A little vent writing inspired by an old Asia song I used to love listening to back when I was obsessed with them.



You open your eyes. You've never seen this place before, sitting up you find yourself on a stone bench in a maze. The walls are old brick, vines and ivy hanging from them. They are very high up, there would be no way to climb up to get a better look around. You see the sky is clear, the air feels crisp like it's morning. You have plenty of daylight to find your way out of this labyrinth.

You start walking down the long pathways. You think you have a sense of direction, but you find a dead end and turn around, retracing your steps as best you can. You walk down another pathway, thinking you're going to find the way out, but you discover the bench you had started at. You realize that you haven't gotten anywhere.

There is something sitting on the bench - an old photo. You must have missed it when you first got up, and picking it up, you see that it is you a few years ago. You were confident, eager to live, ready for any challenge.

What happened? Have you lose that drive?

You put the photo in your pocket and turn around, going back the way you came. You take a different turn this time, following the old pathways, looking for any sign of the exit. You soon find the same bench again, with another photo of yourself. You remember that day all to well...

...something terrible happened that day. You turn your head, you don't want to look at it. Instinctively you rip the photo in half, and continue tearing it, the only sound from the place other than a few birds chirping every now and then.

You drop the pieces onto the ground, which flutter in a sudden wind out and over the walls. The memory will always haunt you, but somehow it manages to escape this prison.

So why can't you?

Caw!

You are startled as a little crow has been sitting on the ground, watching you curiously. You turn to look at him, and he hops off, squawking once again. You are curious - the little guy is the only other living creature you've seen since you woke up here. Maybe he knows the way out.

You follow him. He is fast, but he chooses the turns in the labyrinth easily. You keep up, only losing him once or twice, but you listen for his distinct cawing and catch up when you lose your way.

He leads you into a larger part of the maze - a circular open place where a fountain trickles in the center. He perches on the statue in the center of the fountain - a sitting lion that is watching you as you walk in. You are startled at first - the lion looked very real, but then you see that he is only metal.

Strangely, you notice the crow has turned to metal as well, sitting on the lion's head. Tired, you sit on the low wall of the fountain. It is full of water, and small streams flow from beneath the lion's paws. The sound is very soothing, and within the fountain you see tadpoles swim aimlessly and happily. They must really enjoy this fountain.

You sit there, reflecting on everything that has happened. Why were old memories bothering you? Why are you even here? What was the purpose of it all?

And then you can't help but cry a little. You are lost, your mind is shutting down. There would not be an escape from this place.

"There you are!", someone says. You look up to see your deer standing before you, their face smiling brightly as if they were relieved. "I was afraid I lost you forever!", they say.

"Where is this?", you ask the deer.

They approach and nuzzle you with deep kindness, replying, "Sometimes when we lose ourselves, we appear in a maze. We follow the paths set before us, getting more lost, finding ourselves more helpless and burdened. But when we ask for help...", the deer looks to the now metal crow, "we find guidance and relief. We may not be out of the maze, but we're not as lost as we were before."

You reflect on your deer's words. They are absolutely right, and wiping your tears, you stand and nod to them. "Never be afraid to ask for help.", your deer continues, and turning, they motion you to follow. You do so, and within moments you exit the labyrinth and find a rich meadow before you.

"Feel better now?", the deer asks you.

You nod, "Thank you for everything you do for me.", you reply.

They smile and look to the sky, "And thank you for letting me help you.", they reply.