The Path Keeper

This story is by Drew Cabrera and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.

The hot desert sun beats down on my neck as I trudge along the narrow dirt path. The thin T-shirt on my back barely protects me from the Sun’s wrath and the sand storms that erupt every few hours.
I do not know how long I have been walking for; how many days or how many nights. I am not sure where I am going or where I am coming from. All I know is that I must keep walking. I must keep walking along this straight path toward the horizon.
As I walk, I keep looking around me for a sign of life but there is nothing. Not one roadrunner or blade of grass. Not one glimmer of a pool of water or a small tree to provide shade. There is just this sandy dirt path in the middle of an expansive desert that I can not seem to force myself off of. I am not sure how long I have been walking without stopping and without water but strangely I cannot make myself stop. I physically cannot force my foot to step off the path. I cannot force my legs to bend so that I may sit down and rest. I have not tried to do any of these things but somehow I know deep down in my gut that I cannot. Even thinking of sitting down is hard for my mind to comprehend.
I can not remember anything before this road.
Something is up ahead. Something small but moving. I think maybe it is an animal, finally a sign of life. But as I keep walking, I can see more clearly and it is not an animal, it is the shape of a man.
A human.
I keep walking toward him.
He has on a straw hat and jeans and a T-shirt like me. He is not moving. He is waiting for me.
I pick up the pace, anticipation surging. Maybe he has food. Maybe he can tell me where I am and what I am doing out here.
I come closer and as I am about to reach him, I notice how my once straight narrow path now splits into two roads. One path leading left and the other right. Both go off into the ever-expanding desert. The man is standing in the middle of the crossroad next to a wooden pole. On the wooden pole are two wooden signs each pointing in the direction of the left and right roads.
I get closer until I can not travel any farther on my path without veering right or left. I can see the man clearly now, as well as the blank signs.
“Hello.” The man’s voice sounds familiar but I can not understand why.
“Hi.” My voice comes out raspy. We stare at each other in silence until I cannot take it anymore.
“Who are you? Do you know where we are?” The man looks at me without answering my question.
“You can go left or right.”
“What?” I look at him, confused. He repeats himself but it does not help me to understand. Left or right? Does he mean the paths? He speaks again before I have a chance to ask him for the second time.
“You can go down the left path,” He points to my left, “Or the right path, but you have to choose one. And before you choose, there is something you need to know about each.”
“Okay…” I tell him. I am not sure why choosing a random path is such a big deal but I also do not know where I am or how long I have been walking so if going down one of those paths will get me out of this desert, I am all for it.
The mysterious man sits on the dirt, his back leaning against the wooden signpost. I join him, being careful not to sit on the two paths.
“You asked me who I am, and before you go I will tell you if you have not figured it out already but I cannot tell you where we are. Your human brain would not be able to wrap around the idea of this place.” I frown and he continues. “As I said, there are stories you need to hear and warnings you need to heed before you can go down one of the paths and I am here to give them to you.” Warnings? The thought should make me panic but strangely, I stay calm.
“But before I start, I must ask you to keep your questions or concerns until after I have shared everything with you.” I nod and he continues. “If you go down the left path, you will come across civilization quickly and you will be welcomed and given all the food, rest, comfort and materialistic things you could ever wish for.” My eyes grow wide at the mention of food. “You will never feel hunger or suffering again.” That sounds wonderful.
“If you go down the right path, you will need to walk a bit longer but you will come across everyone you have ever loved. You will not be content with materialistic things though.” He gives me a moment to think about both options. I want both. In a perfect world, I would be able to have both. In a perfect world I wouldn’t be on this dusty road and I wouldn’t have to choose.
“The choice is yours.” The man tells me. “When you have decided, all you have to do is tell me and then walk down either the left or right road. I must warn you though, if you chose the wrong road, you will pay dearly.”
“The wrong road?!” I burst out. “I thought you said it was my choice! How could there be a wrong road?” The man does not seem affected by my outburst, he simply shrugs. His stillness calms me and I quiet down, giving it more thought.
I look back up at him. “Okay,” I say. “I have chosen the road I want.” He looks surprised.
“Already? Do not tell me your choice yet. I have not even told you everything there is to know about both roads.”
“Oh.” I feel embarrassed by his reaction to my promptness. I just want to get out of this desert as soon as possible. I feel like I have been trapped here a long time. Too long.
“As I was saying, if you choose the incorrect road you will suffer for your actions and there will be no going back. I will not be able to help you and it will be all your fault.” He locks eyes with me and his cold stare makes me squirm. I’m starting to get the notion that this decision is more than just picking a random route. That this decision, might mean more than I think.
“Now, I am done. I will give you a minute to think carefully about your choice.” I nod and bow my head, pretending to rethink my decision. I don’t change my mind though.
“Do you know what you want?” He asks after a while.
“Yes.”
I stand up with him. I look over at the wooden signpost and to my shock, the once-empty wooden signs now have words on them.
“How did that get there?” I gesture at the letters spelling out the words ‘left’ on the sign pointing left and ‘right’ on the plank pointing right. There is a tiny print beneath the directions too but I am not close enough to read it.
The man shrugs, “They have been there all along, you just could not see it until I told you.” He does not give me a chance to mule over his words, instead he asks me a question. “Have you figured out who I am yet?” I had almost forgotten that his existence was a mystery.
“No, I don’t think I have.” His lips turn up ever so slightly.
“Well, I guess I will tell you before you have to leave.” I wait in anticipation. “But first, tell me your choice. Which road will you travel by?”
I tell him my choice and he tells me who he is.
“I am the guard of these crossroads, I guess you could say. I help souls like you find their way into the afterlife.” Before I can even think of the words he just uttered, my feet move from under me and I feel myself walking toward the road I chose.
The gravity of my choice dawns on me and I sense I have made the wrong decision.
“Wait!” I yell but when I look back, my feet still disobeying me, he has disappeared along with the crossroad and I know deep down that it is too late.
I turn back around just in time to see red flames erupt.
I hear a hellish scream in the distance.
The end