Weekly encouragements to help you express yourself.

The Black Light

By Grey

My knees give out.

I kneel on the floor. Alone. Tired. And frustrated.

Why can't I even do something this simple?

I roam my eyes around and I see others standing to their full height, smiles on their faces as they touch the golden light. Something I wasn't able to do even after a hundred tries.

My chest feels heavy as I avert my eyes to the golden light in front of me, looking so near yet so far.

I close my eyes. Why can't I do it?

“Stop trying.” A voice from behind stated.

I open my eyes and turn around, and there I saw a black light. My brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Don't you want your suffering to stop? Come, and your pain will end.”

My pain will end?

It can do that?

I stayed on my spot, doubting this light's words.

It seemed to sense that. “Look around.”

I did. And among the others that touched the golden light, there are more people that held the black light. They also held smiles on their faces. They look happy, despite the golden light was behind them, and this confused me.

“But why are they choosing you? Aren't we supposed to reach the golden one?” I ask. I sound lost, and that's because I am lost.

The black light's voice became different. “Because if you choose me, you will never feel pain. You will drown in pleasure. All you have to do is touch me, and everything you will ever want will be yours.”

It sounded wrong.

It sounded wrong in everything I know.

But I'm tired.

So I stand up and reach out my hand. “Okay. I trust you.”

My hand touched the black light.

It added, “Once you choose me, you can never turn back.”

Then I felt something. My hand that touched the light slowly became black, crawling on my skin, darkening every part of me.

I instantly regret what I've done when I knew what was happening.

It consumed me.

A response to the Now prompt