Manousos Lionis & Argyro Sadrazani

All that there is is the ladder.
Only the ladder. Nothing but the ladder.
So I know I must climb it. It is my duty, my fate even.
And yet I hesitate.
I look around me.
Nothing but the ladder.
What lies at the final step?
I climb.

It’s strenuous. I feel dizzy, and hot, and tired.
My legs are sore, my palms are harsh, the steps are slippery, my eyes are burning.
My whole body aches. And yet I cannot stop.
Excitement flows through every inch of me. I don’t care about what’s below me. Above me comes the sky, the sun, the stars, the dawn.
Climbing this ladder, I hope. I am free.

No.
Suddenly, I can’t feel my legs, my arms, my head. My whole body is numb.
Gravity draws me, I can’t hold on.
I fall.

And fall and fall and fall.
I hadn’t realized I had climbed so high up.
I had almost reached the light…

A tear ascends before my motionless face.
The reflection of light, the clearness, the shape. The beauty.
Strange that I am having this thought while falling. Any second now, everything will end.
And yet the tear was beautiful.

I feel the ground coming near.
I close my eyes.

Dark.

Just a dream. Only a dream.