Testing Faith - Foreword

I am Lee Jaehwan, and I am the last one left.

Trudging footsteps. Centimetre by centimetre, as if eternities would pass by, the man made his way down the infinitely stretching hallway, door aligning the vast space in between. Only armed with such pitiful weaponry of pen and paper, his scribbles began to resemble letters, then words.

I have yet to discern whether my lengthened lifespan had been granted as a gift or a curse. The times in between my worships are getting shorter.

Reluctant to move forward yet unwilling to move back, like a waning moon, his confidence began to be shadowed, faltering from full glow. Nonetheless, his hands moved in the same robotic movement, frequencies exceeding normal human behaviour.

There’s a room for everyone. There’s always a room for everyone.

Somehow he had reached the end of the hall, or perhaps it just shrank to such an extent that the other end was now right in front of him. A door, opening slightly before him, already unlocked. Already prepared to reveal its interior to this poor being...

You never know what’s going to be behind it until it’s opened, and then you realise that it couldn’t have been anything else.

A vision. Severed flesh. So real... Almost...tactile.

But...it all made sense now. I...

A translucent figure, eyes gouged from their sockets, knife in one hand, slowly making its way towards the young man.

I...am so happy. Happy that I am able to shine in his glory.

Unwavering, the man stood his ground. His complexion revealed nothing but a calm and relaxed expression as the corners of his lips moved upward, almost smiling as he closed his eyes.

He is the beacon which lights our way through this sea of darkness.

And as if time itself had slowed down to capture such a blissfully sorrowful moment, the translucent figure’s hand which held the piercing element descended upon the man’s chest, injecting death upon this mere mortal body, and relieving the soul from its miserable shell.

Praise him…praise him…and be relieved of thy fears…

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So technically, this is the prologue/foreword to my fanfic titled "Testing Faith," a mixture of science fiction and suspense. It's a fanfic, but please don't let that word alone immediately deteriorate your hopes for this story, I've worked hard on it, and since it's set in an alternate universe (AU), the only thing that really pertains to fanfiction about it is the name of two characters, but that's it.

But then again, this solely relies on your interest in these types of stories as well, but I still hope you'd at least read until the first chapter (which I may or may not post in the near future) before you finalise your verdict on it.

If some of you did not notice, or perhaps just aren't informed in that area, the idea for this story was originally inspired by the 11th episode of the 6th season of the British science fiction series, Doctor Who. Some of the lines match up for I found them very well-suited for this type of science, as well as this entire foreword itself, but the rest of the story deviates from the original idea of it. I suggest you watch that episode to, more or less, find why I found this type of story so intriguing and enchanting.

That's all for now.

Are there no depths?

Are there no depths that still remain that make one want to ponder upon a subject for more than the briefest moment?

It is never extremely appropriate for one to consider themselves so much more superior than others, but honestly, as the days keep passing by, I cannot help but notice how...shallow and colloquial conversations seem to be, and it's just an endless string of them all woven together that form this society most refer to as college.

Today, before lunch, a friend and I were walking down the main walkway of our campus. Apparently today was the "perfect" day for all of the pro-life members to grace this major walkway with their presence as they hand out flyers for the public to support their views. The piece of paper that I received was presenting the comparison of abortion with slavery, and both are generally a touchy topic for anyone. My friend and I do not particularly share the same views, for she is atheist and I am the resident Catholic in our group of two (as most refer to as a duo, if you must know). However, we did share one thing in common pertaining to the entire scenario, and that is that we both found it completely daft and were rather irked by the imposing nature of those standing out there in the gusty wind. Not only that, but even though the paper presented some valid, debatable points, credibility is completely lost when one uses the word "effect" as a verb.

My friend and I go to eat lunch and discuss our opposing views upon the topic. We don't generally agree, but we respected each others' views and did not impose our own upon the other's and it turned out to be a rather lively and enjoyable conversation (which is actually rather difficult to do with such a touchy topic).

And because it is such a touchy topic, and although it irked me when I found the large amount of "advertisers" lining the boundaries of the walkway from earlier, it irked me even more to find many of the people accepting these flyers only to be throwing them on the ground a few feet from the source. Firstly, let us not litter. Our world is dirty enough and your contribution is honestly not needed. Secondly, are you that primitive that any type of subject that seems a little more complicated than what you're used to is just disregarded as soon as it is presented?

Are there no depths to thy mental complexes?

I hear more about sex, drugs, and alcohol more than I would ever want to on a daily basis, and though I've grown accustomed to it, it baffles me as to why I even had to adapt. I hear the largest strings of curses just listening to what my hallmates say in a two hour interval most evenings. I hear more about addictive iPhone apps and upcoming parties more than I do about actual education. It disturbs me to bits as to how shallow this generation has become.

Of course, there are not many who will take these thoughts very seriously for as of right now, I'm only on the verge of turning 19, but just because I take into account the fact that most would ignore my views, perhaps placing them right here in a small sanction of the vastness of the internet would attract even the smallest audience's attention.

Is it because of this horrifying degradation of our supposed intellect that those at a younger age are usually ignored? Or perhaps we lack the real-life experience that would justify many of our claims that make us so easily abused and pushed aside (and by us, I mean our generation in the overly generalised sense).

Do not misunderstand me when I say the degradation of our intellect for perhaps that's not the best way to phrase it either. Maybe I was aiming for more of the apathetic nature of things. Many individuals are generally smart, though it seems that they just won't use this "innate" intelligence of theirs for anything useful. It's as if we have a shallow sea with gorgeous, uninhabited trenches at the bottom. Most would prefer to swim in the open waters blessed with the glorious amount of sunlight that sheds any doubt. Only those willing to use a little more effort to learn more would muster the courage to travel deeper, into the true depths of these trenches, and find that perhaps it's not so bad. Treasures are never found in the open, it is only when we dig deeper that we are ultimately rewarded.

However, many things are right in front of our eyes, or are we blinded by such colloquial rhythms of everyday life that deviating pattern would cause more pain than not?

I, for one, would much prefer listening to the frustrated grunts of those trying their hardest to understand chemistry concepts they have yet to grasp than amiable laughs about how they thought that a girl was lousy in bed.

And with that, I leave you with a rather poetic end note, as well as a Chinese proverb.

To seek greater understanding, one must travel many miles.
No jewel polished without friction, not a man perfected without trials.