The End of the Beginning - 1

'I kept to the sidelines. In this scenario, a good excuse for me to keep to the sidelines would be to avoid the pouring rain, but the reality is that I always keep to the sidelines. No matter where I go, chances are I’m on the sidelines.'

'Up ahead, in the god-drizzled distance, it was clear that I was closing in on what looked like a proper capitol building. I say this because everything in the vicinity of the black stone behemoth looked insignificant in comparison. Pillars on pillars on pillars, entryways on entryways on entryways. A kind of structure that resembled a fortress more than a legislature, if you really want to know. An Ancient Greek design…revealed only because of its terrifying resemblance to the Capitol of a particular brand of full-blooded patriots.'

'Would I venture inside these stone walls and sneak a tour of the place? Or would I do nothing at all? It didn’t really matter in the end. I've already resolved myself to not being able to go back for a very long time, and I honestly didn’t feel like sitting in on an informative lesson about this country's politics…Even so, I took a step on the plateau.'

'So, dispelling any sense of doubt I had moments before, and replacing it with an apathetic aspiration for leisure, I walked on ahead.'

'...At a slightly above average pacing.'

'One step, two step, three step, four step, five step, six step, and on and on and on…'

'Until I reached ground zero for the staircase up to hell.'

It’s really been a while.

'I started up the long stretch.'

It still doesn’t feel normal…I wonder if I’ll get over that.

'Stairs upon stairs upon stairs. Only stairs. And endless amounts of stairs.'

'I stared at the stairs below my shoes. I looked down.'

'I’ll get there, even if I don’t look. I’ll arrive there, at the top, just the same.'

'It didn’t matter what I did. The flight of stairs only pointed in one direction.'

'After that, it wasn't very long before I met the overcast shadow created by the overhead pillars and concrete roof. I looked up.'

'Before me stood a conventional entryway, made up of quartz. In its depressions were transparent, glass panes. Even though I never visited the capitol when I was at home, this type of construction looked very modern to me. Obviously, I couldn't confirm this suspicion as I had forgotten completely about architecture, or history for that matter, but it's whatever really. I’d remember it all at some point.'

'I walked forward, inside the warm belly of the capitol.'

'I wonder what they'll be talking about. More than anything, I was curious how far they've progressed in terms of the ideas turned into law. Maybe they won't even let me into the legislature chamber. That probably figures. Well, we'll see.'

'When I looked, only a long hall of closed doors on either side awaited me. The lights were dim at best, but they gave contrast to the brightness emanating from the final door at the end of the hall.'

'I had to force myself to walk forward now.'

'My sneakers pulled at the carpet. I picked up my pace. My sneakers pulled on the carpet. I picked up my pace. My sneakers pulled at the carpet. I picked up my pace.'

'Only the white texture of the paint surrounding me was all that I could think about. How rough and smooth it was. How long it might've taken to paint. It was obvious what I was trying to do, but it brought me seconds of relief.'

'It was then that I stepped through the wall into the brightness.'