The Path
This short story is based on a dream I had one night after a long day at work. Allow your imagination to wander as we take a little walk.
Dirt and rubble displaced violently as I struggled to run as fast as my steel bottomed boots would avail me. Dense foliage easily severed as I relentlessly swung a machete's steel blade to clear a path. They were behind me. I could hear their rustling footsteps coming ever closer. With panicked haste and determination every aching muscle was devoted to pushing forward. The path I cut was leading them right to me. But there was still time to double back. Just a bit.
I swung my body back toward their direction. Soon they would be upon me. I could hear their footsteps closing in. My eyes darted to the left and the right, seeking a point of departure from my now certain destination. The foliage was thick with trees, vines and branches interspersed with countless razor sharp thorns.
Nearing the limits of my controlled panic, I saw an unusually dark recess up ahead. Time was up. Here was my escape. It was this or capture. I crouched and sunk my shoulders headfirst into this unknown abyss. Water enveloped my exhausted flesh-wrapped bag of bones. Refreshing at first but then I felt an overwhelming slick current envelop me. A current unlike any I have ever experienced. It held me firmly in its grip as I fell. The remaining oxygen in my lungs lasted only seconds and then came despair. Deeper I fell.
The thoughts of a man moments from death are indeed plentiful, riddled with scattered images of family and friends. Thoughts of words you wish you had spoken and those you wish you hadn't. Questioning how I ever got from there to here? Regrets. Prayers! Thoughts became clouded as I approached unconsciousness.
In a split second my envelope of water dissipated. I was removed from my oxygen deprived cocoon as suddenly as I had thrust myself into it. My lungs expanded with a violent rush of cool air. Relief was short-lived. For now I found myself plunging into a bright white abyss. The sound of rushing wind throbbed within my eardrums. My arms and legs could find no foothold. They dangled mercilessly groping for anything stationary. Anything to slow my fall.
Clouds! These were clouds, impossible as it seemed. Making sense of the senseless is possible when one has the time, a luxury I no longer enjoyed.
But I did see something familiar. It got bigger by the second. It was circular, decorated with an abundance of bright colors. I positioned my arms in such a fashion so as to intercept this vision of stability. Its circumference grew exponentially and suddenly it was upon me, or more accurately, I was upon it. The impact was soft for a moment as an enormous cushion of knitted fabric arrested my descent. I had struck a hot air balloon. But only for a moment.
My body swiftly bounced away from this cushion of delight as I frantically attempted to grab one of the cords dangling from its side. The rope burned as it slipped through my nimble fingers. Only mere inches left to hold on to.
And then suddenly a distorted voice rang loudly in my eardrum.
"Wake up, son. We're all finished" said a calm, male voice.
"Wha?" I whispered.
"You'll be happy to know that we successfully extracted that nasty tooth. Now let's get you cleaned up and out of here".
A tooth, I thought to myself, I went through all that for a lousy tooth!
"So let me ask you, how did you like our new anesthetic?"
Jim
Laugh... Pause... Think... Knowing it did not come from a simple mind.
All that for a tooth? Wowza. I loved this entry. Your experience clearly reveals how the mind attempts to process pain - conscious or not.