WriteOn! 2024

1st Place - Vjola Shtishi

Prompt: A beautifully wrapped package is at your door with the message, "Guard this with your life." What's in it and how do you protect it?

I cannot recall when exactly was it that I recieved this divine gift. It must have been ages ago since it is hidden deep within my consciousness. It was at that time when I started despising the oh so hateful crowd. 

 

Nighttime. I lie in my bed, awake. I am trying to fight off this sinister feeling that something obscure will happen. The thoughts that a nocturnal being will approach me and sevair me without giving it a second though petrify me…And here it comes! The doorbell rings soundly. I eagerly run towards the door, totally captivated by the urge to break the unbearable silence. I can no longer take it. It’s too much. I am tired of giving into sloth. 

 

Embracing the darkness and burying myself in it. And now that I am standing in front of the door everything sounds meaningless. I no longer care if something is amiss or that I can be slaughtered. The temptation is immense. 

 

The door opens with a creaking sound. I look around. No one is there. Nevertheless, there is a package. A black box, that is. I smirk. Holding the box firmly, I return to my room. I do not intend to turn on the lights. The crimson moonlight is more than enough. Time to see what lies in there. A ruthless prank? May be so. A wrong delivery? Who knows? All I can do is find out by myself. With trembling hands I bring myself to open it…oh my! The voices in my head are driving me crazy. I need to get a hold of myself or I will sink into insanity. The malicious chorus is trying to tell me something. I, by all means have to protect and cherish the sacred light. What are they blabbering? Pointless drivel. Nonsense. What do they mean by “sacred light”. Religion is not my thing. Where are these voices coming from, echoing in my head? I must be going mad. Even so, their proposal is luring me. I ought to focus on the package. I ought to see what it contains. 

 

I lower my head to get a better view. Abruptly, a powerful light bursts from the box. My eyes aren’t used to light. It hurts so much that I might get blind. It’s overwhelming. I cannot cover my eyes. My eyesight…It is gradually getting better and better whereas the light blooms fiercely. I would normally curl my lips in disdain but that is not the cane anymore. I now understand. The sacred light. It is my one and only salvation. I shall protect it no matter what. I need to become worthy of it. I shall dedicate my being to it, bow my head and hoil it through eternity. My top priority, my adoration, my mighty God. There’s yet to come. I need to secure the light, make a vow and obtain it. Taking it in, accepting it, I am already prepared. Watching it entwine with my soul, having it deep within me while being surrounded by darkness. It is a decision I will never regret. Even though I might break. Even though, I might fall hard…I am not willing to give up. That’s a given…

 

So, that’s what happened. I still bear the light inside me. It is the best thing that could ever happen to me. It indeed has brought me sorrow, pain, and suffering. “I am a lowlife, a nuisonce, I will never achieve anything.” Yet I keep fighting. Even if my path is long. I continuously have to bind myself so that I don’t get full of myself. Still, I continue walking in a daze in pursuit of my ideal. 

 

The alluring song of the syrens is now my anthem.