The ink is black. It is deep. It is eternal. You press the nib to the paper. The scratch is a scream. You are in the room. The room is small. The walls are white. The air is still. You are not here. You are in the trench. The mud is cold. The noise is loud. The silence here is worse. It eats you.

"Read it," he says.

His voice is soft. It is a knife. It cuts the air.

"I am reading," you say.

Your voice is thin. It is a wire. It is about to snap.

"Read it to me."

He sits in the chair. The chair is wood. The wood is dark. He is old. His face is a map. The lines are deep. The lines are scars. He is your teacher. He is your judge. He is your god.

You look at the page. The words are there. They are yours. They are lies. You wrote them last night. Your hands were shaking. The ink bled. The words bled. You did not mean them. You meant nothing. You meant to be free.

"Begin," he says.

You open your mouth. The words come out. They are small. They are dry.

"In the beginning, there was the sea."

He nods. His head is a stone. It does not move much.

"Continue."

You breathe. The air tastes of dust. The air tastes of old paper. The air tastes of death.

"And I walked upon it. And I did not sink."

He stops. His eyes are bright. They are wet. They are hard.

"You wrote that?"

"Yes."

"Lies."

"I wrote what I felt."

"You felt nothing."

The words hang in the air. They are heavy. They are lead. You swallow. The sound is loud. The sound is a roar.

"I felt fear," you say.

"Fear is a small thing. It is a mouse. It runs. It hides. You are not a mouse."

He stands up. The chair scrapes. The sound is sharp. It is a nail in your head. He walks to the window. The glass is thin. The world is outside. The world is bright. The world is cruel.

"Look at the light," he says.

You look. The light is white. It is blinding. It is a wall. It pushes against your eyes. You blink. You close your eyes.

"Do not close your eyes," he says.

His voice is low. It is a growl. It is a beast.

"You closed them. You ran. You always run. You run from the war. You run from the blood. You run from the truth."

"I do not run."

"You are here. You are safe. You are writing. Writing is running. Words are smoke. Smoke hides the fire."

You look at your hands. They are pale. They are soft. They are useless. They are not hands. They are gloves. They hide the flesh.

"I want to be safe," you say.

"Safety is a coffin," he says.

The word hits you. It hits your chest. It is a stone. It is a hammer. You feel it in your bones. You feel it in your teeth.

"I want to survive," you say.

"Survival is a lie. To survive is to deny. To deny is to die. You are already dead. You have been dead since the trench. You have been dead since the mud. You are a ghost. You are a shadow. You are a nothing."

He turns around. He faces you. His face is a mask. The mask is cracked. The cracks are deep. The cracks are dark.

"Show me the ghost," he says.

"I am the ghost."

"No. You are the man who pretends to be a ghost. You are the man who hides behind the words. You are the man who believes that if he writes it, it is not true. If you write the pain, the pain is gone. If you write the fear, the fear is gone. If you write the death, the death is gone. It is not gone. It is here. It is in your blood. It is in your breath. It is in the ink."

He points to the page. The ink is dry. The ink is black. The ink is alive.

"Read the end," he says.

You look at the page. The end is there. The end is a cliff. The end is a drop. You read it.

"I am free. I am light. I am air."

He smiles. The smile is small. The smile is sad. The smile is cruel.

"You are not free," he says.

"Why?"

"Because you chose to lie. You chose to believe the lie. The lie is your cage. The words are the bars. You built the cage. You locked the door. You threw away the key. You are in the cage. You will be in the cage forever."

The room is small. The room is tight. The walls are closing in. The air is thick. The air is heavy. You cannot breathe. You cannot move. You cannot think.

"Open the door," you say.

"Which door?"

"The door to the truth."

"There is no truth. There is only the choice. You chose to be a ghost. You chose to be a nothing. You chose to be safe. Safety is death. You chose death."

He sits down. The chair is still. The room is still. The silence is loud. The silence is a roar. The silence is a scream.

"Write it again," he says.

"I cannot."

"You can. You must. You must destroy the lie. You must destroy the ghost. You must become the man. You must become the flesh. You must become the blood. You must become the pain."

"I am the pain."

"No. You are the man who hides from the pain. The pain is the truth. The pain is the life. To be in pain is to be alive. To be in pain is to be real. To be safe is to be dead."

He looks at you. His eyes are deep. His eyes are dark. His eyes are full. They are full of water. They are full of tears. They are full of rage.

"I loved you," he says.

The words are soft. The words are small. The words are heavy. They are a mountain. They crush you.

"You are my student. You are my son. I loved you. I wanted you to be strong. I wanted you to be brave. I wanted you to be real. I failed. I failed you. I let you hide. I let you lie. I let you die."

You shake your head. Your head is a stone. It does not move.

"I did not fail you."

"You did. You let me be a ghost. You let me be a nothing. You let me run. You let me hide. You let me die."

"I wanted you to survive."

"Survival is a lie. I wanted you to live. To live is to suffer. To live is to feel. To live is to bleed. To bleed is to be real. You chose not to bleed. You chose not to feel. You chose not to be real. You chose to be a ghost. You chose to be a nothing. You chose to be dead."

He stands up. He walks to the door. The door is wood. The wood is dark. He opens the door. The light comes in. The light is white. The light is blinding. The light is a wall.

"Go," he says.

"I cannot."

"You must. You must leave the lie. You must leave the cage. You must leave the ghost. You must go into the world. You must go into the pain. You must go into the life. You must bleed. You must feel. You must be real. You must be alive."

He closes his eyes. His face is a stone. His face is a mask. The mask is cracked. The cracks are deep. The cracks are dark.

"Go," he says.

You stand up. Your legs are weak. Your legs are thin. Your legs are trembling. You look at the page. The page is white. The page is blank. The page is a void. The page is a death.

You pick up the pen. The pen is cold. The pen is hard. The pen is a bone. You press the nib to the paper. The scratch is a scream. The scratch is a cry. The scratch is a prayer.

You write. You write the truth. You write the pain. You write the blood. You write the fear. You write the death. You write the life. You write the self. You write the soul. You write the soul that is burning. You write the soul that is screaming. You write the soul that is alive.

The ink is black. The ink is deep. The ink is eternal. The ink is alive. The ink is you. You are the ink. You are the word. You are the truth. You are the pain. You are the life. You are real. You are here. You are now. You are alive. You are free. You are not free. You are in the cage. You are in the room. You are in the world. You are in the pain. You are in the life. You are in the truth. You are in the self. You are in the soul. You are in the ghost. You are in the nothing. You are in the everything. You are in the void. You are in the light. You are in the dark. You are in the silence. You are in the noise. You are in the breath. You are in the blood. You are in the heart. You are in the mind. You are in the spirit. You are in the flesh. You are in the bone. You are in the marrow. You are in the root. You are in the branch. You are in the leaf. You are in the flower. You are in the fruit. You are in the seed. You are in the earth. You are in the sky. You are in the star. You are in the sun. You are in the moon. You are in the night. You are in the day. You are in the morning. You are in the evening. You are in the past. You are in the present. You are in the future. You are in the time. You are in the space. You are in the void. You are in the all. You are in the none. You are in the one. You are in the many. You are in the self. You are in the other. You are in the we. You are in the they. You are in the I. You are in the you. You are in the he. You are in the she. You are in the it. You are in the is. You are in the was. You are in the will be. You are in the has been. You are in the is being. You are in the will have been. You are in the time. You are in the eternal. You are in the moment. You are in the now. You are in the here. You are in the there. You are in the everywhere. You are in the nowhere. You are in the here and now. You are in the here and then. You are in the here and away. You are in the here and gone. You are in the here and lost. You are in the here and found. You are in the here and free. You are in the here and bound. You are in the here and true. You are in the here and false. You are in the here and real. You are in the here and fake. You are in the here and alive. You are in the here and dead. You are in the here and gone. You are in the here and stayed. You are in the here and moved. You are in the here and stayed. You are in the here and now. You are in the here. You are in the now. You are.

The ink dries. The page is full. The room is quiet. The light is gone. The dark is here. The dark is kind. The dark is soft. The dark is real. You are in the dark. You are in the truth. You are in the pain. You are in the life. You are in the self. You are in the soul. You are in the ghost. You are in the nothing. You are in the everything. You are in the void. You are in the light. You are in the dark. You are in the silence. You are in the noise. You are in the breath. You are in the blood. You are in the heart. You are in the mind. You are in the spirit. You are in the flesh. You are in the bone. You are in the marrow. You are in the root. You are in the branch. You are in the leaf. You are in the flower. You are in the fruit. You are in the seed. You are in the earth. You are in the sky. You are in the star. You are in the sun. You are in the moon. You are in the night. You are in the day. You are in the morning. You are in the evening. You are in the past. You are in the present. You are in the future. You are in the time. You are in the space. You are in the void. You are in the all. You are in the none. You are in the one. You are in the many. You are in the self. You are in the other. You are in the we. You are in the they. You are in the I. You are in the you. You are in the he. You are in the she. You are in the it. You are in the is. You are in the was. You are in the will be. You are in the has been. You are in the is being. You are in the will have been. You are in the time. You are in the eternal. You are in the moment. You are in the now. You are in the here. You are in the there. You are in the everywhere. You are in the nowhere. You are in the here and now. You are in the here and then. You are in the here and away. You are in the here and gone. You are in the here and lost. You are in the here and found. You are in the here and free. You are in the here and bound. You are in the here and true. You are in the here and false. You are in the here and real. You are in the here and fake. You are in the here and alive. You are in the here and dead. You are in the here and gone. You are in the here and stayed. You are in the here and moved. You are in the here and stayed. You are in the here and now. You are in the here. You are in the now. You are.