I don't remember where I came from, Only stone and rotting wood. The walls were older than my memory, Silence was the only voice I understood. No window ever caught the morning, No fire ever warmed the air. I learned to count the passing seasons By the dust that settled everywhere. There was a tower reaching upward, Higher than the light could fade. I told myself that if I climbed it Maybe all this dark was only made. Every stair was split and broken, Every step could be my last. Still I kept my hands above me, Leaving all I'd ever had. If there's a world beyond these stones, I want to see it with my own eyes. Whatever waits beyond this darkness Has to be worth the climb. One more step into the unknown, One more breath before I find Whatever waits beyond these walls. I climbed looking for the daylight, Looking for a place to stand. Looking for another heartbeat, Looking for another hand. I never wanted to be different, I never asked to be alone. I was only chasing something That I'd never known. At the top the roof had fallen, Moonlight spilled across the floor. Cold air hit my face like freedom; I'd never breathed like that before. Trees were swaying in the distance, Stars were scattered overhead. For the first time in forever, The world felt bigger than my dread. I walked until I saw a manor Burning gold against the night. Music drifted through the windows, Everything inside looked bright. People laughed without a worry; No one seemed afraid to stay. I thought maybe I had found them, Maybe I'd be one someday. I pushed the heavy doors open, Nobody noticed me at first. Then one face went white with terror, Then another, then the worst. The room exploded into shouting, Candles crashed onto the floor. They were running from something awful, Something standing at the door. I couldn't understand the panic, Couldn't see what they had seen. So I followed through the hallway, Trying to find what they all meant. There was a mirror in the corner, Covered thick with years of dust. When I wiped away the surface, Someone else was looking back. Everything I hoped was waiting Was already standing here. Every answer I had chased Only brought the truth more near. There's no hiding from your own reflection, No running from your name. The world is still the world outside, But I won't leave the same. I climbed looking for the daylight, Looking for somewhere to belong. Found a face I couldn't recognize, But I'd been wearing it all along. They can turn and run forever; They can never change what's true. I know who walks beside me now— The stranger I once knew. Maybe all my life I was searching for myself. Maybe every locked-up answer Was waiting on that shelf. You don't choose the face you're given, You don't choose where you begin. But you choose whether the story Ends where it's always been. I remembered every hallway, Every shadow, every stone. It was never just a prison; It had always been my home. All the things I used to wonder Finally fell into place. The stranger I'd been chasing Was the owner of my face. There's no road back to that ballroom, No reason left to pretend. Some doors close without asking; Some stories don't quite bend. Still the moon keeps rising slowly, Still the night's a place to roam. I may never be their neighbor, But I don't have to walk alone. If another soul is climbing Out of some forgotten place, Thinking they'll be loved tomorrow If they wear another face, I hope they find what I discovered, Though it hurts before it's true: You can lose the world you're reaching for And still find something new. I climbed looking for the daylight, Looking for a place to stand. Looking for another heartbeat, Looking for another hand. The world can turn away from you; It doesn't change what's true. Some of us are made for midnight, And the stars still shine there too. I climbed looking for the daylight, Looking for somewhere to belong. Found a face I couldn't recognize, But I'd been wearing it all along. Even if the world won't know me, I can finally know myself. Underneath the endless midnight, I have found something else.
