Last Night a Passenger

This morning, I woke up smelling of stale sea air. As I wearily opened my eyes and analyzed my surroundings, I realized that I had no clue where I was. I lay in a field of grass without the slightest idea of how I got there. The cold air brought a shiver to me as I tried feverishly to remember just the scarcest bit of the events that occurred the previous night. As I gazed at the overcast sky above me, clouds drifted lazily to and fro. As if in a trance, I watched, transfixed. Slowly, I watched as the clouds morphed into different shapes. They moved so fluidly, almost like a school of fish drifting through the sky.

Suddenly, something clicked in my mind. It must’ve been the stale smell of salt water and the fish-like clouds that triggered my memories.

Out of the blue, images of a large, surging sea were unearthed from my confused brain. The water was such a deep and vibrant shade of cerulean. It took me a moment to grasp that I was hovering over the powerful waves of the vast ocean; a silent observer of this monstrous, yet immensely beautiful, liquid mass. Looking down, I began to panic, realizing that if I plummeted into that fierce sea, it could be the end of me. I began to search anxiously, trying to figure out the source of my levitation but there was no answer in sight. I was mystified.

Then, without warning, I began to plunge straight down into the water below. It felt as if I were falling forever and I began to expect the bone-shattering collision of my body and the water. But it never came. The next thing I knew, I was submerged in the sea. In my alarm, I tried desperately to swim to the top. The air in my lungs was beginning to wear dangerously thin when I realized that no matter how much swimming I did, the surface wasn’t getting any closer. My eyes bulged at the thought of all the air in my lungs being taken from me and being replaced with the salty water that surrounded me. I tried even more determinedly to swim to the top, but it came out more as a violent thrashing.

I looked around as best as I could, searching for anything that might lead me to safety. Even if I could find anything, I would have to do it quickly as the air in my lungs was nearly depleted. That’s when I saw a giant mass of colors ahead, in the distance. The vivid blues, oranges, and yellows caught my eye in an instant. I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but I was running out of time. I tried my best to swim towards it while it moved towards me. I didn’t get far before the approaching mass became recognizable. I let a little cry out; these little water vertebrates would not be able to help me in the slightest.

While I floated in place, treading water, the seemingly infinite amount of fish began to encircle my slim body. They swam in circles around me, almost as if caressing or trying to comfort me. As I thought about my demise, the last little bit of oxygen in my lungs was released. All I could do was watch the brilliant fish swim around me, mesmerizing me completely. A sense of peace came over me and I no longer thought about the lack of oxygen in my lungs and how bad my entire being was crying out for more of it. I forgot about everything but the colorful little animals.

The moment I realized I had been without oxygen for at least a few minutes, I became even more perplexed. Suddenly, I came to the conclusion that I must have been dreaming because there was no other possibility. There was absolutely no way I could survive under water with absolutely no oxygen for that amount of time. I felt incredibly relieved. Despite how scared I was before, nothing could scare me now.

Wonderment was my new emotion. I wanted to explore anything and everything. I swam for what seemed like hours, following the fish every which way they went without a care in the world. The sea was a wonderful place of astonishing color and anti-gravity. I reveled in every moment.

Outside of my dreams, I was a very cautious person. I never really took risks for fear of straying from my comfort zone. But this, this was a completely different world. A world where I could let go of all my inhibitions and explore new things. I had a new passion for knowledge and freedom. In a very uncanny way, this school of fish allowed me to seek out the new, unknown and beautiful things in life.

Then I saw him. He who had chestnut hair down to his shoulders; half as long as mine. He swam in circles, did back-flips and front-flips and anything else you could think of, in the water merely yards from me; his thin, tattooed body moving in almost impossible ways. We locked eyes momentarily and I felt a jolt of energy rush to every nook and cranny of my body. I turned to face the opposite direction, a bit apprehensively. What I was anxious about, I didn’t quite know.

He gradually swam in my direction, and although I couldn’t see him, I could feel his presence stronger and stronger the closer he got. The energy his body seemed to give off was a bit startling. He swam around and began to tread water right in front of me. He stared at me for a moment, making me feel very uncomfortable. But then he grinned and gestured for me to follow him, just before swimming away. I didn’t move for a moment, hesitant. I thought back to the craving I had suddenly had for knowledge and freedom and began to think that not following him would go against everything I now was. Not following him would just be letting my old fear of the unknown get the better of me. But I was someone new now. So what if he was a stranger? It was, after all, only a dream.

I began to swim, quickly so I could catch up with him. I wasn’t sure where he was leading me, but I didn’t really care. We swam for a few minutes, until he stopped. It took me another moment to get caught up with him. When I did, I began to tread water right beside him. We looked to each other than forward again; to something I couldn’t quite make out. It looked like a massive blur.

It didn’t phase him at all. In fact, he gave my hand a little pull and began to swim towards it. I, nevertheless, followed indubitably. As we both approached, it became clear to me what the haziness was. It seemed to be a whirlpool of enormous proportions. It was then that I became a little apprehensive. But there was no time to think about it. He looked to me as if assuring everything would be alright, and the sheer force of the spiraling current of water began to pull us in.

Everything became a blur of colors as the whirlpool forced us around and around. As we spun, the colors turned from blues and greens to a plethora of purples and pinks, white, and incomprehensible black. I knew deep inside of me that we were being taken from the sea. To where, I couldn’t fathom.

Suddenly, we were flung from the current at an inconceivable speed. Although I was frightened, I went with it. For some reason, I felt with him in my company, nothing could harm me.

As our speed began to decrease, I felt that same anti-gravity feeling of being in the sea. Momentarily, I realized why. We were encompassed by the infinite enormity of space. It was the same, if not more, exhilarating than the sea. Everywhere in sight, stars twinkled and planets and moons orbited.

I found the man who led me to this cosmic locale a few yards away, floating ethereally behind me. Quickly, he placed my hand in his, sending electricity throughout my body. He smiled and directed us onward.

We floated through the stellar nebulas of the cosmos. He guided me every moment of the way. It felt as if he had done this a million times before, the way he incessantly knew what to do and where to go.

When we stopped, we were in the presence of some unknown planet’s moon. Everything looked so otherworldly in the glow of the moon, especially him. He floated in front of me, observing me. So I examined him. All the stories inked in his skin, the mystery in his eyes. It all entranced me. He reached up and held my head in his palm for a moment, using his thumb to brush my cheek. As he inched closer to me, his face drenched in an otherworldly glow, I knew what his next action was going to be. I, by no means, wanted to stop him.

But apparently fate didn’t have the same feelings.

I woke from my reminiscence in a haze, wishing it had really happened. Tears began to form in my eyes, knowing I’d have to go back to my shy, cautious life. And knowing I’d never be able to see him

“How are you feeling?” asked a mysterious voice.

“Like I’ve lived a thousand years,” I mumbled.

And then I saw him.