Adam Caudill

Security Leader, Researcher, Developer, Writer, & Photographer

The Precipice

The darkness is oppressive. The sky, starless; the world, grey. You stand, alone, weary after much toil, at the edge of a cliff. You struggle to see in the stifling darkness. Looking down, you see the edge, and the abyss.

Long have you journeyed, a lifetime spent to move forward, only to find there is no forward left. Ahead of you lies utter darkness. Not the darkness of night when no stars are to be seen, or the darkness of the deepest and most isolated parts of the universe, this is darkness beyond imagination or comprehension. Beyond you is a vast expanse, where no light can penetrate, nothingness.

Behind you, stands a solitary stone, waist high. Rough and broken. Upon one of the few flat surfaces is a single candle, small, but defiant. The one thing you can cling to in the face of this endless void, the one source of hope for a tired traveler.

You have walked long with this candle under starless skies, shining a light onto your world, giving you a glimpse of the reality you face. Each step you’ve taken down a road you’ve walked for years, this candle has burned; sometimes bright, sometimes dimmed, but always burning.

Now though, the light fails, this small candle cannot pierce the unconquerable darkness. Upon this ledge, at the end of this road, you cannot proceed. This far have you come, but no further shall you go.

To your left, as you strain to see in the dim candlelight, on goes this ledge as far as can be seen. To your right, it is no different. The ledge is broken and jagged, crumbling and precarious. There is no way around this vast emptiness.

The road, once so clearly laid out before you, a road walked with utter confidence in the light of a bright Spring, has faltered and failed, and has led you to naught. No roads, no paths, no trails, only wilderness aside you, and the endless vastness of nothingness ahead of you. The wilderness, crags and crevices, each step a challenge, each step a danger, land you’ve avoided for the entirety of your journey.

Finally, exhausted, you sit by the solitary stone, contemplating your journey thus far. You strain to see even an inch further in all directions, in fruitless hope to see a new path in the wilderness. You stare into the void. You despair at your hopeless situation.

Propped against the cold stone, as minutes turn to hours, the darkness takes you, and you fall into a restless sleep. You dream of failings, of regrets, of missed opportunities, of countless what could have beens. You think of each fork on this long road, and wonder where they would have led you. You wonder which of these choices led you to this accursed cliff.

Shivering, you awake, cold and dark. The candle flickers, dimly now as it fights to stay lit. The wind carries a bitter chill. Winter is upon you. How long you’ve slept, hours, days, or even years, simply can’t be guessed. You feel no more recovered or refreshed for this sleep, there was no peace or comfort to be found.

You must make a decision. Left, right, or enter the void. You may find a road, you may not, but there is nothing more to be found standing at the edge of a cliff.

You pick up your candle and walk.

Adam Caudill