Gone

I remember the day I disappeared. It was a Saturday. A normal day. I had gotten off work early, and decided to roam the streets of this strange city I had found myself in.

It was the day my calls went unanswered. My text messages left unreplied. I stopped mid step as traffic roared by. I felt invisible. At first I was confused- why did everyone leave me?

But then I realized that it was me that had left them. I was the one that had gone so far, far away. The force of an encroaching darkness squeezed my vision to a closing pinhole.

I had been conversing with shadows all this time. Oblivious to the fact until the shifting figures had blended into the surrounding black. Hours past with me standing on that sidewalk. No bystanders seemed to notice. They didn’t care about me, nor I them. I was alone in an avenue bursting with people.

So I conjured up memories to keep me company. For a moment, the dim lights of long gone times floated by. They were happiness, sadness, snapshots of places I yearned to return to.

I was aware that they were headlights, but I reached for them anyways.

The squeal of brakes carried me away.

I’d rather be dead than gone.