The Station, Part 58

Suddenly I don’t want to be here in this place anymore. It feels like a trap, an inescapable prison for which I want no part. But what is most tortuous of all to watch is this creature, all but absorbed in this most trivial of tasks, never once has he gazed up at the wonder of the heavens that is right before him. If he ever had an interest in the possibilities at are out there, that curiosity is long gone. I feel nothing but pity for him. I want to never be like this creature—ever.

And now all I se is blackness. And somehow this nothingness is better than what I have just left. I no longer have to face that lifeless creature back there. That creature that was so irritatingly familiar, but also so distastefully devoid of wonder. Do such creatures such as these exist in such profusion? How do they survive? Do they deserve to succeed in such great numbers? So many, and yet so alone within themselves.

The darkness gives way to light. This light seems to be inside my eyes. It gradually grows brighter until it almost hurts…

I see the inner walls of my igloo. I must be awake then.

The light is coming from outside. The gray that was night has passed. Though emotions I felt during the sleep lesson, if that’s what it was and not merely a dream, are still with me. The disgust at the listlessness and emotional immobility of the beings I saw is like a bad taste in my mouth. I want to wash it away but I don’t know how. But you don’t have any idea what I’m going on about do you? Once I have gathered my thoughts on this, I’ll let you in on my discovery. In the meantime, I’ll just leave the confines of my igloo and see what the new day has brought.

It’s almost as bright as before, with a hint of gray still remaining, probably a last remnant that before long will disappear as well. The mound housing my mysterious helpers is much smaller now and has a deflated look about it. There is an opening at the top. I’m going to take a look. I thought I’d be more nervous about doing something like this but there’s something about desensitization that makes even the most daunting tasks less daunting. The mound size has been reduced enough that I can stand on tiptoe to see inside. It’s a disappointment for the most part—it’s empty. But who or whatever they were, clues were left behind. The inner walls betray the general shape of the inhabitants, although that shape id not terribly distinct. And it still remains inconclusive as to the exact number of beings that was inside. But going back to the beings’ shape—based on the wall impressions, I can surmise that they are long and tubular, perhaps of an annelid-like form. Worms. In some places I detect what appears to be segmentation. Not unlike an earthworm increases many thousands of times it own size. But the exact size is impossible to determine. I could be seeing the impression of a several three meter long animals or an individual at best guess perhaps fifteen meters long.

I won’t anything more here, but I’m glad I did what I did. A little more of a mystery that begets yet more questions. Specifically; why are these wormlike creatures involved in my welfare? Yes, I still believe that. Because even if they have moved on without me, there is a new trail stretching off into the horizon, continuing in the very direction I need to go. Exactly along the path that I have committed to memory. I’ll just be finishing this stretch of it solo.