I am in a cave. The cave is shallow, no more than 5 meters from mouth to rear. Its inside is worn smooth by wind and water. There are animal droppings of various sizes. It’s sweltering hot, even in the dark.
I sit up and let the heat and light absorb me. The light arrives from the mouth of the cave a few meters in front of me. I see that the cave is low. There are plants outside, down a shallow incline. I see a muddy, swampy ground. There are no visible trees. Instead, the foliage is fern-like, large and overgrown. The mud beneath them is thick, dark.
Standing takes some effort. My legs are not weak. My equilibrium is wrong. My mind is clear, but in all I feel emptied of something vital. I see what is in front of me. My thoughts are simple, clinical, clear. My body responds to movements, but only that. This is because of the Silence. There is no noise here to casually stimulate me. My eyes and ears are not bombarded with symbols. My feet do not perceive the constant rumbling of nearby vehicles, nor even the hard certainty of paved ground. Standing on it might as well be standing on an alien world.
My body is naked. I still feel as though I am observing it from the outside. I have no scars or markings that connect with memory. I am intact. My naked body has little need for clothing in this heat. The mud would not bode well for most shoes. If I have cause for modesty, it’s nowhere in sight.
The sun in the sky is still yellow. We have that consistency going for us.