Friday, May 3, 2013

Crashing Awake

Last night, coughing, I popped up in the dark; I remember sitting on the edge of the bed for a second -- or standing, I can't remember -- then, in an instant, I slammed to the ground, feeling distinctly like my head was being thumped, front and back, with wood -- or as if it were bouncing around in a box.

My eyes opened; I was on the floor next to my bed, hands and knees, and a memory was fading and undulating like a boat-wake behind me: a memory of falling, but more of crashing. That part -- the crashing part-- still hasn't faded: my body slamming to the wood floor; no attempt made to stop myself; just a flat, dead fall to the floor and hitting a few things on there way down.

I knelt there in the dark, literally shaking my head, trying to come around.


I got to my feet staggered down the hall to the bathroom, and the white sink was dotted with ants. I felt like a giant looking down on some gruesome attraction in a porcelain Colisseum. I watched them swarming as I clenched the sides of the sink. After a moment, I gathered the wherewithal to fill a cup and wash the whole spectacle down the drain.

This morning, I woke with a cut on my forehead, shaped like the corner of a night stand. The ants were really there, by the way -- I've been meaning to spray for a while now; they come in from the trees outside the window...

But...no wonder people believe in hauntings, werewolves, vampires, ghosts and stuff. Last night, I stumbled through the Twilight Zone.

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