Chapter One: The Fall
Act 1: Where It All Went Wrong
I was there, you know—when he fell. I have no remembrance of anything before that moment—just the instant when everything went wrong.
Why was I even there to see it? I didn’t know either. But I was deeply intrigued by where this was going: the man who fell out of the sky—and me, his silent spectator—beholding what seemed to be the end of his story.
I couldn’t help but wonder how my existence mattered to his story, and how his existence, in turn, mattered to mine.
I was there, when it all went wrong.
Act 2: The Fall
All I could do was watch him plummet toward the ground, struggling against the inevitable. The fear of his permanent end blinded him to what was truly happening. It made him deny his own reality.
It never feels real to lose yourself—and he was discovering that in real time, right before my eyes.
Act 3: This Is The End
Eventually, he let himself go. Reality sank in, and he accepted the fate that awaited him.
I could see his countenance shift even from miles away—his body language changing from desperate resistance to reluctant surrender.
“This is the end,” he muttered to himself.
But was it?
Act 4: Rock Bottom
His descent finally reached its end. He struck the ground hard— unconscious, the wind whistling faintly in the air around him.
To him, he had lost everything. To him, it was all over. Nothing could make things right again.
He had forgotten one of the best things about hitting rock bottom: the only way left to go is up.
He thought his story was over. And though I had no idea why I was there to witness this, I could tell his story was just beginning— and that there was more to why our paths had crossed.
Chapter 2: Grief
Act 1: Pain I saw him breathe again and just lay there, broken by the fall he had just endured. I could see the dwindling light of hope flickering faintly from within him. Memories of everything that was now lost came flooding through his mind, like a tide that pulled him deeper into the ache of what was.
Act 2: Loss The pain of everything he had lost began to creep in slowly—like cold hands wrapping themselves around his chest. The thought of losing it all and eventually amounting to nothing weighed down on his spirit. All the dreams of what could have been, gone in a brief sequence of events he could never have seen coming. It was all so wrong, but it felt painfully necessary to the path he’s been set on, one he had no power to alter.
Act 3: Doubt I saw him lose faith in the possibility of his redemption. His pain and loss had sunk deep into the core of his existence. He had lost all hope in the assurance of his purpose and the need to stay true to his cause. And in that moment something stirred inside of me. I began to sense that I was meant to be there, to witness, yes—but also to give. To offer him the spark of life, he would need to start again. But will he find himself again?
Act 4: Grief I had seen this man fall. I had seen him wrestle with the weight of his reality—consumed by pain, loss, and doubt. And beneath all of that, I had seen something else—a quiet perseverance, a fragile ember of hope refusing to die. He looked ready to put an end to mourning what was lost and press on for a higher purpose. It was time for him to move on from what had become of him into what he could become. It was time for an encounter.
Chapter 3: The Exchange
Act 1: The Stranger I had watched him lose it all while desperately trying to keep hope alive. It became clear to me—I didn’t witness this all by chance. I was part of something greater. It was a call upon me—a stirring to give what had been given to me to him. His now dwindling faith was fading, and I couldn’t stand by any longer.
Act 2: The Gift I had approached him as one who was sent. The gift I carried was not mine to create but to deliver. I didn’t fully understand its origin—I only knew the destination. It was an answer for him, entrusted to my hands for a moment in time. My only role was to deliver it and not explain it.
Act 3: The exchange With quiet conviction I reached out to him, handing him what I thought he deserved to live again. Till this very moment I could tell from his eyes he was still struggling to comprehend my being and the reason for my extensive understanding of his situation. But then I saw it: relief—subtle but undeniable.
Though he couldn’t comprehend it, he could feel the beginning of something new stirring within him.
Act 4: A second chance I left him to ponder on the reality of what I had brought him, but my heart remained tethered to his: watching, waiting. He held on to it—the gift—staring into it like one who could behold the past and future in that single moment. An opportunity lay before him: to build again, to start all over.
Doubt still lingered in the corner of his soul, but I saw something more powerful take root: the ability to dream again. To hope again. To believe that what was once lost could not only be regained but also multiplied.
Chapter 4: Redemption
Act 1: To Believe Again After I left him, he sat with the gift in silence—unmoving, almost suspended between disbelief and awakening. I watched from afar, trying to read the maze of his thoughts. Was he struggling to accept it? Was he afraid of what it might demand of him? Or was he simply overwhelmed by the weight of what lay ahead? For a while he did nothing but stare, and I simply couldn’t understand why. And then in the stillness, I saw something stir up from beneath the surface.
Act 2: Fanning the Flame Suddenly, I saw him bring the gift between his hands, ready to accept the unknown and become reborn of it; a quiet resolve flickered across his face. I watched him, eyes wide open, as I had no idea what was about to happen. I was just as new to this experience as he was, and I was ready to behold the purpose of the gift. I may have given it to him, but even I knew it truly wasn’t mine to give. It had chosen him, and only he could unlock its meaning.
Act 3: Acceptance I could see his confidence rising like dawn over a dark horizon—a fragile hope was born. In that moment he knew—change was coming. He stood there, at the threshold of something greater than himself. He accepted the gift with not just his hands, but his being. He was one with the idea of his redemption, and without a doubt he was ready to step beyond the ordinary.
Act 4: Redemption I could see now that none of this happened by chance; from the moment he fell, the path had always led to this point. I had witnessed everything—his descent, his doubt, his hesitation—and now I watched faith weave him back together. The gift became one with him, merging into the very fabric of who he was.
He couldn’t see all of it, yet something extraordinary was unfolding before my eyes. His faith had redeemed him.
Chapter 5: Apotheosis
(written order of the acts vertically inverted, as seen in the artwork)
Act 1: A Leap of Faith Like I said earlier, only I could see what had changed about him from the moment the gift's light merged with his soul. He couldn’t see it for himself, but the waiting was over. It was time.
He took a leap of faith—this time without hesitation. No more doubt, no more fear, no more grief. He surrendered fully to the idea of his rebirth. It was time to evolve.
Act 2: The Return of the Light And then it happened. The light surged within him, growing brighter and stronger—until it could no longer be contained. His confidence returned like fire catching dry wood. It became a part of him—one with him. This time, the light was his to keep. And nothing could take it away from him. Not again.
Act 3: Becoming As his transformation began, I watched the chains of his past fall away. The weight of doubt and fear that he once felt slipped from his shoulders like shadows chased away by the morning sun. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was free. Free to rise into the reality of who he was always meant to be.
He was no longer surviving—he was becoming.
Act 4: The Apotheosis of Man At last, he understood. The fall had not been his undoing—it had been his beginning. Every wound, every tear, every scar was shaping him, forging him for his life in this very moment.
I stood in awe as everything about him was reborn, forged on the fires of pain, purpose, and redemption.
He was no longer what he used to be; he was now what he was destined to be.
And yet one question haunted me still—without the gift, would he have ever found his way back? And more than that, why was I chosen to give it to him? Who chose me?
I suppose the answer is not mine to know. At least not yet.
The Five Chapters Of Apotheosis, 2025. Written and created by AnjolaDave. Edited by Esenoseluimen Ewaifoh.