The night poured into the room like a black liquid. The dim glow of the oil lamp cast trembling shadows on the walls. Ethan sat on the wooden bed, his tired eyes fixed on a window that led to nowhere. The ticking sound of the clock echoed in his mind like a hammer.
For years, he had been running from something, but he didn’t know what. Something inside him trembled—a nameless feeling, like the distant sound of crying. He felt his life was like a book, its pages filled without any order. He wanted to know: Was there truly something in this world worth living for?
In the corner of the room stood a small mirror. Ethan rose and walked toward it with heavy steps. He glanced at his reflection. The man staring back at him was a stranger. The lines of his face, like a map of guilt and regret, frightened him. He ran a hand over his face and whispered under his breath:
"Is this me? Or a reflection others have created?"
Suddenly, a calm yet penetrating voice emerged from within the mirror:
"Why are you searching for meaning? Don’t you see that the world is empty?"
Ethan took a step back. The voice continued:
"You are imprisoned within these imaginary walls. Everything you seek is ultimately just a reflection of your own desires and fears. Why don’t you accept that no answer exists?"
Ethan, with all his might, wanted to scream. But no sound escaped his lips. He felt something collapsing within him—a wall, a barrier, or perhaps everything he thought "himself" was.
He sank to his knees, placing his cold hands on the ground, and with a weary, broken voice said:
"If there is no answer, why does this void consume me? Why do I keep searching for a way to escape this emptiness?"
The mirror responded once more:
"Because you are human. And humans are doomed to search for meaning that does not exist. You seek a candle in the darkness that will never be lit."
The oil lamp extinguished. The room fell into total darkness. Ethan, in the heavy silence, could see nothing—not even himself.
The next morning, neighbors found him lifeless. His eyes were open, and a cryptic smile lingered on his lips. It seemed as if he had finally embraced something he had always been fleeing from.
But no one knew what it was.