August 7, 1992, 3:42 AM. I sat there, perched atop a cliff, watching 195s ghostly highway roads. The empty roadways spawned an unsettling aurora, it was almost too empty. Sort of like a black hole, an empty black void ever so slowly sucking me in. Bright lights flash, a car drove by, the silence broken. I sighed in relief, little did that driver know the pulsating lights of his metal wagon snapped me back into reality. Reminding myself people were out there, I was not alone. Yet, at the same time I was in fact alone. I felt as if I was stranded, in the middle of the Atacama Desert with no food, no water, nothing.
It had been a rough few months. Yet, I have no idea why… Nothing necessarily bad happened, no deaths in the family, no major life changes, nothing that would explain why I had been so bummed out. I just couldn’t put my finger on it, and it bothered me to no end. It was a massive thorn in my side that wouldn't go away, it was as if a rose grew out of a secret compartment in my body, burying her thorns deeper and deeper into my flesh. Ahhhhhh I exalted, pounded my fists into the dirt with fury. In a fit of rage I ripped every fern within arm's distance from its roots, and I shouted gibberish with all my might. I then, collapsed to the ground.
Ignoring the looming terror of contracting Lyme disease, I laid in the dirt and began to ponder my life. I recalled the people I met, the places I’ve seen, and the memories I created. All in all, I led a fairly good life, but it seemed to have lost its pizazz. I felt close to nothing, everything seemed so pointless, almost bland. Life had gone from being a fresh tangerine, to a bowl of Original Cream of Wheat. I checked my watch, it was already 4:15 in the morning, shit I’d been out there all night. It had been hours since I ventured out into the wildness alone, I needed to get home and get some rest. I had work in the morning for Christ's sake. I flopped over, and got myself up. I looked down, and noticed the highways practically below my feet. A slight shiver engulfed my body, I stepped forward without looking at the ground, and my foot got caught up in a root. Throwing off my balance, I tumbled backwards to my horror, and landed on the street. I sat their stunned, too panicked to move, flashing lights zipped across the horizon. My mind was telling me to get moving, however my body wasn't listening. The lights came closer and closer, and soon all went black.
My body was throbbing, as if I have just been run over by a truck or something. I slowly gathered myself, rubbed my eyes, and stood up. When my vision finally became clear I was in a state of shock, where the fu*k am I, I wondered. I was in some sort of Southern New England forest. The flora was similar to what I was used to, yet something about it was uncomfortably off. The trees wiggled and waved as if they were made of jelly, and the small plants on the ground seemed to dance to the rhythm of nature. However, the sky threw me off the most. While the majority of the heavens were hidden behind the trees, the portions that snuck through the thickets were gorgeous. The sky blended from a rich shade of phthalo blue to a brilliant sea green, and finally to a shade of red-orange, which rivaled any Impressionist painting. These woods were miraculous, but sort of unsettling. There was something off about them, something didn't feel real. Luckily there was a single path next to the rest area that I seemed to have slept on. I decided that it would be best to walk down the path. I made my fist steps towards the mysterious trail, however my walking was immediately interrupted. A large raven perched atop a half-dead pine tree about me, belted his cry. I’m telling you this bird had some pipes. He could probably have summoned any critters in the forest with a cry like that. I then heard thaw ground shake far off in the horizon, a blurb was approaching me.
The blurb slowly became more and more clear. It was an entire mob of people! I decided to sit down in the area where I woke up, and let the parade past. The first two people who walked by were my parents. I tried to acknowledge them, but they ignored and looked forward as if they were on some kind of mission. My grandparents and a slew of stingers who looked all too familiar passed them. The seemingly endless mob continued to march. Every now and then a close friend of acquaintance would pass. I would try to grab their attention, but once again they were engulfed in their endless march. People continued to pass by and I wondered if there was ever going to be an end. Suddenly the gears in my mind began to grind. I realized something. This never-ending line was everyone I have ever crossed paths with in my life. It was insane they all continued to march along woodland path, silently almost like zombies. None would acknowledge me not even my closest friends. The parade looped and looped and looped some more around, I must have been watching it for at least a month. Finally I decided to follow the march.
I shoved myself in-between my high school gym teacher and the guy who ran the local Cumberland Farms. Walking quickly along the trail it seemed as if we were walking no were. It was all woods. I know they were on a loop, but I figured there would be some interesting sights to see, but I was wrong. However, this path seemed to have no end. We must have walked a marathons worth of marathons. There was no end. I was absorbed in the silent march, yet nothing was propelling me to stop. I marched, and marched some more. Lined up like sardines single file. The line brings a sense of piece. All the stress and anxiety was removed since I joined the line, the line is good….very good…..a necessity……..my……grasp….of….English….line………….take……I’m…….line…….line……line…………eternity………..always……………in……l….i..n…e
