It has been there since before I was even born, before my mother, and her mother and so on. I was ever so curious of it. As children, my friends and I never went within a hundred feet from it. It was foreign to us. We fear of what it may do to us. The grown ups never went anywhere near it either - it will pull you into the darkness - they say. It was big, scary and alien to us. The grown ups call it The Wall.
As I neared my fifteenth birthday, my friends and I played our ball game near the Wall. We somehow managed not to let the ball go anywhere near the Wall. Then, quite by accident, I kicked the ball so hard it flew away from my friend and soared straight towards the Wall. Everyone grew silent and turned and stared at me blamingly. I shrugged my shoulders, it's not my fault, my eyes said. No one dared to take a step nearer the Wall. I can't see where the ball went as it got lost in the bushes at the foot of the Wall. Buya was the first to speak.
"Go and get it, Wiru, " he whispered loudly. All the other boys turned and looked at me, mostly nodding their head. I gasped and looked back at them.
"No," I said, hoarsely, my throat drying up all of a sudden, "why can't we just leave it there?"
"Its the only ball we have!" Buya said, angrily.
"He's right," skinny little Guri said, "and it was your fault it landed there."
I was pressed on to go and get the ball back. I was afraid - who wasn't of the unknown - but I had to get the ball. Its the only fun we boys have in this little village. I swallowed and took a step forward, my legs trembling, my chin quivering. The other boys shrunk behind me. I walked nearly fifty feet away from the Wall, and turned and looked at my friends. Most were looking with obvious fear and Buya was smirking and standing with his arms crossed. He had never liked me from young because I had always excelled at every game we played. I'm sure this is just his sick way to make me look like a wimp in front of the other boys. Well, I'm not going to give him that benefit of putting me down.
I straightened my back and got closer to the bushes at the foot of the Wall. The air seem to grow silent as i got closer to the Wall and farther away from my friends. The wind had ceased to blow and I couldn't hear the noises of the crickets. It felt like a huge void of silence had enveloped me, smothering me, making it hard for me to breathe. I could see stars around me although its still daylight. I felt like I was falling. I took a huge gulp of air and stood straight. I looked around. The stars have disappeared. They weren't there in the first place. I was just overcome by a sudden attack of panic. I smiled at my absurdity and walked on until I stood right in front of the bushes. I looked up along the wall. It was so high, I wonder if anyone could climb over it - not that i wanted to. I had other matters to settle, like the missing ball.
I peered through the dark bush, but I can't see anything. The ball could have dropped near the wall, which means I have to crawl through the bushes. Since I'm already here, my fear of the Wall seemed to have left me, instead it left me with curiosity. I wanted to go nearer to the Wall and touch it, the very least. I dropped on my knee and crawled on the ground, inside the bushes. I thought I would be scratched by the thorns, but surprisingly, the plants seemed to make way for me. In no time, I could see the brick wall just inches away, and right at the foot, my ball. In a crouching position I looked up at the Wall. It was so high it seemed to be joined with the sky.
I wondered what would be on the other side of the Wall. All these years I had lived in fear of the mysterious Wall, but now, sitting inches away from it, it looked so harmless, almost inviting. Many things crossed my curious mind. Was there another village like mine, behind the Wall? Did the Sun shine brighter on the other side? Were there more children my age over there?
I feel I couldn't go on living without knowing. Ignorance is not my bliss. I need to get to the other side. I stood up suddenly, because I heard a whisper.
"Buya?" I whispered back, wondering if my friend were playing a fool on me, though I doubted the voice I heard was Buya's. It sounded more gentle, feminine and strangely attractive. I heard it again, saying things I couldn;t understand. Sounded foreign, yet familiar. It seemed to be all around me, yet guiding me. Maybe it wanted to show me a way to see the world behind the Wall. I decided to oblige it.
"Who is it?" I asked, but it didn't say anything, "Can you show me how to get over this Wall?"
I heard it again, on my right. I followed the whispers through the bushes which seemed to have moved away to make a path for me. After a while, I reached a part of the Wall with dents in it. It trailed all the way up, like small steps for me to climb. Discarding all my doubt and senses, I started to climb. It seemed to take forever and soon it became so cold I started shivering. Finally I reached the top of the Wall, but I couldn't see anything either way due to the thick mist.
I climbed down slowly the other way. Soon, the mist cleared and I reached the bottom of the Wall on the other side, which was also covered with bushes. I pushed my way through, eager to see what is on the other side. I pushed past the bushes and found myself in a village almost similar to mine. I was in a place which looked exactly like the place my friends and I were playing minutes ago. I walked a bit to where I figured must be the playground for this eerily familiar village and soon came into a clearing where a group of boys were huddled together, facing the Wall. I'm thinking, they must be wondering what's on the other side of the Wall too. I smiled, because I knew and I hurried over to tell them.
"He's been gone for too long," one of the boys whispered as I neared them, his voice unmistakably like skinny little Guri's.
"Hey guys," I said, eagerly greeting my newfound friends, but no one turned and looked at me. They were still looking at the Wall. I felt a little weird, because they looked familiar from the back.
"He's just playing the fool with us," one of the boys said and I gave a sharp intake of breath as I looked at Buya, who's no longer smirking, but looking very worried. What happened? I thought to myself. Did I climb the Wall only to come back down the same way? Or did I go to the other side? But what are my friends doing on the other side?
"Buya," I said, a little louder, "I'm here, guys. Come on, stop ignoring me."
Still no one looked at me. They seemed to be watching the Wall intently. I stood in front of Buya and waved my hands in front of him, but he looked right past me. I tried to touch him, but my hand went right through him. I gasped and screamed.
I turned and tried to run to the Wall, but it seemed to be getting further and further away. I'm stuck in this place, a place for lost souls in between worlds. I wailed and bawled but to no avail. I have an eternity in front of me and no way to escape. I wanted to know the world behind my Wall, and this is the price I have to pay for curiosity and disobedience.
-The end-
