The Cracking of the Crystal
This was it. He made it. They told him he couldn’t do it. That he shouldn’t do it. That it was forbidden under any circumstances by the deep natural law of Bridgeworld to even attempt it! But Meem had finally reached the summit.
Meem chuckled to himself as he looked down at how far he’d come. He had to admit, he was impressed with his own tenacity. A part of him didn’t think he would make it nearly this far. That was the part of him that he told to shut up while he got things done. Not that the journey was easy. They didn’t call this the Forbidden Road for nothing. It was no road at all, in fact. No natural or manufactured path bridged the two sides of the mountain. Meem was the first. The two sides of the mountain had always remained in balance, but they were never supposed to meet. That’s what Meem was told, anyway.
Why not? he’d always asked. That was it: Why? The forbidden question to go along with the forbidden road. He wasn’t allowed to ask that question. No one asked that question. They just accepted things the way they were. Why? That never made sense to Meem. He had always been curious, but it was more than that. Everyone else was so aggressively uncurious. As though simply asking the question would shatter the universe, but that was absurd. The foundation of Bridgeworld was strong. It was the source of all magic in the universe. It was glorious and immense and unfathomable, and everyone else was too afraid to ask how it all worked. Why?
So now, as he reached the crest of the mountain, he could finally get a glimpse of the other side. He wondered what they were like, the ones who stayed hidden deep in the dark side of the mountain. Were they stubbornly incurious and unthinking too? Did they just accept their lot in life and soldier on, always doing what they’re told? Or were they different? Were they interesting? Meem had so many questions, and he could not wait to investigate. He needed to get down there to see how the other half lived. He needed to learn everything he could. He needed to prove he wasn’t the only one who wanted more.
Then, just as Meem was about to make his descent, he saw it. His first thoughts were mere curiosity. This was the thing the others fussed over so much? This was the thing they all loved and feared? The thing we were forbidden to see? Perhaps I should get a closer look.
The Crystal hung as if suspended between the rocky formations at the mountain’s peak. It was something different, more than the mountain, yet still part of the mountain itself. The closer Meem got to it, the more curious he became, the more he needed to learn about it. He was drawn to the crystal by some unseen force, as though he was being pulled by something, but that was absurd. There was nothing there. And he wasn’t being forced to do anything. No one could make him do anything he didn’t want to do. He made his own destiny. He wanted to get closer to it. He was compelled. He needed to know more about it. It was elegant and powerful to a degree he had not been able to conceive until this moment. He didn’t know how to describe what he saw or how it made him feel.
If only he could get a closer look. No one had ever gotten this close before. He just wanted to see it up close. He didn’t even need to touch it, just look into that warm glow. Where was the harm in that?
But what if he did touch it? Surely, he couldn’t get close enough to touch it, but what if he did? What kind of secrets did it hold? What kind or reward would it give to someone who traveled this far just to behold its beauty?
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