In the Upper Floor of the Scottish Rite Cathedral - Part 1
The name of my sidekick was Benjamin, a fellow church member
An ornery, brown haired boy who had nothing in common with me
Save for his sudden sense of adventure and exploration
He asked me, “Laura? Have you ever been up there?”
I said, my voice soft, innocent, and practical,
“No. My dad says we are not allowed up there…”
“I’ve gone halfway up already,” Benjamin said proudly.
“What do you think is up there?”
I looked at him in surprise. “You know you shouldn’t go near there Ben!”
“I know, but what do you think is up there?”
“I don’t know, Ben. I don’t know…”
This was the first time I had ever entered the Scottish Rite Cathedral
Where our congregation was to meet for the Passover Holy Day
I was the snarky seven year old, and Benjamin was the terrible ten
His eyes glistened in real wonder
I remember my soul shuttered, as I stood there with him
Just looking above at the staircase before me…
My mind drifted, as it still does even now…
The temple was grand, spacious, cream white
I remember feeling very safe beside its lovely walls
Upon entering, I marveled at the two Sphinx guardians,
Watching over the temple in their strange stone supremacy
I was recalling such things when Benjamin poked me
“Hey Freckles! Quit your dreaming will you?
We need to go see what’s up there! I mean look!”
And my eyes were forced to look up those magnificent,
Yet eerily dark stairs…
He whispered, “I know they’re hiding something up there!
I just know it!”
The thought of me going up these stairs was terrifying,
Yet…oddly, I felt suddenly drawn to it…
I needed to know what was up that stairway,
And I didn’t like needing anything at all
He started tugging me, already standing on the first stair
“Come on Laura. Come on! I don’t want to go alone!
It will only be for just a few seconds.
We’ll take a quick peak, and then we can go.
No one will see us, I promise!”
I felt a sacred and crawling feeling that someone was watching
Like someone already knew our plans…
I looked around warily, my eyes drifting back upwards toward the stairway
Stop it, eyes…stop it…
“Ben. No. What if we get lost?”
He took my hand earnestly and forcefully
“We won’t Breidenthal!”
“Don’t call me Breidenthal, Ben…”
I looked at him long and hard,
Seeing him as both a bully and a blessing
I wanted to go, don’t get me wrong,
But I did not like needing to go up there,
And I definitely did not like him holding my hand…
His eyes were pleading me to come along
It was clear he wasn’t going to have his adventure without me
“Okay, okay…let’s go….”
He smiled wide. “Yes! Don’t worry! I won’t let go of your hand!”
A dully comforting promise…
From then on, I cannot decipher dream from reality…
As we ascended the stairway,
I started hearing the air heavier than before
Going up, the stairway was not as dark as I thought
Though as we climbed higher, Ben picked up his speed
And the darkness became heavier
We passed the large glassed window of little light,
Reaching the top of the first set of stairs
On the left, I cringed
There was complete darkness up the next set
Ben looked at me and stared back up the stairs
He was scared…really scared
“This is how far I got last time,” He said quickly,
His voice was strange to me, shaky and squeaky
“Are we going all the way up?” I asked faintly,
The sound of the air now sounded like a hollow hum
“Yes, Laura. There’s no going back…”
Copyright © Laura Breidenthal | Year Posted 2015
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