I once saw a deer passing by,  
its eyes intriguing and delicate —  
he was walking unhurriedly while the lights  
behind him swerved and danced pokily.  
While I gathered my hands to touch him,  
he turned around and ran away.

I once saw a shadow passing by,  
its being brought chills to my bones —  
he was walking behind me, unhurried,  
while there was no light dancing around us.  
Even the winds stopped breathing;  
until I remembered, he was me.

I once saw a man passing by,  
his presence gave me comfort and light.  
He was running away —  
I asked him, “Where are you going?”  
He answered, “To the future.”  
I smiled and turned to him, “Let's go.”  
He held my hands, and we both ran together.

I once saw a mirror echoing back my voice,  
its existence drove my mind and broke  
into tiny pieces — while I went bewildered and  
did not know what to do, he laughed and shattered  
into fragile broken pieces.  
He cried out, and I ran away.

I saw the deer passing by,  
its eyes gentle and noble —  
he stepped and stepped,  
until he was facing me.  
Behind him were the lights that stopped dancing,  
and the wind hustled a great bone-chilling harsh cold.  
“You can remember now?”

He asked, “Yes,”  
I told him and ran away  
to the future. I came, and all the shadows and mirrors broke and moaned in great pain.

I remember him now.

I was crouched in a dark corner of an ancient room...
With only a tiny stream of distant sunlight penetrating through a hole
To at least not allow the blackness to crush me to bits.

My hair was messy and my cheeks smelled of dry salty tears
My mind had begun to question my existence...
It was as if I was an object covered with dust in a forgotten dungeon, invisible to the world...
Utter loneliness threatened to drag me to the bottom of an unseen abyss
And my heart had already started to corrode with acidic bruises.

But then, as I was shifting to crouch myself better
My eye caught sight of my long, dark shadow, sitting by me
My heart was overwhelmed at the thought of how after all this time, it was still with me...

I knew, it could not speak
But I so badly wanted to ask it the reason for not leaving me alone like the remaining world...
So I spoke up...
Nothing happened for a few moments
But then, a voice echoed inside me:"I will only leave you when you have found light"


And perhaps at that fleeting moment
That one sentence was what I needed to survive!