What brought me here to this strange place?

I look around me, scanning the sea of nameless faces, 

Nameless, yet familiar in a way I cannot describe.

They move as if in a dream, their eyes staring vacantly ahead,

Their shadow-like forms billowing like smoke from a dying flame. 

What brought me here?

Why does this place feel so surreal? 

I close my eyes. I pinch myself.

Ouch! I felt that, yet I am still here.

Eyes opening slowly to take in all that surrounds me - 

Nothing but empty white space and shapes that hover just outside my reach. 

What brought me here? 

Why can’t I move from this spot?

My feet feel glued to the ground, 

Staring down my languished body. 

Languished?! I was fine just a moment ago!

Focus! I need to focus. Do not panic! 

What brought me here?

Is this a dream?

I scream at the top of my voice.

They do not answer me, they do not flinch,

Their empty stares passing through me as though I’m not even there.

Yet I know that they feel me. I feel them too. 

Can anybody help me?

What is this place?

I can no longer hide my anguished state, I no longer WANT to. 

I want them to see my terror, feel my fear.

They care not for my distress; my outburst does not move them at all. 

Aimlessly they move beyond my reach as if compelled by an unseen force. 

Can anybody help me?

Why won’t you help me?

I plead, with tears running down my agonized face,

Arms flailing helplessly to draw their attention. 

My body growing weak with fatigue and strain, 

Yet, my legs not allowed to buckle and give me the relief I crave.

Can anybody help me?

Am I dead? 

My tormented soul screams silently into the emptiness that surrounds me. 

I feel a flutter in the air around me, imagined maybe, but it feels real.

Something I cannot begin to fathom stirs inside of me,

Settles into me and floods my entirety. 

How can this be?

I am dead?

I whisper to no one in particular.

It isn’t a question, yet I wait for a response that does not materialize. 

Their eyes move to meet mine, all of them at once,

Like an accomplished orchestra honing in on their conductor.

How can this be?

What do you want from me?

I wail softly as they move toward me. 

Not toward me, into me.

I feel them inside of me, stronger with every one that enters. 

I cannot fight this, I am too weary. 

How can this be?

So this is how it ends?

I shut my eyes as the cacophony inside of me grows to fevered pitch.

I will them to silence and they obey. They obey.

The silence is deafening, I welcome it. I embrace it. 

Finally, I understand. 

I am home.