Tripping, I fell headfirst. I woke up dead. Well, that was my initial thought anyways.
Before the fall, there were people walking the sidewalks, and the streets were full of vehicles. After the fall, same.
But something was different, just in a way I couldn’t yet describe.
Yeah, I’m definitely dead, I thought. Whenever change, no matter how slight, it’s always best to assume the worst.
One might ask if I’d simply been knocked out cold, that I hadn’t come to yet and was dreaming about waking up in the same different world.
Another might ask about drugs, that maybe the first word is code. “Tripping?” Yeah, I bet you were.
No to both, however. It was a real gravitational pull to the ground. Sidewalk, actually.
And when I inquired of a man walking by, his answer was a simple confirmation.
“You’re dead,” he said, then adding, “welcome to Hell.”
Wow. Great.
I wasn’t too thrilled about being right. Still a shocking revelation. I guess death isn’t final until some rando informs you.
Must’ve been one hard fall, I told him. Continuing: “And really, Hell? This isn’t exactly what I was expecting.”
“Well, what’s different about this place before and after your fall.”
I looked around. The storefronts were the same. The advertising. The flags in the windows. The people had the same look on their face that was often found on my own.
The one that says, “I don’t want to, but I must move on to the next thing as quickly as I can.”
Go, go, go. Still never made it, though. Like an aimless frenzy. No wonder I fell.
“I guess not much,” I admitted.
Before continuing, I closed my eyes. I had been squinting them ever since my arrival. “It’s just a lot brighter.”
“You get used to that, too,” he said.
“Too?”
“Yes. Isn’t that how you got here? Becoming numb to the bad stuff.”
