The Petrified Path

puncakbukit (78)in #photography • 10 days ago

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_{(Effect by DeepArtEffects)}

The path stretched endlessly before you, a familiar brickwork underfoot, yet something was disturbingly off. The cherry blossoms, usually a vibrant celebration of spring, hung heavy and pale, their petals littering the ground like forgotten snow. A chill wind, not of spring, whispered through the trees, carrying with it a faint, unsettling hum.

As you walked, the buildings on either side seemed to loom taller, their windows like empty eyes watching your every step. The lone figure in the distance, initially a comforting presence, now seemed to shrink with each step you took towards them, never quite getting closer, their silhouette becoming more indistinct, until they vanished entirely. The air grew heavy, the sky a deepening shade of grey, the playful clouds turning into ominous, swirling masses.

A sudden, sharp crack echoed through the silence, and you turned to see one of the large stone blocks lining the path crumble to dust. Then another, and another, until the very ground beneath you began to shift and fragment. The trees, once sturdy, swayed precariously, their branches skeletal against the darkening sky. You tried to run, but your legs were leaden, the sense of an impending, desolate solitude pressing in from all sides.

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