The Labyrinth

She wasn’t sure when she woke up in the labyrinth. Nor was she particularly sure how long she had wandered down its various hallways. At first she walked without real purpose, she was not alone in the labyrinth- she passed people all the time, most of which seemed to be no more sure than she was of where they were going. She made decisions based off her gut, being completely incapable of deciding why one path might be preferable to another. A right at one fork, a left at another, the third path from the left at a crowded intersection. For some immeasurable amount of time she carried on like that.

Sometimes she felt like she made progress, the labyrinth was not always the same. Some time in the past she had left the portion made of even measured red bricks aligned in some pattern she could not recognize but was sure was there for a section made of high thick green hedges. There had been other sections too. The area of the patterned mosaics, the cut tiles in a seemingly endless collection of shades of blue. The portion made of alabaster white walls with the dirt path. The one she distantly remembered with walls like red clay and flooring of mismatching yellow pebbles. Their relation to each other seem completely arbitrary, and while at first she was sure she was making progress over time she lost her sense of faith that she was going the right way.

A crisis of faith inspired her to change her approach, and she resolved to ask for assistance from the first person that she came across that seemed to know where they were going. This was no easy task, for while the labyrinth was far from empty, the majority of the residents shuffled down the hallways glossy eyed saying little to each other. There seemed to be no wisdom in acquiring the input of someone who seemed to know no more than she did.

Finally she came across someone different. She was not sure if it was because of his age, visible in the stooped nature of his shoulders, his subtle constant hand wringing, and the slow blinking consideration of his clear eyes or if it was the way he sat rather comfortably on a bench between two portions of the labyrinth- the high green hedges meeting new walls, shiny black glass like rock, but for some reason he seemed different than the others.

-Do you know the way?- she asked him.

He looked up to her, he had been staring down the path from which she had just come, considered her with his nearly white blue eyes.

- I do not know ‘the’ way, but I know ‘a’ way.- he responded. She cocked her head and squinted at him. She considered for a second leaving the old man and continuing on until she found someone who had a more emphatic answer but she was impatient, it had taken her quite some time to find this man. She concluded if she came across someone who seemed more knowledgeable that she would simply change guides, and that even if not conclusive, some guide was better than none.

-Will you show me your way?- she asked.

He shrugged, stood up slowly. He loomed over her, turned to face the obsidian hallway and waved her to follow him. She trudged after him.

He took a left at the first fork, as well as the fifth, and the seventh. At an intersection without hesitation he walked to the third path, at the following one he took the second. He walked slowly, and he seemed to drag his feet as he did, a little thing that over time began to annoy her. But at no point in time did he seem to not know exactly where he was going and she swallowed her frustration because of that.

The glassy walls of the hallway had no character, no recognizable features, there were no signs or hints. And she wondered how long it had taken him to learn this path, a small vein of fear rose up in her heart, and for a moment she was very happy to have met this old man.

Suddenly she saw the end of the obsidian hallway, it opened to a wide area. In the wide area to the left was a bench and spread out like directions on a compass were various hallways, each of different colours and themes.

The old man sat down on the bench. She was not pleased.

-Which way do I go?- she asked.

He considered each other paths. Then shrugged and responded -It doesn’t matter-

- How can it not matter?-

- Each path is as good as the next.- he said.

- So they all lead out of here?-

- Out?- there was confusion in his voice, and he squinted at her as he looked at her.

- Yes out! Out! Which path leads out of the labyrinth?-

- None of them of course. - he said. She could hear the confusion in his voice.

- But how do I get out then? Which way do I go? I want to get out of this labyrinth- she stated angrily.

She saw the confusion on his face give way to the softest look of sadness, and with a slight shaking of his head he said - Child, there is no out. The labyrinth is all there is.-