They allowed the monsters to come down on them and bite, because in the darkness, they all bite. Their claws and their teeth tear at your skin, and you feel so sensitive to their touch, that you can feel the rake well before they've touched you.
And your screams echo in the steely dark and nobody hears, because the other fools are lost as well, in their own torturable abandon. And there is no one there.
You scream because you finally feel alive. And you open your eyes and look out and see -
you see that it was all a reverberating nightmare that echoed through your head, from the memories of long ago. The thoughts and remembrances of your forefathers, which transcend your mind as you sleep. And you remember the ancient pain and struggle that someone, somewhere, endured so long ago that the place is gone now, turned to ashes.
And you feel a fool for thinking it was so real, even if it was only in a dream. And you get up, out of bed and act normal. But you can't.
And the people, they know also. They can see through you. The knowing glares, the piercing disdain. They know you've seen it, too.
And, shocking to both you and them, they smile. They wink, maybe, as they pass you by. Because they feel a sort of kinship to you now, something they didn't feel before, when you were just a visitor. An unaware stranger.
Now, you are a brother, and there's no brotherhood that runs deeper than that formed of pain.
Look see (freewrite)
13 Comments