Double Death of the Sun

Sucked through a vortex of time

By a sea of stars

Plunged into a form so like my own

Through the eyes of my Dream Walker

I behold the scene

A band of men surround on all sides

Mercenaries... soldiers...

They are friend, not foe

And I appear to lead their stride

We steal through a misty grove

Sacred Oaks bathed in steamy moonlight

Glistening tears of the night shake my soul

As these centurions of fate hover, so alive

The quiet hush crashes upon us

The goal unknown in my mind

But my feet seem to know the way

I settle into my sleep-induced life with familiar ease

Silent as an assassin’s arrow

A streaking star plummets from the sky

to kiss the Earth with harsh momentum

A chasm rips my core

This is no ordinary star

It is the Star who summons all stars

The Eye of Heaven

Plunging to meet the ground afar

Sailing past the full moon in her cool splendor

The terror of the skies keeps its steady course

We stare in terror

The great Fire Ball slides in to meet the Earth

With the silent kiss of a long-lost Lover

A heartbeat of a second

And silence is all

A shuddering ripple shakes the ground

Like embers from a campfire

Sparks sail in a million waves

To eat the lush undergrowth

My eardrums rattle with the reverberating sound

Every living organism shudders with grief unknown

A sobbing breath escapes my lips

My feet ache to flee this scene

A Voice from deep within my essence speaks

“Go. This is the Light you seek.”

The mind reels as pieces of reality shatter

Wits and courage struggle to breathe

My merry band of men lose their sanity with ease

This must be the End of Days

But we didn’t ask for front row seats

The Voice maintains her request

My mouth speaks before logic can impede

“Follow me!”

We sail through the underbrush

The men follow my steady stride

Although I don’t know why

As is often the case in dreams

We traverse landscape fit for a Tolkein tale

As distant fire roars our names

For now, I breathe

As the knot in my core uncoils one notch

Perhaps the End is delayed

The thought strays across

My dreamtime psyche

Met with the unthinkable

A second meteor of terror

Pierces the crackling night sky

This one double the size of his Brother

All shadows banished by its glazing Eye

Plummeting faster than the first

There is no time for breath as we behold

What can only be named the second death of the Sun

No words are exchanged

There are none to be said

When the unthinkable takes shape

Our footsteps resume as we march on

Foliage singed with the fire of destruction

Send out crusty tentacles

Grasping our skin

With palpable desperation

Air thins as the balance of life

Sways precariously in a fatal dance

Heat singes the back of my neck

I smell the smoke of my own flesh

Just as I vow to turn back

The crash site looms beyond

Sweat seeps from every cell

My eyes behold what my brain cannot comprehend

Tears spill from my eyes

Responding to the blazing scene ahead

I blink, I wipe, I strain to gain better sight

Not fifty yards ahead of me

The luminescent pools of God-kissed lava

Lay bubbling in vast craters

Larger than a thousand lakes

Hooded men ride the edges

Wading in knee high

Piercing the molten sunlight

Legs and torsos plunge into the fire

No screams of terror escape their lips

No sound is made

Bare handed, they harvest the Sun

Shoveling scoopfuls of Light into satchels of cloth

Impervious to the heat of their cargo

My head shakes harder than a pair of dice in Vegas

So many elemental laws

Broken, shattered in one scene

The army of silent foragers carry on

Slinging sacks of liquid Sun

Careening through the air

Landing in waiting wagons

That tumble their cargo along a dirt road

A humble scene

One almost expects to hear the merry call of dwarves

“Hi-ho, hi-ho”

Mouth open, forehead singed

I edge closer and closer

Life seeps out of my body with every step

A hand clutches my shoulder

My torso spins

The Sun scene fades

A voice calls my name

A name that is not my own

“Saoirse! Get back!”

One final blinding light

Takes the vision from my sight

Slam. No sea of stars this time

Just a quick dose of reality

Open eyed

I behold a fantastical sight

Fiberglass ceiling tiles taunt from above

Sunlight streams through my window as

Wait. Sunlight?

Careening off the bed to swing back the curtains

The sun meets me from His usual perch

Winking a sly message

No one would catch

I sink to the edge of the bed

Head in hands

A dream.

It was just a dream.

Ordinary life summons

Teeth brushing

Coffee making

But the dream lives on

A question haunts my neurons

If it was a dream, why did it feel like a memory?