The Devil 'n Me

Last night I saw the devil and I wasn't scared. In fact it was much more the opposite. It was a peculiar sequence of dreamscape that led to this exhilarating finale, so I'll start at the beginning and recount as much as I can remember. The setting was a winding, metal staircase in the middle of an empty, industrial building. There was no floor and no ceiling; the stairway spiraled into a vanishing point in both directions. I can't exactly remember, but I think the walls might have been decorated or adorned. For some reason I recall a lamp and I remember it being in nice contrast to the stark industrialism of it's surroundings. The mood was one of curiosity, mystery and intrigue. I distinctly remember walking down the rabbit hole with no fear, even though there was a steady stream of terrified souls running in the opposite direction. Throughout the whole sequence though, I kept a steady and curious pace towards whatever was awaiting me. Somehow I knew that I had nothing to fear and that it was my scientific duty to find out what monster awaited me in the bottom of the abyss; what nightmare was causing these souls to flee upwards in total mayhem.

As I made my descent further and further into the pit, I noticed that the level of chaos and fear in the fleeing souls increased with every step. I also got the sense that it was only in these darker depths, only in the inner circles of hell, that the people even knew what they were running from. I will let the reader make her own interpretations of how this could be applied to the human condition and our collective, moral and spiritual journey. And then suddenly the screaming stopped, the people slowed down and the chaos gave way to silence. I knew I was close. I didn't know what sort of devil awaited me but I knew that I had knocked on his front door. I was in the inner circle of hell and the Prince of Greed had done nothing to stop me.

And then I saw it. In a single moment I witnessed all the fear, sin and weakness of mankind. The way it was presented to me was so primal that it almost makes me laugh to think about. The winding staircase had finally landed on a concrete, basement floor. The lighting was dim and there was only one room. It was medium sized and had an open layout with just a few, large filing cabinets in the middle. It was here, at the bottom of an empty industrial building, in a basement office, that the Devil played his trick on mankind. And here's how he did it:

As I stepped off the spiral staircase I immediately felt his presence. His black soul was directly behind me and I could feel it's forked tongue licking at the base of my cerebrum. I stepped forward to get away and that's when I noticed that all the other souls, all the other people in the room, were doing the exact same thing. They were all just going round and round in circles trying to get away. I could sense the turmoil and despair, but I could also and quite literally see their demons. They were following the poor saps and gnashing at their heels like hungry shadows. The entire existence of anyone trapped here was based on the fear that if they stopped running for the briefest of moments, that their souls would be devoured by Him. But somehow I still wasn't afraid. I knew that the little shit devils had no actual power and that the only reason they could pull off this "great trick" was because the people actually believed them.

But not I. I am a grown and sovereign man and I do not run from the darkness. I channel both the light and the dark and I yield to no man; nor demon, devil or imp; not even to the Prince of Princes. As soon as I realized this, I quit running. I turned around and faced my Devil. At first he didn't recognize me and he advanced towards me like I was his next meal. Then our gazes met and I grabbed him by his devilish neck. In an instant, all the gluttony in his eyes turned into primordial fear. The hunter was now the hunted and he had invited me into his inner lair. The joke was on him and all the other Princes. Why? Because even the Prince of Princes bowes to the King of Kings. I am Solomon and this dream is my ring. "Daddy's home," I distinctly remember saying to him as I squeezed tighter. And then I awoke.