Stuck in a Mirage

It all began the day before the eclipse. Being the loner that I was, I sat atop a hill overlooking the grassy plains and the sandy beach. It happened so fast that up until now, I'm bereft of a concise enough explanation as to what occurred. The only thing I recall from that day was waking up to the brilliant twinkle of stars in the starry night sky.

I never really bothered about whatever happened to me; there was no cause for alarm, physically or psychologically. I'd continued my ubiquitous trips to the hill until it struck again. This time was different, I felt it, I saw it, and once again, partook of it. "The trance" as I now called it was a state of semiconsciousness, one that had me happening on someplace, different. The first sight of it got me shrieking back in horror, but now, there was no backing out until it ended. I stood still, trapped in a sort of vision I couldn't control, explain or stop. A vision I wouldn't know for what reason it chose me. The trance was a happening vision having me as the only survivor of a world after the Armageddon.

The world, now stripped of colour was a vast wasteland filled with the stench of decaying bodies, the rivers, red with the blood of the fallen overflowed their banks, buildings, all broken and burnt, added to the sickening air.

The world like the work of some top notch artist seemed embossed in shades of white and black. The grasses had faded too, leaving the world as one big land stripped of its fertility. But for small vortexes of wind encircling dust and debris, everything was, still...

Half driven by curiosity and fear, I trudged through the field of decaying bodies slowly as though afraid to awake the fallen. I reached a house not quite broken, except for a few cracks on the walls and the roof that'd caved in. Slowly and cautiously, I reached out to touch it, heart racing. No more had I touched the coarse wall than it came crumbling down; I stood transfixed to the spot, unable to speak or move. I wanted to get away from the crumbling house, but for some unknown reasons, I couldn't. It was as though I was fated to get killed in a crash. Shielding my eyes, I waited for the inevitable— death.

A loud rumble, a shaking and finally— calm. I wouldn't know how it happened, but opening my eyes, there was no sign of a crumbled house, decaying bodies or bloody rivers. I stood on a sandbank, surveying my new environment which was in diverse ways different from the former.

"The sun!" I mused

It never occurred to me that the place had one. Lifting my eyes I beheld something startling; directly opposite the reddening sun was the moon, a shade of pale yellow contrasting sharply with the cloudless pitch black sky.

I dropped to my knees, wondering if I was being hallucinogenic or something. A pinch. A slap. A punch. My eyes welled up in tears from the pain I'd inflicted on myself, but everything remained unchanged. I racked my brain, searching for answers as to how I made it to my current location.
"What could've possibly happened within so short a time?" I mused, walking to the sea to help myself to a drink. As unexpected as a pop-up ad it came, causing the sea to develop ripples and the sun and moon, vanishing into nothingness. A voice.
"Not one stone shall be left on another"

Truth be said, I developed an icy spine and my fingers numbed. With clattering teeth and fear written all over me in bold cursive, I turned slowly to see who or what had conceivably read and replied my thoughts. Nothing. There was absolutely nobody there. The reply however, replayed in my head like a brain software gone rogue. I backstepped, holding my head and screaming my heart out. As the voice, now in my head seemed to go on forever, I was left with no other option than to do what I thought logical— run! In my haste to outrun the voice in my head, I ran off a cliff, crashing into a large pile of bones.

My eyes opened, revealing the sun in all its glory. The huffing and puffing of machines, the nonstop banter of roadside sellers and peddlers alike and the laughter of delighted children at play rented the air.

"Down to earth" I whispered, my mouth tilting at the corners. But for the little cut on my upper lip and the ache in my head, it seemed like I'd been dreaming. Rousing, I dusted my clothes and continued down the hill.

No more had I hit the street than I felt lightheaded. The trance was coming, I knew. Clutching my head, I fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, writhing in unfathomable pain. Minutes later, my lids pulled apart slowly to a sea of faces hovering over me. Something didn't seem quite right however. They were speaking all at once, but I couldn't hear them. All I heard was the beating of their hearts, and strangely— their thoughts.
Watching the movements of their lips, they were all speaking kind words, but something was still not right. Their thoughts were poignant; filled with evil and hate.

Something unexpected began to happen. The crowd around me silhouetted and faded like the last wisp of smoke from a bushfire. I jerked to my feet by some newly found strength. Awestruck, I watched as the exact same things from the trance occurred. The colour was fading and people were silhouetting before vanishing into nothingness. Everything happened so fast I could swear it didn't exceed a zepto-second by standard measure. And again, the voice:
"Vanity upon vanity... All is vanity"

'Twould be arbitrary to say more than I heard because I blacked out afterwards. It's been four days and counting since the trance occurred, and up until now, it still feels like I've been locked away in the figment of someone else's imagination.

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