Sounds of scraping boulders sealed the door behind me with thud, resounding with permanence. I was in here and it seemed that the only way to go was forward. I moved along the wall, as it was dark in here. I could see but just barely and the vines smelled of a sort of musty aroma, thick with a natural pungency that felt very earthy.

The stones were cold, much colder than I had expected and the room I was in had a coldness about it. Suddenly, a light filled the room, blinding and brilliant. I covered my eyes. I could feel the coldness of the room soften as the light provided some warmth, it was the light of a fire. The musty aroma seemed to fade slightly as the scent of leaves burning in a distance filled my nostrils. I looked up and there, floating in the middle of the room, was a sign.

It read, 'Level 1'. Intrigued, I walked towards it and as I did it moved away from me, as if leading me somewhere. I ran after it and as I did, it moved faster, lighting the way as we traveled through this temple. It stopped at the foot of a seemingly infinite staircase, spiraling back into the nothingness from where it came. I was alone again.

The room was dark again and the earthy smell, more pungent than ever, was my only companion at the foot of this stair case. I began to ascend. Step after step, I felt myself getting faint with altitude and fatigue. I must have walked over 1,000 stairs by now when suddenly, the top of the stair case appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, as if they staircase knew I were growing tired. A foyer stood before me, dimly lit by 12 candles, 3 in each corner.

A set of doors, 15 feet high at least, wooden and with golden handles and hinges stood at the end of the foyer, as if this were the only option I had. I walked towards them and the designs inscribed in their panels became clear. Large masses of people walking toward the doors were inscribed on the doors and they all passed through. I looked at the inscription when suddenly, a flame flickered on the inscription and began to burn. I watched this for a moment, and then the flame flickered out again. What was left where the flame was burning was my own image among the crowd of people, looking back at me, and encouraging me to follow. I grabbed the handle tentatively, and turned it, pushing the door wide. What I saw was incredible.

Everything that could possibly happen, was happening, right before my eyes and at the same time. As I thought, so the world in front of me became. I thought quickly of a prairie, and the malleable substance in my view quickly became green and flowing with life and nature. I thought of hell, and the brimstone crumbled within the flames before my very eyes. Incredible I thought. I began to imagine for myself a perfect life, one filled with joy, love, and companionship and as I thought, so it became.

I walked into this life content, the door closing softly behind me.