The Flare

They had a tent and some supplies but were stuck on the ice. It was flat as far as the horizon in every direction.

The sky was cloud-covered and they were not sure if it was day or night, it was a permanent twilight that they were caught in. They were cold and tired and lost.

They didn't know each other and had woken cold, in this tent.

They really did not have a clue.

Outside the tent, they saw ice stretching forever in every direction. There may have been creatures wandering out there and some open water. If they were creatures that they saw, they didn't know whether they were predators or not, so they were not sure if there was danger.

They talked and all spoke the same language, but none remembered how they had got here.

All had been doing something, some alone, some with friends, some working, some sleeping, and then they had woken up here.

It made no sense.

Then they saw something.

A red light, a flare in the distance, above the ice.

"Should we follow it?

The consensus was a universal "Yes"

They carried what they could and set off in the direction of the light, hoping it would answer their questions.

There were parts where the ice was very thin, so they avoided those places, they saw dark shapes moving under the ice there.

As they spoke it became clear they had no timepieces on them so they were not sure how long they had been walking but they did not feel tired. They stopped every, what they thought were, couple of ours and took something from their provisions. Although they ate and drank the provisions did not seem to dwindle

They continued on but they never seemed to get any closer to the flare. Also, the creatures that they saw never came near them.

They kept on walking, stopping every so often, and continuing. The only direction that they had was to follow the flare. Its glow never changed.

They walked and it could have been hours, days or months because nothing ever changed. They looked behind and thought that it was odd that they left no footprints on the ice, it was like they were ghosts, and this was a ghostly realm.

"Are we dead? Could we be ghosts?"

No one answered, everyone kept walking.

❓❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️🔥❄️❔

They were under the flare. They had been walking and they were now under the flare.

They looked up, bathed in the red light.

They waited.

And waited.

The ice creaked and they were scared that the heat from the flare might melt the ice floe that they were standing on. There were loud noises but they didn't know where they were coming from, above or below or on their level.

They knew this was not normal, they also felt it wasn't even real, but they also had no obvious route of escape.

Then glowing doors appeared on the ice, one for each of them. They looked at each other, confused. There were five doors but six people, and then the sixth spoke.

"This has been your preparation for the next steps in your spiritual journey, You have left your lives behind and now you will step forward to discover things that will astound you and enlighten you. You have a door each, specially prepared to take you to where you need to be.

Do not fear, you have everything you need, and you can build new experiences, and become ever more spiritual. Goodbye"

Then he turned red and drifted up to become part of the red flare

They looked at each other, said their goodbyes and stepped through the doors.........