He
had died. That was something he was completely sure of. There was a difference
between the feeling of the stone on his face and hands than a floor usually
would have. Thoughts danced around his head, fleeting things that he couldn’t
get a grip on. Besides the fact that he existed and that he was lying flat on a
stone surface there was nothing sure.
The
man slowly stood up; assessing the room he was in. A stone floor and stone
walls stared back at him, a cold grey in their uniformity. No door, but no
ceiling, just an infinite gloom after what he thought was a few dozen feet.
There were no light sources that he could find, so he surmised that somehow he
was seeing despite that.
That
only added to his theory that somehow, in some way, he had died. His life wasn’t
the only thing he had lost, there was also something important which was not
coming into his head, something that could define him. A dictionary? No, that
wasn’t right.
It
was a single word, he was sure of it. Instead of reflecting outward, at the
room, he tried to reflect inwards at himself, but found that his thoughts were
all raging at each other. His inner voices had mostly been calm, if he
remembered correctly. But now, there were three or four of them, all separate,
all trying to gain control of his head.
So
he sat in the middle of the cell, trying to deduce the word that was so very
important to him. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, for now settling on
Prisoner to define him for the time being. It was true, he was in a prison.
For the time being, sang one of the
voices in his head. He ignored it, instead turning his attention back to the
walls and the floor. They were utterly smooth and seamless, like it was hewn
out of one piece of stone. Voices came in and out of his head like bad
reception, making it hard to focus on keeping utterly still and utterly calm.
They were making him itch.
When
the woman appeared, standing only a tiny distance from him, Prisoner wasn’t
surprised. He considered her, all but one of the voices immediately going
silent. He managed a smile that made his already gaunt feeling face become like
a skull.
“Hello,
my wife.”
And
then, he woke up.
