I walked through the forest late last night with hopes of getting lost and never being found. The air was cool and welcoming. It was quiet and yet all I could hear was screaming from the wandering souls that had become lost in the woods. People avoided the forest for these reasons alone, but I found comfort among these wandering spirits. They were the closest things to friends that I had. People always judged me before they knew me whether it be because I was different or because I was weird. I didn't feel judgment passed onto me when I entered the woods. The spirits have offered a welcoming hand to me since I first started walking through this Gothic paradise and I had felt something towards them I could never feel towards another human being. Not quite sure of what that thing was, I still never questioned it. It felt too natural to be questioned. They spoke to me frequently and without hesitation, always speaking their interests and thoughts to the fullest degree. Some spoke of their old lives, about how life was most cruel towards them and their loved ones. Some didn't have loved ones which is what brought them to this safe haven in the first place. One spirit in particular spoke words I'll never forget. "To the tallest tree I approached and up the tallest tree I climbed, never looking down, in my hand the tool to my release, the keys to the kingdom if you will. Around the arm I tied one end of the rope and around my neck I tied the other end and without looking back I sent myself soaring into paradise."
Those were the words that shook my world, leaving an unsettling feeling in my stomach, but at the same time it left my mind feeling calm and UN-shook. A part of me feared this tale and the other embraced it like a mother's hug. I felt inspired to follow in this spirits footsteps. So I did, never once questioning my motives. I asked the spirit to guide me to the tallest tree where he experienced true nirvana. It humbly agreed and began onward.
We approached the stump and I looked up unable to see the peak of the mighty forest guardian. 'Onward you go", the spirit began, "For it's quite a journey to the top”. So I began my pilgrimage to nirvana. "Good luck and peace be with you my friend", the spirit said before taking off. “Goodbye my dearest and only friend” I said back to my spiritual guide.
It felt like a lifetime, but I finally reached the summit of the mighty guardian. I saw the rope the spirit had used to find paradise, still tied to the arm. Looking down I could see a body attached to the other end. For it was the body of my guide, it appeared to still be rather fresh. The body took the appearance of a young man, His age appeared to be about twenty, about the same age I was. I pulled the rope upwards to me so I may release the man's fleshy past. When I finally received the body I noticed something rather strange, something about his face in particular. His face was mine and mine his. Now frightened I dropped the body suddenly, it now falling down the side of great tree. I climbed back down the tree quickly, almost losing my footing and mimicking the actions of the man's body.
                                                                                    
When I reached the forest floor I began my search for my guide so that it may answer my questions. After searching for some time I finally found it. "Grand spirit", I started, Why does your human face resemble mine in every detail?" "Because I am not just some ordinary spirit" it replied, for I am something much greater". "The tale I told was not my own, But yours my dear friend". I was in utter shock, Unable to comprehend the words spoken to me. "But the memories no longer serve me". "When you found nirvana, your memories of your old life were taken from you so that you may only have peace." I had no longer felt shock, instead the feeling of gratitude now overwhelmed my conscious. I was at peace for all eternity and this kingdom now my home. Thank you dear friend for showing me a fragment of my old life, for now I will bury it along with my body.
Shortly after I said my goodbyes to my guide and it made its way onward through the forest so that it may guide other lost souls into nirvana. After burying my body I began to wander through the forest once more, only this time with knowledge of the events in my life. This Gothic paradise was my home and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else, for my journey began here and it will end here as it was always meant to.