War Lock
That was dangerous, uncharted territory.
It was said that if you climbed the highest, coldest and wildest mountain in the world, you’d be able to catch a glimpse of it. Lock didn’t know what was it.
But it was the challenge that enticed him.
He was no hero, no. Lock couldn’t care less about the end of the world as long as he was alive and life was still as exciting. The only thing he wanted was to get closer to what he had never known, touched, seen or heard before. It was the sense of curiosity that made him boldly go where no one has gone before.
He carried a magic wand with him he once found in an old tree. It was prettily carved and shaped, it glowed in the night and called for him at night, during various dreams and nightmares. It drove him crazy sometimes, the calls. It called his name, but it called him to come to the top of that hill and to be honest, the curiosity was killing him more than the annoying calls.
Nothing on Earth could thrill Lock enough than getting to the top of that hill.
Lock served one single purpose: his own. It might have been selfish of him to be so thirsty about knowledge. People thought he was crazy, that he cared about no one if it didn’t bring him new knowledge. He admitted it frequently: “people are no use to me if there’s nothing new for me to learn.” And learning he learnt, in the books, in nature, from people… but that thing on the top of that hill still called for him and he had to go take a look on that thing. He knew he might die sooner than he had expected, he knew that his thirst might lose him.
So when the day rose, he started to climb that mountain, he didn’t even prepare his climb, he was moved by his sole desire.
It was foolish.
He was literally thirsty for something more concrete (water) and having the worst crisis in his life (hypoglycemia). He learnt but never from his mistakes, only from the books. He knew he should’ve prepared his hike to the top. He didn’t know why it called for him so much but when he felt the nausea halt him, he knew something was wrong. His head felt heavy and his body light. Tears were starting to flow across his cheeks that he couldn’t stop.
He felt so damn weak and didn’t know why. Well, unconsciously, he knew he should’ve been eating more, sleeping more, but he couldn’t, didn’t want to. His body moved by itself most of the time, it was like he was on auto-pilot.
It was starting to snow and the temperature was dropping dangerously. He couldn’t feel his toes anymore, he knew it was the end. He knew he was going to die. Right here, right now. Cold, alone with nothing else than his stupid ego. Perhaps he knew it all along, that he was going to die on the top of that hill.
A bit later, Lock felt his body warm up and his brain regaining consciousness.
He was so shocked to be still alive, his hand holding tightly his wand. It was glowing. It gave him the strength to rise from the ground and keep on walking.
And he kept on walking, walking, only with his wand as an aid.
After what felt like forever, Lock reached the peak. His wand became uncontrollable in his hand, it was vibrating like it never did before. Lock was amazed by the light and the warmth surrounding him.
He couldn’t believe he was still standing with his frozen toes and fingers. Perhaps he lost them, perhaps he was dreaming.
His wand started moving by itself towards the glowing cross and Lock felt something indescribable:
he felt fulfilled.
For the first time in his life, Lock felt he had accomplished something in his life. He could’ve cried if he wasn’t so dehydrated and his head wasn’t buzzing from the altitude.
He was losing consciousness while the light of the cross beamed brighter.
Lock smiled one last time before closing his eyes.
He reached the top so he could die peacefully.
