Lost in Thought

Searching for a subject to write about after a long hiatus is causing me to dig into the seldom visited, dusty areas of my imagination in hopes that I come across something of worth that I can put into words and share. I rummage about in that proverbial closet in the back of my mind, pulling out various boxes full of idea fragments, unused story lines, half-hearted inspirations, and unfinished efforts looking for something that will suit my particular needs, but to no avail. I get on my hands and knees, crawl under the clothes hanging on the rack (memories of Halloween and play acting) pulling out things that go way back to my early years as a writer, noting the contents and reminiscing about my life back then and how it has changed. Isn’t it interesting how we can rummage through the scraps of our lives, seeing long forgotten letters, old photos and general memorabilia and find ourselves caught up in the memories that they bring to the surface? The process of searching slows and alters as new old items are discovered, giving intentions a broader scope of direction, for the task is made more pleasant in the wealth of emotion and images these extraneous derivatives provoke. I crawl deeper into the back of this treasure closet and, in pulling out a box labeled “Grade School Writing Assignments” which is up against the back wall, I notice that there is something actually on the wall. I can’t quite make it out in the dim so I reach into my pocket, pull out a flashlight, flick it on and shine the beam on the shadowy lines. Goodness! There seems to be a small panel or door of sorts, with a simple latch holding it shut. Hmmm... quite interesting. I wonder where it leads. Well, I put thought to action, twist the latch around, grasp the handle that is next to it and tug. Nothing. I raise my eyebrows in surprise, grab the handle with a bit more tenacity and give a strong jerk. It budges and scrapes out a little, so I continue this until, with more scraping and some stirring up of dust, the panel comes out of the wall showing a dark space behind it. I scootch the covering off to the side and shine the flash inside this mysterious opening. There seems to be some kind of cavern or natural formation here, I see some rocks, some plant life and a variety of odd formations and shapes.
I am intrigued by this unexpected development, as well as somewhat trepidatious as to what might lie within this unexplored region. However, this just might be the thing I have been looking for, so I get prone, leaning on my elbows, and wriggle forward through the small opening, trying not to... “Ouch!” as my efforts cause my back to scrape against the top edge, just like I didn’t want to. Typical. My legs clear the wall and I swing them around so I can carefully sit and survey my surroundings. I shine the light out, up and side to side, seeing a strange and eerie cavern, full of color, forms and shadows. Gnarly, rainbow stalactite and stalagmite columns are interspersed with shelves, cabinets, aisles, walls and doors. I scoot forward a bit more and stand up between twin pillars of cavern substance that hourglass from floor to ceiling like a vast entryway, shine the light on first one, then the other, seeing that they look like some kind of rock, but when I reach out and touch one with my free hand it has an elastic resiliency similar to dense foam rubber. I shine the light up to where these pillars extend to the ceiling and cannot quite make out just where the ceiling actually starts. I can discern smaller stalactite type objects, as well what appears to be hanging ribbons, some kind of superstructure and, here and there, things that, for the life of me, look like balloons. I bring the beam down to the ground and play it across the space in front of me, seeing the there is a rudimentary path leading deeper into the dark. The path diverges in a couple places and the offshoots lead up to the doors set in the walls, which I had seen in my first look into this cavern. I suddenly see motion out of the corner of my eye and swing the light around in time to view what appears to be a running rabbit holding a large pocketwatch, but it zips around a corner and is gone. Curiouser and curiouser.
I quickly shake my head to clear my thoughts, and as I do, there is a sudden glow that emanates from the path at my feet, showing me this odd place in a slightly better light than the flashlight can give me. I turn it off and put it back in my pocket, then look around. The glowing path doesn’t give me much light above my head, so I can’t see the ceiling area, which seemed to be about twenty feet above my head, but I can easily see the walls that enclose this path as it dims and wanders on into the distance. The colors, form and substance of the walls seems to vary with no noticeable patterns or purpose, and all seem subdued in this new, apparently natural light, not as garish as the flashlight had made them out to be. I am drawn along the path without realizing it, reaching out to touch the smooth swirling stripes of browns and grays that ripple and curl across the nearer wall until it widens out of reach. I step to the first, short branching of the path, leading to a door that is set into the right side wall and is covered with symbols and signs that are all quite strange, yet somehow familiar as well. I take the few steps up to it, marvel at the ornate stone carvings surrounding the shiny ebony surface of the door, run my fingers across the silver inlays set against the shiny black, feel tingling every time my fingertips brushed over the glowing patterns. I reach down and try the heavy handle, but it does not move and the door does not budge. I give a half-hearted shrug, turn and step back to the path, its glow still radiating into the further distance.
Led on by a sense of wonderment, I continue along the path several more steps and glance about at the strange and interesting rock (at least it seems to be rock) formations along the slowly expanding sides of this cavernous environment. I give a distracted scrutiny to a particularly ornate stalagmite on my right, thinking that is looks quite similar to an ice cream cone of several flavors all piled one on top of another. My main focus, however, as I look to my left, is on the next branching of the path and the next door, which is quite different than the first. I step off the main trail, along the few yards to this door, and take a closer look. It is a much more plain construction, in fact it is rather innocuous and boring looking. Enclosed in a simple frame on the top and two sides the door has no features except for the dull metal knob. Both frame and door are painted a medium gray, which matches some of the less garishly colored rocks along the wall in which the door is set. I test the handle and am surprised to find that it turns. I pull and nothing happens. This gives me a momentary pause, but then I push and the door swings easily inward. I step forward and look beyond the now open door to see the path continues on through the opening into a dimly lit area that looks quite similar to the one I am in. In fact, upon looking closer into the somewhat dim place within the door, which is lit only by the ubiquitously glowing path, it appears to be exactly the same as the strange land in which I am exploring. The path from the door leads to a slightly broader trail that continues both left and right into darkness, while across the way, a few feet on the other side of this main path, there is a stalagmite ice cream cone exactly like the one behind me. I turn around and verify that this is indeed the case, for the large treat shaped rock is across the path right behind me. I do a few back and forth double takes, but these only serve to verify the mirror image appearance. I look back into the door and to the right I can just make out that there is a divergence to the path just where the walkway to the ornate door would be on my side. This further strangeness intrigues me to the point that I wonder what I would find if I entered through this door and wandered around in it. But, I haven’t explored the side I am on very far either. I’m at somewhat of a loss as to which way to go, but I shrug and...

To be continued...