All he could see were silhouettes of people. People. A lot of people. An overcrowded blue space. He grew restless. The bed sheet above the rubber lining was wet with his sweat.
He knew he was sinking. Sinking deep. He felt the strong pull. It dragged him further and further down in the deep, dark, crowded, blue valley.
Inhaling seemed impossible. The struggle seemed futile. He fought with whatever little consciousness remained. Finally with all his strength he inhaled. The sound of his own breath startled him.
The breath was nothing but a blurry reminder of existence. His left arm seemed heavy with a dull pain. It was the intravenous.
Either the semi-consciousness of his own existence or the lingering knowledge of something that had gone wrong, made him gasp harder for breath. His heart was overcome with a sudden knowledge of grief. An overwhelming sorrow.
Unaware of the sound of his wailing he tried to move.
“What’s wrong?” a sound asked. “Do you need something?”
All he knew that he felt like crying out loud. The grief was beyond himself.
More sounds of people.
The clouds seemed to be parting from his memory. He remembered and asked, “There was someone else”. Where was she? Who was she? What happened? The questions started emerging slowly from behind the fog.
He became aware that he should stop crying. He tried to steady his voice. “My wife?” he asked.
“You need to rest, we will talk in the morning” answered one of the voices.
He found himself relaxing his back on the bed. He fell back into a dark abyss.
He started sinking again. Deeper this time. Those dark images were pulling him. They were persistent. He couldn’t resist this time. Who were they?
Among the black shapes he seemed to remember something. He recalled a familiar figure. He wanted to sink deeper. He wanted to move closer this time. The valley grew darker. He sank lower.
The pull was magnetic. The darkness seemed beautiful now. He did not struggle against the force.
He started feeling more at home. He knew who the familiar figure was.
It was she, his wife.
He knew he was sinking. Sinking deep. He felt the strong pull. It dragged him further and further down in the deep, dark, crowded, blue valley.
Inhaling seemed impossible. The struggle seemed futile. He fought with whatever little consciousness remained. Finally with all his strength he inhaled. The sound of his own breath startled him.
The breath was nothing but a blurry reminder of existence. His left arm seemed heavy with a dull pain. It was the intravenous.
Either the semi-consciousness of his own existence or the lingering knowledge of something that had gone wrong, made him gasp harder for breath. His heart was overcome with a sudden knowledge of grief. An overwhelming sorrow.
Unaware of the sound of his wailing he tried to move.
“What’s wrong?” a sound asked. “Do you need something?”
All he knew that he felt like crying out loud. The grief was beyond himself.
More sounds of people.
The clouds seemed to be parting from his memory. He remembered and asked, “There was someone else”. Where was she? Who was she? What happened? The questions started emerging slowly from behind the fog.
He became aware that he should stop crying. He tried to steady his voice. “My wife?” he asked.
“You need to rest, we will talk in the morning” answered one of the voices.
He found himself relaxing his back on the bed. He fell back into a dark abyss.
He started sinking again. Deeper this time. Those dark images were pulling him. They were persistent. He couldn’t resist this time. Who were they?
Among the black shapes he seemed to remember something. He recalled a familiar figure. He wanted to sink deeper. He wanted to move closer this time. The valley grew darker. He sank lower.
The pull was magnetic. The darkness seemed beautiful now. He did not struggle against the force.
He started feeling more at home. He knew who the familiar figure was.
It was she, his wife.
3 comments:
A sheet of smooth black satin. Trance-inducing. It scares me that you can write this piece with such feeling...as if you have 'been there and done that'.
The post reminded me of this sequence in a film; "The diving bell and the butterfly". You captured that in words so very well! Lovely! (if I can say it without sounding like a manic depressive).
Thanks for your comments! :)
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