A Ladder into Heaven, by Lucian Mignone

Photographer unknown.

A Ladder into Heaven

I saw the boy start to climb that morning, he put his foot on a rung and began to pull, up and up he went, he kept on climbing. That morning the boy had seen the ladder and he must have felt drawn to it, but I could see no reason to climb it but the boy found one, I could see his determination as he climbed up the ladder, as I watched him climb I could not see what he was after for it was too cloudy and gray to see what was above. All I could see was a ladder that stretched out as far as I could see. My awe turned into fear for what would happen if this boy slipped or he realized the futility and danger of his actions. No one would get to him at this point by now he was all on his own, I know the boy knew this but he kept climbing, each step he took was because of something. The fog clouded my vision and by now the boy was above the clouds and several hundred feet off the ground. I know that if he were to look down he would tense up for at such a height there was no easy way to get down. But the boy didn't look down he kept going. He went higher and higher and then I could no longer see him, his body had disappeared into the clouds. I felt empathy for the boy, but he did not stop, no he just kept going. Higher and Higher, rung by rung he went higher.

Lucian Mignone

Lucian Mignone: "I am a freshman at Seattle academy, a private high school in Seattle, Washington. This is my first year of taking Creative Writing. Apart from writing, I love to read and learn about history as well as how it affects us."