. (Patreon)

"With more or less awareness, all men feel the need to come alive. But most of the methods suggested for bringing this about are snares and delusions."

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars (1939)

---

THRESHOLD

A lone figure, veiled in flowing fabric, stands before a circular gateway of searing light. The surrounding world is dense with smoke and dust, as if the remnants of a crumbled, forgotten realm. The colours are deep and warm—burnt orange, ochre, and molten gold—suggesting both destruction and transcendence. The figure tilts their head upward, a gesture of surrender or revelation. The light is overwhelming, forming an ethereal halo that contrasts sharply with the rough, churning landscape. The texture of the veil is delicate, almost spectral, blending with the swirling mist.

She has come to the edge of the known world, where legend speaks of a doorway not meant for mortals. Some say it leads to eternity, others to oblivion. She does not know which. What she does know is that the life she has left behind is too small, too narrow. The words of her teachers, the expectations of her kin, the careful roads laid before her—none of it was enough. And so she walked until the earth itself gave way, until she stood here, at the threshold.

The air is thick with the scent of burnt stone. The heat curls around her skin, but she does not retreat. There is no certainty beyond this point, only the promise of something other than what has always been. She closes her eyes. She breathes in. Then, without hesitation, she steps forward.

In ancient myths, such portals were not uncommon. The Greeks spoke of Orpheus descending into the underworld, his fate balanced on a single backward glance. The Norse told of Gjallarbrú, the bridge that led the dead to Hel’s domain. In some desert cultures, there were stories of a mirage-gate, appearing only to those who had abandoned all hope. Those who stepped through either vanished forever or returned with their eyes full of fire, speaking in voices not their own.

Perhaps she will be one of the returned, or perhaps she will dissolve into light. But the truth is, it does not matter. She is alive in this moment, more than she has ever been. And that is enough.