The girl’s long, black hair was being whipped around by the wind as she entered the cave. A couple of steps in, however, everything became still. Most of her tribe dreaded this point in their life, but she saw it as an opportunity to get to know herself better. Perhaps that was the reason for the exercise. No one is fully an adult until they are confronted with themselves. She pitied the rest of the world, who entered it without fully knowing what was at their core. Finding this out isn’t something that comes naturally. The only way to see it is too expose yourself to the heat, so to speak.

She didn’t actually know what to expect. It was common knowledge that you don’t ever talk about or listen to what happens inside the cave. That doesn’t stop the huddled conversations of the younger ones from happening occasionally, as they wonder what it is that they inevitably were to experience. They would even curiously scan the faces of those who returned to the village after their experience, but their faces were as telling as stone.

Some feared it so much they would have nightmares about it. Others would refuse to do it but then eventually comply when they couldn’t return home, find an occupation, or marry until they experienced it. Some would leave and wander for a couple of days and return, and some would enter without walking to the end, hoping to get away with their ruse. They couldn’t hide it though, and would invariably get sent back. What you don’t know until you’ve gone is that when you get back, you have a certain look. Only if you have been through it yourself do you see it, and only if you’ve been through the experience do you have it. And what you don’t know until you have the look is that the rest of your life is based on it. When you’re young you think you’re free to choose your occupation on your own, but when you get back your look determines your job, your income, and your spouse for you. No one complains, no matter what it is.

She slowly walked towards the back of the cave, more curious than afraid. The closer she got to the end, the lighter it got. Finally she came to what looked like a spherical warm glow. That was the only way to describe it. It wasn’t attached to anything, and it had no source. By all appearances, it was the source. The glow was large enough to encompass a person, and there was a platform underneath, carved out of the rock. She slowly walked up to it, and stepped into it. Suddenly it felt like her mind was inside out, despite things looking normal from the outside. Every emotion she had was amplified a thousandfold. If there was anything she hated, she wanted to destroy it. If there was anything she loved, it became an obsession. And fear… that’s the part everyone was afraid of most. Everything you fear runs through your mind. It’s as if you’re having every nightmare you ever had, but all at once.

Just when it felt like body systems are going to start shutting down from the shock of it all, the mind pushes beyond it and find its own way to calm them all down at once. As the intensity dies, what’s left is the most amazing serenity and a feeling that you have been through the worst and lived. Anything that happens for the rest of your life is nullified in intensity. All emotion and stress is permanently controlled, set at adequate levels.

The girl became reacquainted with her surroundings and stepped off the platform. She made her way towards the cave opening, eager to get back to the village. As she neared the entrance, again she heard the wind rushing, and slowly it started whipping up her hair and her long layered robes. She fought the wind as she worked her way back to the village, but this time it was without care - just quiet determination. As she entered the village, everyone looked different to her than they had before. Each one, those who already had The Experience, had varying degrees of Serenity. Some almost didn’t have any, but it was still there. Some practically glowed with it.

She noticed, though, that one by one the villagers turned to look at her. Children and peers gazed at her intently. The rest of the villagers came up to her too, mouths gaped open. As they approached, they started dropping to their knees. She joined the younger ones in their confusion as they viewed this odd behavior, for this was something no one had ever done before. She glanced up, and the village chief was walking towards her quickly. Upon reaching her, however, he too got down on his knees. Then they all collectively bowed, and the chief spoke, holding up a golden rod to her on both hands.

“My Queen,” he said.