Perseverance

Without confidence, I judged that it was my second day on the stair, and I was running low on food and water. Many of my supplies were sinking somewhere down in the valley mires. I shuddered at the memory of my escape.

When the twilit grey dulled, I rested again. My feet hurt, my upper legs burned. My pace was not proud. I curled up with my back to a banister, two black orbs staring sightlessly out from their sockets by my sandaled, blistered feet. I wanted to cover them up. Instead, I closed my eyes.

I woke with a pounding headache and foolishly drank the remainder of my water. With little to see beyond the formless grey, I stared at my feet as I trudged upward. The eyes looked back at me without blinking.

Time passed unnoticed without incident. Small imperfections in the stone became a source of interest. A set of eyes was slightly bluer, a crack offset a step. A banister was broken. The path curved right for some time until I was almost certain it completed an endless rising circle.