text: [Themes: mystery / thriller, spiritual]
  
  You decide to keep going, and not stop at the inn. You're tired, hungry and thirsty, but something compels you to keep on moving.
  
  You walk on the sidewalk, just by the road. You are so tired you very nearly topple over into the path of the oncoming traffic. The night is freezing, and the wind of the vans and cars rushing past you make it worse, their bright headlights making you feel dazed and confused. The sound of the vehicles rushing past, their tyres and engines create such a potent din that you can't hear yourself think straight. You had never realised just how loud and uncomfortable this would be.
  
  As you reach the crossroads, a white van drives passed you and, quite suddenly, everything goes silent. That was the last vehicle. You look around the crossroads, but there is nothing there, and all you can hear is the quiet, mournful sound of the wind rushing past your head.
  
  Behind you, you hear someone whistling. It is a slow, eerie tune that makes your hair stand on end. You turn quickly around. There is a bald man standing behind you, dressed in plain brown clothing, with blue trousers. He looks completely unremarkable, and he looks at you with a slight smile in the sudden emptiness and silence of the crossroads.
  
  "Who are you?" You ask.
  
  "Ah, now that is a fascinating question," says the stranger, "For now, you may call me Mr. Mirror. I am a man of many talents who knows a little something about the world, and about people. And I sense you, my friend, are a person who is being hunted."
  
  "How could you possibly know such a thing?"
  
  "What else would one be doing out here, so far away from a warm bed and a hot meal?" Mr. Mirrror counters, "Fortunately for you, I have my own means of evading anyone, or anything, that could be coming after you. Even if they're from your dreams."
  
  You stop in your tracks.
  
  "Of course, I'll want something in return for my help," he says, "Don't worry, it's nothing you can't afford."
  
  You could turn down the figure, and return back to the inn. Or you could accept his help. You don't know what he wants in return, but you suspect it's not mere money...
  
  > accept his deal
  You think about it, then you decide that whatever it is he takes from you, at least you will still have your life.
  
  Mr. Mirror grins, then speaks.
  
  "Very well then," he says, "You shall keep your life, and none shall ever take it from you. And I shall take from you the most valuable possession you have." He snaps his fingers, and vanishes.
  
  You pause. You don't really feel like anything is particularly wrong. What did he take from you? Your computer? Your car? Your house?
  
  You return back home. Nothing seems out of place, but it still feels as if something is missing. You stand in your hallway, but realise you're not doing anything else. It occurs to you that you should feel tired, hungry and thirsty. But you just don't. You have no desire for any of these things. Deciding that you really ought to do something, you walk into your room, open up your computer and see the Search Bar of the internet pop up. But you simply don't have any idea what to look for on the internet.
  
  You sit like this, staring at the computer screen for hours on end. You don't feel uncomfortable, or bored, or scared. You just sit there.
  
  As your life continues, you try to do things that you would have enjoyed in your previous life, but they don't do anything for you. You try to eat, but it doesn't give you any pleasure. You don't enjoy your favourite foods, and you can quite easily eat things that you used to absolutely hate. When you try to read books, they're all just words on a page. You don't imagine the scenarios in the stories playing out in images in your head unless you try really hard. You even attempt social interaction, and you can easily answer questions that people give you, but you find you are unable to ask anyone else questions, or start up a conversation. Eventually, people begin to avoid you... or do you avoid them? You're not sure, and you don't actually care either way.
  
  This goes on for weeks. Then months. Then years. Then decades. You don't age, but no one seems to notice you. You walk all the way around the world, see sights people could not imagine in their wildest dreams, yet you still feel as empty and as dull as ever.
  
  One day, you decide to make one more trip. You go back to Rome, and find your way to the Crossroads. You don't know what it is you expect to find there, and when you get there, it is just an ordinary motorway. No one awaits you. You sit by the roadside, without any idea what to do next.
  
  The little blonde boy sat in the back of the car as rain splattered on the windows. He was bored; his parents were taking him back from their holiday in Rome across the motorway. He had taken to looking out the window, and staring at the trees. The car was stuck in a traffic jam, and was moving slowly across the road. Finally, the car moved to the crossroads, when it stopped.
  
  The boys eyes shifted to the side of the road. There was a statue there; it was of a person, just sitting there, staring into the traffic.
  
  "Mummy? Daddy?" Asked the boy, "Why is there a statue by the road?"
  
  "No one really knows," His mother responded, "People tell a story about it. They say this person found immortality, but in doing so, lost their heart. Then, one day, this person came to the roadside and sat here, not knowing what to do. They could not die, so eventually they just turned to stone."
  
  "It is a silly story," remarked the father, "Someone probably just made this statue for fun, then people began telling tall tales about it to explain its existence."
  
  The car began moving through the traffic, finally. The boy took one last look at the statue, and noticed how the raindrops falling down its face made it look like it was weeping.
  
  ENDING UNLOCKED: His smile fair as Spring, as towards him he draws you...