I can’t sleep. The cosmic fires of The Chaos burn through my dreams, even after all this time.

I’m exhausted, but my mind isn’t. There just seems like so much more to process, but I don’t know where or how to begin.

And so I get up, leave my room, head out onto the rooftops. I’ve done this a lot lately. A Nightwalk to calm my troubled soul. But tonight, there’s something different. There’s a palpable difference in the air. It sounds strange to say this, but it feels like … magic.

I realise I’ve been heading upwards, but don’t remember climbing any stairs. The sky feels closer somehow, and when I look at my feet I see I’ve been walking a staircase made of cosmos, clouds swirling just above my head.

And then I pass through the cloud wall. I expect to see the heavens open up before me, or a great celestial city, but instead all I find is a quiet place. It’s cluttered, and warm, filled with books and artefacts. But mostly, it feels calm here. Truly calm, like all the noise of the world can’t reach me here, and I feel a sense of peace I haven’t felt in a long time. A truly long time.

I’ve found an escape, a place where the dreams can’t haunt me. And so I grab a book, and I make myself comfortable. I have a feeling I’m going to be here for a while.

image credit: the cosmic library