Answering the Call
I.
Shining.
Resplendent.
A world of white sand and endless palms, of navy blue skies and shimmering otherworldly horizons.
You belong. You are one of us.
It calls to me. In the dark and endless night, it calls to me.
Come. Be one with us.
But I can’t. Not yet. The tether that binds me to my Earthly life holds fast; I cannot escape.
Oh, but that other world: It calls to me, and every day, it gets harder to turn away.
II.
A dream.
I am floating. Soaring through the clouds. Riding a jet stream through endless blue.
Not clouds anymore but foam, like the froth from a just opened bottle of champagne. And water, sparkling like a bed of polished sapphires.
Come. You belong. You are one of us.
I am ache and need. I know no other purpose, no other destiny than to answer this ancient, unyielding call.
A hand, reaching from beyond to carry me away. I stretch to grasp it with my own. But it’s so far away, so very far away…
I come awake beneath the dim and silver light of the moon.
A spark kindles in my chest—a smoldering ember of pain and desire that I realize now will never die—and I lie awake until the sun’s first rays pierce my bedroom window with their sickly, comatose light.
III.
Pain.
I turn my weathered, pockmarked face toward a gray and ashen sky and cringe when the worn out joints in my knees issue a loud, crackling pop.
I behold the world from the other side of time, as an old man who’s ascended the golden ladder of life, only to discover it was never actually gold, only worthless, tarnished brass.
The spark that erupted in my chest long ago has transformed into a fire. I am immolation and desolation made flesh—consumed by hurt and heartbreak, and ravaged by broken promises, I am cast adrift.
Come.
For years, I’ve ignored that other world’s call. It was just noise, I told myself, a foolish fancy with no real-world significance. Only now, my “real-world” life is useless to me.
Old and infirm, I can no longer work, and those I once loved are dead. The Earth, rich in promises, has gifted me with rags.
Now, I strain at last to hear that other world’s voice—Come. You belong. You are one of us.—and bring it into focus once more.
I know now where my true home lies, and I turn away from my former life to follow after it.
IV.
A threshold.
Beyond: blue skies, white sand, and endless sparkling ocean. Behind: gray clouds, desolation, and endless darkness. It’s a wonder I remained for as long as I did.
The entrance to that other world is ringed in fire, but I do not hesitate.
I walk forward.
Forward into the fire.
Forward into love.
Forward into the light.
V.
A flash.
Pain.
I cry out, hold fast to that other world’s call as my old self is burned away.
Come. You belong. You are one of us.
Suddenly, the pain is gone.
I am a new creation.
Love envelopes me.
I am home at last.
Enter your email address and click "Submit" to subscribe and receive The Sign.