It's Dark on the Other Side

There comes a time when a person must simply ask themselves what, exactly, they want out of life. While most everyone wants the same basic thing - happiness - everyone has a different idea of what that word entails. For some people, it's money. For others, it's a loving spouse, maybe even children.

For me, well, it was knowledge. The day I had to ask myself that question, it took me a good long time to come up with the answer. Money was good and useful, but beyond that it never really meant much to me. I had close friends and friends I considered family, so I was all set there. But the thing I craved the most, desired the most, needed the most, in order to feel truly complete in my life... well, that was always knowledge.

What else can I learn? What mysteries lie out there in the great big wide world? How do different cultures live, how do other people think and feel and act when confronted with certain situations? I wanted to know everything. The world was my oyster, and knowledge was its pearl.

And boy did I want that pearl.

That's probably what got me into the heap of trouble I found myself in, truth be told.

It was a day just like any other. I'd found some tidbit of information that intrigued me, and I followed the bread crumbs left on that fancy invention called the Internet. Hell, I followed those crumbs all the way down the rabbit hole and hadn't even noticed that I'd gone clear through to the other side.

Let me tell you, the other side is not the best place to be. I felt like Alice when she stumbled into Wonderland, only this side of the looking glass was a hell of a lot more dangerous. You think the Red Queen was bad? She was a breath of fresh air compared to the monster on the other side.

Those crumbs of knowledge were so enticing to me that I ignored every warning sign and kept going despite my body screaming at me to turn back, and turn back now.

It's funny, in a sad way, the kinds of things you'll do for what you desire the most...