It was only a matter of will; just a few more meters and he would be at the top.

Tightening his grip on the rock, the man shifted his weight on his left leg, and pushed as hard as he could. He managed to get another grip a few centimeters above the latter, and look at what was left to climb. He just had to repeat what he just did a few more times. No problem.

After a long moment of fierce struggle, he finally saw the top of the mountain. The vision granted him the energy to get his whole body on the plateau, and, rolling on his back, he enjoyed the pure white light basking and warming his face.

He stayed this way, listening to his heartbeat, the most beautiful sound in his whole world at the moment, until a woman’s face appeared in his field of vision.

“You’re right on time,” she said. “Very good.”

He stood up, sweeping the dirt on his clothes to make himself at least presentable before her.

“Follow me."

He freed himself from the rope around his hips, and walked behind her. They arrived to a door standing in the middle of nowhere.

“You probably already know why you’re here,” she said. “But if not, let me tell you that, behind lies your future. Cross it and you’ll find what it has in store for you. Let the door closed and stay here. The choice is obviously yours.”

This sounded like a bad joke. He hadn’t go through all the climbing if he hadn’t already made up his mind. Still, an odd feeling forced him to learn more about what was beyond the door.

“What will I find?” he asked.

“New doubts.” His expression had to be obvious because she kept going on. “You won’t find any absolute certainty, but you will get new doubts about yourself. Stay here and you’ll keep the doubts you’re already familiar with.”

He contemplate the idea, and the more he pondered the thought, the more unsure he became. After all, his present life was great, cosy and warm. What would he gain, aside from ‘new doubts’? And yet, the same feeling that held him back from immediately open the door was also holding him from going back. A second of eternity flew by and he was still at the same point in his reflection. He needed something else.

“Will I be able to go back?”

He wasn't sure if she was smirking or simply smiling. “More or less. You won’t be able to come back here if the future you find isn’t appealing to you. However, you’ll discover on the other side that you can still reach the same end you would have reached by staying here.”

He was about to go back to his thought, but the woman warned him. “You should hurry. Since you got rid of your rope, you don’t have much time left.”

He turned around to check on it and saw it had blackened, like it had burned.

“How long?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the fading rope.

“I can’t really say.”

He went back to the door, his eyes on the knob. “Will I see you again?”

“That’s the only absolute certainty I can offer.”

He gave her one last look. “Goodbye, then.” She only smiled and he felt his heart tightened. He turned the knob nonetheless.

The moment he opened the door, a strong force pulled his body, and everything went black. He was suffocating, waving his arms, trying to grasp something to hold onto, and found nothing but emptiness. Suddenly, everything turned from black to a blinding white and he felt an immeasurable pain going through his body.

For the first time, he screamed.

[hr]

With one last sigh, his world fade back to black. This time, the force pulling him was gentler; a warm embrace he thought he would never feel again. His heart stopped and there was light.

The woman’s face appeared, bearing a sad smile. “You’re early,” she solemnly said.

He tried to stand, but only manage to sit. She kneeled and took him in her arms. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his voice shaking. “I wasn’t strong enough.” She tightened her hug and he broke down, trying to hold onto the words of comfort she was saying. “How much time do I have?” he said between two sobs.

“As much as you need.”

It was only a matter of time. It had always been.