The Fool stayed suspended there until he realized that he was just standing in the dark. He started making out a grey spot in the blackness ahead of him, so he began walking. He noticed the smell of earth and moisture all around. He could hear the dripping of water. He wasn’t in an abyss anymore. Where he was was still a mystery.
He came out of a cave into a small canyon in the middle of a dark forest. The roots of oak trees climbed down rocks to find moist earth. Everything was covered in moss and dampness. The air was alive with bugs.
He followed the gorge up a ways, stepping over roots and ducking under branches or rocks. He could hear birds flapping in the air above him, but he never caught sight of one. He soon realized that night had fallen. He felt the chill of the sun’s going down.
Walking up to the end of the gorge, he reached a large oak tree, its roots spilling down the mossy rocks. In the middle of the rock cliff was a very dark cave. The Fool got to thinking. If a cave brought him here, a cave would take him away from here. He stepped towards it.
He heard heavy breathing. He couldn’t tell if it was in front of him or behind him, but it sounded like something big. Twigs snapped in the trees around him but he couldn’t tell where any of the sounds were coming from. Something was there, just outside his line of sight. It made the hair on the back of his neck rise up.
Then his eyes focused on the cave. It was dark – no, black. The Fool had never seen anything so black. Everything that surrounded the cave became blurred. The Fool wanted to see into the blackness. He kept thinking that he saw movement in the blackness, but he assumed the movement was a figment of his imagination. All he could hear was his heartbeat.
The Fool decided to swallow his fear and walk towards the cave. He put his foot forward. A creature jumped out of the opening, screaming and sticking out his tongue. The creature, or man, was naked. Large deer antlers protruded from his bald head. He had a beard with twigs and leaves stuck all over. He was dirty, and jumped from leg to leg while screaming an anguishing scream.
The Fool yelped and fell to the ground, cowering from the naked demon. He whimpered as the creature crawled right up to him and began sniffing him like a wild beast. The Fool started peeing himself. He felt his stomach turn ice cold. He was going to die at this demon’s hands.
I am the guardian, the beast said, I am the Devil.
The Fool looked up at the Devil. He could smell the musky flesh, urine, and a hint of sulfur.
If you want to enter the darkness, you have to pass by me, the Devil continued. Fear of death, fear of the unknown, fear of fear is something to walk through. WIthout passing me, you won’t get to the other side of the darkness.
The Fool looked into the Devil’s eyes, and although they were crossed he could tell they were staring right into him. They stayed like that for more than a hundred years – or maybe it was a few minutes – as leaves floated down from the trees above to the ground they lay on. Birds started singing.
The Fool was jarred. He was shook. He had just floated through life. If something got uncomfortable he would just go away. He stayed away from anything that took effort or seemed scary.
I keep you out until you are ready, said the Devil, and by the looks of your fear, you aren’t ready. You can’t pass.
Somewhere, the Fool found courage, and tried to stand up. The Devil screamed in his face. The breath was foul and sour. The Fool wanted to pass the Devil and get on his way.
Just go back where you came from, the Devil screamed. Just go back to doing what is safe. If you go through my cave, you will change. You don’t want that, Fool.
The Fool did want to change. He knew that he didn’t want to be the ‘free-spirit’ he thought he was. He knew he had to walk into that cave.
So the Fool started walking towards the cave. The Devil followed, screaming in his ear as they got closer to the opening, telling him of the unspeakable horrors that lived in that cave. Monsters that would thrash him. Giant worms that would tunnel through his body. I myself will torture you for eternity. Go back to where you came from, the Devil screamed. You are not ready to progress.
The Fool entered the black cave. He felt his way along the narrow slimy walls. It smelled of excrement and rot. The Devil stood at the entrance of the cave screaming nonsense at the Fool as he entered the pitch black.
The Devil watched the Fool go into the darkness. The Fool would pass him once in a while, but most of the time, the Fool walked back to Temperance. There is hope when the Fool conquers his fears.
He was there when they made the Fool. He snuck in and gave the Fool the power of choice and a will. He knew that it might lead the Fool astray, but he wanted the Fool to have passion, a lust for life. The Fool seemed to enjoy life, in his way, but he kept himself as a casual observer and was too scared to be a participant. The Devil shook his head in disappointment. He had the most hope for the Fool to find enlightenment.
The Fool felt his way through the cave. He started smelling the sea. The rock walls changed and seemed rougher to touch. He saw a light around a corner. He could hear gulls crying. A wave swept through the cave, dragging the Fool out and into a deep, stormy ocean.