...and next to the door was marked the number 22.

The signs were unmistakable. The dark sky ominous, but the light beckoning inward, I closed my eyes, searching desperately for the strength needed to continue. Where earlier adrenaline and hope had guided me, now an inkling of fear began to lace each passing thought, each further step into the unfamiliar. This moment marked the beginning of a journey I knew was as important as life itself, but standing there in the chilly breeze of this moonlit back alley, the gravity of the moment overwhelmed me...