silence in the dark.

You are the silence in the life.

You are the silence in the death.

You are the silence in the love.

You are the silence in the hate.

You are the silence in the joy.

You are the silence in the pain.

You are the silence in the fear.

You are the silence in the hope.

You are the silence in the faith.

You are the silence in the doubt.

You are the silence in the truth.

You are the silence in the lie.

You are the silence in the word.

You are the silence in the name.

You are the silence in the face.

You are the silence in the eye.

You are the silence in the hand.

You are the silence in the foot.

You are the silence in the head.

You are the silence in the heart.

You are the silence in the soul.

You are the silence in the self.

You are the silence in the other.

You are the silence in the world.

You are the silence in the universe.

You are the silence in the void.

You are the silence in the all.

You are the silence in the nothing.

You are the silence in the everything.

You are the silence.

You are the silence.

You are the silence.

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