Nowhere

"No, Master, I do not." My eyes remained on 'Nowhere.' "I am simply being free with my inner dialogue." I shook my head in disgust. "This word taunts me. This place hides from me."

The wizard raised his eyebrows once again, a crooked finger followed, "Is the place hiding from you, or are you hiding from it, I wonder?"

I thought about that as we began our journey again. I could not be more open in my desire to find Nowhere, so I could not be hiding from it. Not consciously, anyway. Nowhere was proving to be tougher to find than I'd anticipated. It was as elusive as a dream lost between consciousness and repose, always on the fringe of the mind, flirting shamelessly with total recall, yet never completely recovered or remembered.

However, Nowhere seemed to be everywhere. The void was gnawing at my thoughts. Every step I put in front of the next, brought me closer to Nowhere than the last.

Or did it?

"Speak to me, Master," I said after a while. My ears longed to hear the sound of a human voice in that empty place.

"I may not speak simply to ease your loneliness, it is not allowed." There was a moment of silence and then the wizard sighed, " I'm afraid that this is the last you will hear of my voice for the duration of the test."

I blinked in surprise and swooned when I realized the consequences of my words. The test had just become much harder than before.

I came upon the third sign hoping the word would be the same, but the arrows would be missing- they were not. <-Nowhere-> watched me watch it and I shivered in frustration.

The whispers were there again, surrounding me with doubt. The voices, mingled and nondescript before, were each distinct in their displeasure now. I felt as though my time was running out.

I looked out from under the sign, off in one of the directions it wanted me to go, and pondered the journey thus far. Upon my entry into the test, the Elders had encumbered me with but one task: _Arrive at your destination._

It was much easier sounding than going. My destination was a place that does not exist. Nowhere was to the right, and Nowhere was to the left, and I am here.

We are here.

The words the wizard had spoken in answer to my first question, "Where are we?" suddenly reverberated through my head.

_We are here._

The whispers became silent, and I knew my delving thoughts had just tasted the outer crust of pay-dirt.

I looked at the wizard and smiled, "I could walk for days and months and never find this 'Nowhere," isn't that true, Master?"

The wizard said nothing, as the whispered voices said nothing. I, however, found it difficult to hold my tongue.

"Nowhere was never my destination. I just assumed it to be because of the sign."

The whispers did sound then, mingled as before. The wizard was staring off in silence, his eyes unfocused, indicating he was taking part in that whispered conversation.

After a moment he shook his head as his mind rejoined me here in the void. "I have been allowed to speak to you again for you have come to the crossroads."

"I have come to no crossroads. There are no crossroads here."

"So then where are we?" the wizard asked, his eyes were alight with intensity.