Within the Abyss

 A/N

This is a short story based on Nicollettenikki's photo.

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I saw a man of magic once.  He was tall like a mountain wearing shrouds of black, as if his clothing were made of midnight.  He wore a top hat and a scarf of mystery.  I watched him as he walked the street alone; a wanderer I thought. 

But this was no mere wanderer; he was a man of magic.

 I followed him as he walked on the edge of the crowd going on unnoticed by everyone.  He kept his face downcast so that his features were impossible to make out.  Everything about him emanated secrecy and an intense forbidding.  I knew that I should not have followed him, but as he turned the corner I couldn’t resist chasing after him.

I raced across the crowd and turned the bend as he had.  What greeted me was not the mystery man, but an abyss.  As I stood there the abyss tugged at me, its darkness taking hold of me and pulling me closer to the void.  I called out in surprise and fear, trying desperately to turn away and escape the clutches of the endless dark but my young legs were not strong enough to keep me away and I fell into the void. 

As I spiraled deeper into the darkness there was no sound, even my terrified screams were silenced.  I could not see anything, the darkness was absolute.  Eventually I closed my eyes against the seeming night in defeat.  But just when I relaxed into absolution everything began to change.  Within the silence a small, delicate humming could be heard.  Within the night, a pure light cast the darkness aside.  Within the emptiness, shapes and creation distilled the void.  Soon, I was standing in a city, one similar to the one I had been stolen from.

Skyscrapers and buildings of brick and stone greeted me upon my awakening.  Turning all around I discovered that I did not stand there alone, the mysterious man stood not too far away.  I ran over to him and asked what had happened.  He was looking to the ground as he had when we were in the previous city, but he turned his gaze to acknowledge me. 

Upon seeing his face, I knew that this was no normal man; he was a man of magic. His face was pale and calm with a million secrets hidden within the smooth skin.  His eyes saw everything; their pools were eternity, the color a replica of every galaxy and every universe.  He was mystery itself with the revelations of the world hiding behind his smirking lips. 

I stood in awe before him, not knowing what I should do or say.  But he smiled kindly to me and offered me his hand.  I don’t know why I did not hesitate and instantly grasped his offered hand.  I marveled at the coolness and texture of it.  It was cold like the snow, and rough, as if he worked diligently with his hands all of his life.  As I stood there with his hand cradling mine, darkness began to surround us.  I cried out in surprise, fearing that I would be lost within the void once more but the man squeezed my hand tighter and my fear dissipated.  It was strange.  For some reason I trusted this man absolutely.

The night soon swallowed us and I waited for the light and the new city impatiently.  However, there was no light this time, no humming to break the silence.  Instead, it was as if I had been thrown into space.  A darkness of a thousand colors surrounded us and I was lost in confusion. 

Where was I?

What was happening?

It was then that I noticed that my hand was empty.  Where was the mysterious man?

Turning all around I noticed something in the distance.  A blur at first by clarity was soon found.  It was the man.  But there was something flowing out behind him.  As I stared on I soon began to understand. 

It was a city.

A city was flowing out of him like a cape.  The building spilled away from him, falling down into the abyss.  Coming closer to his magic he turned to me, a smile still in place on his playful lips.  I stared at the city as it came to form, and realized that it was my city. 

He was a man of magic; the creator of the cities.

When the city stilled and spilled from him no more, he offered me his had again.  I took it and the next thing I knew I was standing in my city.  Nothing had changed.  The crowd of people still remained and the buildings still cut the skies.  The only thing missing was the mysterious, magical man.  He was nowhere to be seen, and though I searched for him I never found him. 

The magical man, the creator of my city.