The Entity

• Courtney Jackson, Grade 10, New Norfolk High School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Horizon of Dreams 2018' competition

The moon shone its beams down upon me, but the scintillating glow could not penetrate the shadow that shrouded my heart. IT was a melancholic darkness; a black abyss that debilitated my feeble sanity. I searched desperately for an escape; fighting against the entity manifesting from within that sought to corrupt my soul. The process was laboured; a consistent assault against my ability to live with liberty and content. Nobody understood IT. IT was not literary or beautiful, IT did not feel compassion or remorse. IT was ugly and nameless and IT was a part of me, from my mind to my bones, IT had seeped into my very core and infiltrated me with a demoralising despair. No matter how much people tried to help, I was the only one who could battle IT. It was like being adrift; floating on a vast ocean and screaming out for help but the only reply you receive is the cold echoes of your own voice taunting you with lonely comprehension. You paddle, and paddle but your left only with the immeasurable desolation of the ocean before you, with no hope of escape. I was IT's inspiration, authoring IT into existence and allowing IT to feed off my fears and weaknesses, and I could not fight any more. I had become living death, fatigued and defeated, finally embracing IT and allowing the deceitful reach of IT's fingers to grasp me and hold me with IT's heaviness. Everything seemed lost. The path I had taken led me astray and I convinced myself that I had just wandered a little. That I would find my way back. But night fell, and the sun didn't rise. Until one day it did. I opened my eyes and saw a lingering flicker of hope for the first time. A hope that I nurtured and cultivated, until it began to grow and spread through my body until it was powerful enough to engage the beast in an internal conflict. The malignant sadness eased, slowly, painfully, until the joy of life began to return. Warmth spread through my body as hope conquered despair, as love vanquished hate. The emptiness and darkness were gone. I wept, but not all tears are an evil, and I was no longer afraid of that vast ocean, for no matter what storm hits, I was slowly learning to swim. I finally realised that not all those who wander from the path are lost- they're merely discovering and experiencing one of the many unexpected bends in our journey through life. I was a hero in my own story. I had defeated IT. I had defeated depression, and I was strong; ready to face the scheming, manipulative beast when it visited again in my future. I am free. Free at last.