Darkness. No source of light.
Light was just a historical concept for us; it was said that, an unknown time ago, there was something that illuminated. I don't understand what it means, but the elders in the village say it was a source of happiness and life. Even in their lives, they had never seen it—only heard of it from their elders, who heard it from those before them, and those from the ones before them.
They said that light could pull colors out of things, making everything look alive in a way we no longer understand. The tales speak of a sunrise that filled the sky with golden light, of a day when you could see the land's features clearly. They spoke of a white light that crossed the sky each day, and when it set, there were other lights above, called "stars."
Honestly, I don't know what they mean by "sky." All I can see above is rock, just like on the ground.
My mother's bedtime story was strange. She walked through the darkness toward me, gave me a goodnight kiss, and then went to her room.
That night, I dreamed of something different from the usual black screen that plays every night. There was a color—something I don't know how to describe, something I'd never seen before. It was brimming with energy and filled my soul with a sense of happiness and peace.
After that night, I couldn't bear to live in that darkness anymore. I kept telling everyone what I saw, but they just looked at me like I was insane—a mere child seeking attention or a kid whose mind had been twisted by stories.
But I was sure of what I saw that day. My mistake was telling everyone about something they believed was just a myth.
That's what I told my children on my deathbed.
In those final moments, I knew the story would seem like a mere tale to them, just as it had to the villagers when I first shared it. Yet, there was something within my heart urging me to tell them, something like a distant calling I couldn't ignore. I wanted them to carry this feeling, even if it was just a story to pass down. Maybe—just maybe—one of them would someday venture beyond this darkness, searching for a light like the one I saw in my dream.