I awaken to a cold, rainy and dark birthday, despite it being early in the morning. It seems that all my friends have not yet woken up, my phone telling me that it has no unanswered calls, messages or notifications.

I finally get off of my bed to get myself ready to embark on a journey that I’ve been putting off for months now.

As I begin to gather my belongings for the trek that awaits me, I wonder to myself:

“Why now?…”

“Those dreams which haunted me as a child, now return to me as an adult…”

“Why Now? Is it time for it to begin? The Third Great Work?…”

“I sense the ocean of pain yet again – the screams of an entire kingdom, beckoning me to go to them…”

“It’s not like I can stay here much longer anyways…”

“This world is falling apart, and I can’t afford to be in the middle of it, especially when I need to get there, to leave everything ready for-…”

“This City… it’s an infection… every waking moment I’m here, I can feel myself waste away… Fighting against the collective consciousness of the infected populace which only seek their own destruction…”

“I can’t procrastinate anymore… The visions have all been right thus far, I can’t distrust them anymore… They’ve proven themselves truer than true…”

With my heart almost skipping a beat, I clutch my Lapis Lazuli pendant while pleading:

“O Gods of The Old World, The Age of Crystals, and The Age of Stones; guide me in this untimely undertaking of my journey to the goal you’ve set for me!”

“Illuminate the shadows and reveal to me the evil that awaits me on the path I must take to find your boons!”

“Keep me and my blind body safe from the perils of this dying world!”

I drink my last cup of the coffee I used to grow and process here at the apartment, while eating the bread I made from the wheat I used to grow here too, uttering the ending of the prayer before I leave.

As I walk out of my front door, I kiss the little window on the door-panel goodbye from the inside of my apartment – knowing that I left behind a layer of lip gloss as a sealed signature of my farewell, and feeling the coldness of the familiar glass for what may be the last time.

Walking down the spiral staircase, I smell and feel the grains of that delicious polished wood under my fingers as I always did countless times before, this time only hoping to return to the place I confidently call my home…

Hearing the tip-taps of my shoes on the marble floor, I think of the infinite possibilities of my journey, not knowing the cards in my own hand…

And worst of all, thinking of how different things could have been if my parents were still here… if they would have been here to begin with…

I let out a whisper of thought in the form of a soft whisper:

“These dreams which haunt me as an adult, now show to me a land I think does not exist, and a family which does not exist…”

“Is this me from another world?-“

A sharp, cold gust of wind smacks my face and interrupts my thoughts the second I step foot out of my apartment building; I grip onto my leather bag and wool scarf while an intensely bright and somehow warm ray of sunshine shines on my face, lightly caressing my skin and hair deliciously over with its nutritious light, reminding me of the fleeting nature of the events I’m supposed to be experiencing, while also warming me up from the wind’s cold grip.

“A world of comfort, familiarity, perceived stability and security… at the cost of turning oneself into a part of their plans…”

My thoughts are interrupted yet again – I think I feel snow. It falls gently on my heavy winter clothes and the little exposed skin I have.

My Wishing Charm begins to emit a faint frequency, piercing my mind like the coldness of the air on my skin yet again.

As I reach to hold my Wishing Charm, another vision invades my Ontic Screen; a building in Astoria – Queens, New York… This time, sensing a familiar presence in the building I’m seeing.

“It seems I have my destination. She’s waiting for me.”

“I know it, a sound, her voice – it calls out to me. I cannot let myself wait any longer.”

“Stella, I can finally hear you. I can hear you loud and clear.”

“I’m on my way. I’m finally on my way.”