Insanity

Excerpt from a conversation between Jebediah Morrow and his friend and companion Marc Miller.

~

"Insanity, my dear friend Marc? You want to know about insanity?"

Marc nodded from his chair. "It is something that has bothered me for quite some time now, Jebediah. What must it feel like to lose your mind? What is insanity?"

Jebediah, who had sat comfortably in one of his old armchairs rose to his feet. He treaded over the heavy rug which covered the parquet towards the window.

Following the birds with his eyes he said: "Insanity, Marc, if you really knew what insanity was, you would not have dared to ask." He turned around and gazed into Marc's eyes. For a second, it looked like blazing rubies filled his deep eye-sockets. The moment went by.

Jebediah let out an exasperated sigh. "Let me try to give you an idea of what insanity means, or at least what it appears to be."

He averted his eyes again. "For some it starts as voyeurism. They look through the keyhole of the door that is labeled 'Knowledge' and see but darkness. Unlike that of the night, this one is palpable. And once it vanishes, they see something stare back."

"And then there are those who are foolish enough to open that door. They shake the doorknob, they wheeze and curse. Finally, they decide to gather their strength and crash into it with pure body force. It crashes open, and what do they see?" Jebediah looked intently into his friend's eyes. He spun around and paced towards a door which Marc had not noticed before. With a swift motion he opened it.

Behind the door stood a mighty mirror.

"They see themselves."