Freedom

When he was told to walk through the open door, he stood and took a deep breath watching the long dark path behind the door. A bright light was sparkling at the end of the path. He was awakened by the guard’s voice:
- Isn’t this what you’ve been searching for?? Come on go now.

It really was; he spent most of his life searching for freedom, and now, here it is right in front of him, all he had to do is walk through this dark tunnel and he’ll find his freedom at its end.
He was about to move when the guard stopped him..
- Wait… remember the rule?... you should pass it with your bare feet.

Yes, that was the only rule he was told… and he thought to himself…. “So what!” he already had left behind more precious things during his search. He quickly took off his shoes and socks… ready to go.
- Good Luck…. Were the last words he heard from the guard while he closed the door behind him.

The tunnel was in complete darkness... he could see nothing. So he had to walk with small cautious steps. The ground underneath his feet felt really strange; it gave him warm and cold feelings, and all of a sudden, he started to get memory flashbacks with each step he took. His happy moments, sad moments, his family, his friends, people he loved and people he hated, even people whom he met only once or twice in his entire life…
It seemed as if it took him a life-time to walk through the path, he almost relived every moment of his past life while walking through it. As he got close to the end of the path, he gathered all his strength and ran towards it..
The light surrounded him like a caring mother as he stepped out of the tunnel. A strange feeling of warmth and happiness surrounded him… “At last.. I’m free” he said. He completely forgot about the long walk, he was no longer tired, he ran through the light fields, screamed the air out of his lungs; he felt completely happy and unchained. That’s when, in his total happiness, he felt something strange. He suddenly missed his past life; the longing feeling got stronger and stronger. He ran into all directions looking for the tunnel door so he could go back, but alas, the door disappeared in the white heavenly light. He ran for hours and hours until he finally fell on the ground tired, crying… that’s when he heard that guard’s voice coming from far away:
- You searched for your own freedom and happiness in yourself… while it was around you all the time in the love and caring of your surroundings… you helped no one to find his path... so don’t expect any help in finding yours….

Those were the last words he heard… he cried and cried while he melt into the mist around him.