The only demons holding people back from chasing after what they truly desire are the ones that they’ve allowed to grow inside their own mind. Those demons are the constant echo of “you’re not good enough,” or “don’t try because you’ll fail.”
If you listen and accept what those echoes are saying, then you will never know what you can accomplish. However, if you challenge and defeat your echoes, then you will realise your full potential.
Please enjoy Ben’s story about defeating his Echo.
Ben’s story.
Ben and the Infinite Echo
Ben Miller was no hero. In fact, he was about as average as they came. His days were filled with changing tires at the local auto shop, coming home to instant noodles, and binging old sci-fi reruns. Life was predictable and, to be honest, kind of boring. But one Tuesday morning, everything flipped upside down—literally.
It started with an odd ringing in his ears, like an echo bouncing through his head. Ben dismissed it at first, thinking it was just exhaustion. But as the day went on, the ringing grew louder. By the time the afternoon sun hung in the sky, the sound had become overwhelming. He closed his eyes, hoping the noise would stop, but instead of silence, the ground beneath him vanished.
He tumbled through an endless abyss, screaming as the world spun away from him. His heart pounded in his chest as the sky above blurred, and the earth below became a swirl of colours and shapes. He landed, hard, on a surface that felt both solid and fluid, like stepping onto a puddle of molten glass.
Groaning, Ben pulled himself up, only to see an impossible sight. Floating before him was…himself. Another Ben. Identical in every way, right down to the smudge of oil on his cheek from that morning’s work.
“Who are you?” Ben asked, bewildered.
The second Ben didn’t answer. Instead, it turned, pointing to a massive, glowing door that seemed to hang in the air. Beyond the door, he could hear muffled voices, familiar ones—his friends, his coworkers, and even his mother.
The second Ben finally said, though his lips didn’t move. “You can stay in the ordinary world, where nothing changes. Or you can face the Echo.”
The Echo? Ben had no idea what that meant. But before he could ask, the second Ben vanished. The door creaked open with a soft groan, and without thinking (that’s normally what got him into trouble), Ben stepped through.
