Beyond the map, where legends dwell, I ventured into the unknown

Where the heart beat rises, breath quickens, and perspiration glides smoothly off the skin

Traipsing through the lush meadows of before to find the somber darkness of a damp cavern

The slimy walls greeted me with abhorrence, clearly hoping it’s undesirable nature would be enough to ward off wanderers like me

It didn’t…

Still, I ventured farther within its ominous depths until the light behind was completely extinguished

Like a gnarled, cryptic hand reaching out from the murk tantalizingly raising a finger to beckon me forward

My adrenaline surges refusing to let me give up, I will find my prophesied prize

The pace quickens until I’m in an all-out run, how much farther can one cave go?

I suddenly hit a hard, unforgiving surface head-on which knocks me off my feet but my head free of the clouded obsession I’ve held for so long.

As I sit on the damp, cold floor I wonder why I’ve came all this way on the simple promise of an unclaimed, long forgotten treasure

Maybe I no longer needed whatever the cavern held; whether it be gilded riches, uncontested power, or knowledge even the most educated scholar would covet with greed

As I shake my head and turn my back to this drab place an unimaginable truth comes to light

The treasure was more than a mere materialistic dream

The treasure was understanding what I possessed all along was enough…