To the Furthest Fields

Author's note: This one is pretty out there. I look forward to seeing what folks think

It started with me falling.

One moment, I’m napping in my chair, the next, I'm descending downward.

Not that I had anything to tell me for sure I was falling - on each side of me was only darkness, and the same was above and below me.

Yet somehow, despite these lack of markers for my direction and speed, I knew I was falling.

Then it suddenly changed, and I was moving straight ahead for a while, and suddenly was rising.

And then I stopped, and found myself in a quiet, wooded area, on soft grass.

Back home, winter had begun to set in, but in this place, it felt like a warm spring day.

I laid there a while, partially in shock, but also enjoying the peace of the place.

Then some creatures started coming toward me.

While they had a vaguely humanoid shape, with two legs, two arms, a body, and a head, it was what was inside those shapes that really stood out.

They seemed to be made of a blue liquid contained within those clear bodies, and the liquid moved around inside them. Also inside them, being moved by the liquid or perhaps the cause of the motion were what appeared to be very small stars. Some of these were little more than pinpricks of light, while others were as large as my hand.

Despite their strange appearance, I didn’t feel any fear about them, and so I got to my feet to meet them properly.

One came within a few feet of me, and seemed to be examining me carefully despite not having anything like eyes that I could determine.

Music seemed to come from it, and moments later that music became words in my head, as it “spoke”, asking me “You are a man?”

“Not quite,” I replied, “But I am a human being if that helps”

“Human, yes.” it stated, and then after a moment added, “you are in pain”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I merely looked down at the grass by my feet.

“No,” it said, “Do not be ashamed.Pain is not a sign of weakness. Indeed, living with it is a sign of great strength.”

I looked at the creature, and the Bible verse “familiar with grief” came back to me, and I saw that we had being familiar with grief in common.

I found myself wishing I could give it a hug.

We stood in silence for a moment, then it said “I’m afraid we don’t have much time. The Tubes will return you to your home.”

“The Tubes?” I asked.

“That is our name for the hyperspacial mode of travel that brought you to us.” It replied, But before you left, I was instructed to give you a gift. And no, I can’t explain what that means, not at this time.”

I shrugged, and said, “Okay, I’ll take the gift.”

The creature approached me, and held out its “hand”. A large star was in the middle of the hand right where the palm would be.

I somehow knew what I needed to do, and placed my palm on top of the star.

A light surrounded me, infused me, and ended far too soon.

When I could see again, the creature had stepped back, and raised its hand in farewell.

Then I was taken home. As before, I felt like I was falling, then going forward, then rising, and then I was back in the bed I had been in before this all began.

I know anyone reading this will assume I had been dreaming, and maybe I was, but I am convinced something happened.

I now have a gift, and the rest of my life to figure out what it is, and how to use it.

I’m looking forward to it.

End.