A voice inside me spoke: “What have you come here searching for?”
It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over my being. I sat down right there on the ground. Suddenly, something strange happened—
My reflections didn’t sit down. They stood and stared at me. A shiver so intense ran through my body that I lost all awareness… I fainted.
I opened my eyes to the repeated cries of the Simorgh. I found myself surrounded by countless reflections of myself; each one engaged in something: one laughing, another crying, another furious… each in a state I was not in.
Among them all, only one image matched my current state. I stepped toward it.
When I reached it, I placed my hands on it and pressed with all my strength. Somehow, I already knew—that was the exit.
The door opened. I quickly made my way outside and thanked God for saving me from that ordeal.
I drank some water and walked toward the exit gate of the manor.
The moment I stepped outside, I sighed in relief—
But suddenly, a sound came from behind me.
As frightened as I was by the manor, I didn’t even turn to see what it was. I just kept going…
On my path, searching for a way toward the mountain’s peak.
Alpha
