Plateau

It’s late afternoon, and absolutely beautiful outside. The sun is beginning to set, leaving my world completely orange. I love it. I’ve been living on the plateau for six months now. I do not know if I will ever leave. I must find an answer to my question. Failure is not an option. I miss my home, my friends, and my family. I wonder how they are doing, and what they are up to. I wonder what they think of my disappearance, and if they think I am alive or dead. I feel bad, but I must find my answer. My question must be answered. It would be impossible for me to go on living my life without my answer.
         You do not need to know my question, for all of us face this question. We face this question with great dread and fear. It dwells deep in the back of our minds, and never leaves. It attacks us at the worst times like a cat does a mouse. It haunts our dreams and our days, as well as shatters the world around us. No one ever has ever found the answer to this question, but I intend to. Most people, reasonable people, ignore it. I ignored it too, like everyone else, until my close friend Anthony died. I also chose to not ignore it because I have never been a very reasonable man, and I never intend to become one. I will find my answer or I will not live. The thought of death has haunted my thoughts ever since Anthony died. I must find my answer.
         Shortly before I left home, and immediately after Anthony’s “passing on”, I began to isolate myself from my friends and family. At one point, I had not seen the sun for over a month. I never left my house. I would stay home reading and sleeping for days on end. It was as if I didn’t exist anymore. My friends and family took note of my bizarre behavior, and suggested I visit a psychologist. I found another solution. That solution was running away. I ran for days, which turned into weeks, which turned into months. I finally found this plateau, and decided to stay. It is here that I will die, or find my answer. I am hoping it will be the latter. This plateau has turned into my own personal prison, a prison I ironically enjoy. Many a hand has scaled the face of this grand, old plateau. If I never leave this plateau, and never find my answer, that leaves only death. If I die, I want my friends and family to know that I love them. I have always loved them. I love you guys. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!