STAY ALIVE

Stay alive my dear, lend me your ear!

The sound is the crumb.

The path to light paved a mirror vision written in blood & walked before by the divine ancestors of the family root.

The sound is the silent drum.

The factory was an echo of deception, the architecture brutally carved a maze of echos. The roots infested the moldy cinder block walls pulsing like the veins of the elderly.

The sound is a heart beat.

The brutal structure went dark, the night devoured the all senses. I could see no light, I could hear a “Ding,” before me a sliver of flickering halogen light that grew with each subtle tick, “Ding.”

The sound is a door.

“Elevator going down,” the loudspeakers gently summoned the way. I could feel the eyes cast on me like a wolf watching the feeding flocks of spring.

The sound is an illusion.

Down to the depths, I stepped into a test. The concrete ground of shouting vermin moved like river wakes on a speed boat cruise. A kitchen butcher block lit from above stood at the end of the stone mosaic corridor where three dragons weaved together in a glowing metallic green hue. A camera stood on a wooden pedestal to the right on a white tile platform with instructions.

“Capture the dragon, proceed with caution.”

The sound is a rat gnawing at my bare big toe.

Fear was the test. As I stepped over the infested rodent wakes and approached the butcher block, I think on how to snap a photograph of the ancient trio and not fail. I suddenly spoke with force, “I am not afraid of fire, I am not afraid of brimstone, I am here to capture the beauty of unity with the power of love, heed me, heed me, HEED ME!” All three dragons froze as I snapped a strobe flash that affected the tonality of the trinity. White scales of powder coated the dragons exterior as they grew and shifted to stone. The butcher block vanished into a swampy smoke and the trio formed the pillars of a ribbed groin-vault that revealed a stairway.

The sound is a pipe organ.

As my body climbed the stone stairway, I reached the second test.

What seemed to be a gothic cathedral with red carpet & a candelabra lined catwalk gathered a ceremony of unity. Two figures in love stood before a cardinal dressed in white linen & wearing a red cone shaped head dress. The pews were filled with children dressed in their Sunday’s best accessorized with metal coverings over the assemblages ears and eyes. Like angels from heaven, they sang yet could not hear or see the ceremony before them. The figures were to be wed, bonded together for eternity yet unable to reach or see the rings that would pronounce their unity to one another. The cardinals eyes glowed like diamonds in a mineshaft, I suspected the eyes were the key. I approached the front of house and I suddenly spoke with force, “Give me your eyes for the diamonds of circular unity shine for those who stand before you; You are a deception, a mirror illusion of the sword of Jesus Christ and a jackal at the core, heed me, heed me, HEED ME!” The cardinals eyes rolled back into his mind and turned into stone and I could hear the sound of metal hit the floor and fall at the lovers feet. The crimson headed religious figure started to sweat holy water and the jackal in disguise engulfed in flames. The blind & deaf lovers had no gender, no prejudices, and no ego yet held each other in anticipation of binding their souls to one another for eternity in the name of true love. The children rejoiced and ate steamed rice and not a single child showed a sign of head lice.

The sound is a slot machine. Seven Seven Seven.

“The rule of three, holy shall ye be” a whisper in my ear as I’m blinded by darkness and unaware how I left the bloody cathedral.

Another test this must be, lights up in the factory and I’m transported to a banquet style mess hall filled with casino tables and slot machines. A jukebox plays “Blue Hawaii” by Elvis Presley in the left corner and a full moon shaped chandelier illuminates an ornately hand carved wooden ceiling. I hear the yells of a horse racing announcer from the upper level yet the room seems empty. One Latino x blackjack dealer wearing a classic tux with a name tag “Hector” sporting a ruby red lip and a shaved tattoo covered head stands at a blackjack table on the center of the room. One beautiful haitian female with long horse hair go-go dances to Elvis in the stage just under the stairs of stares. Eyes lined each step of the stairway from holes in the vertical planks like a peep show, watching me as I ponder what to do, I undress.

I proceed to walk up to the table to play a hand. Hector welcomes me with white gloves palms facing the ceiling and asks me to place my bet, warning me that the stakes are high and my life was the gamble. I sat at the blackjack table nude, vulnerable and whistling at the Haitian goddess whipping her hair around like a helicopter at this point. The speed of the hair whip was almost inhuman; like a cyborg glitch that captured the wild essence of mortal life yet she was anything but mortal.

The sound of a card deck shuffle.

My hand was a six of hearts and a three of diamonds totaling nine, I had a strong urge to trust my gut and decline another card. Hector had a king of clubs showing and turned over a three of diamonds forcing him to draw another card which was another queen of hearts; The house busted. Hector smiled and offered me this advice, “Congratulations, follow the sound of the train to the metropolis and crawl to safety where the high heels run for tea. You have been granted life, cherish it and make the best of your time in the conscious realm. Use your gifts to open the door, use your voice to change the world, use your heart to bring hope to others in need.”

The sound of vicious canines.

The looming eyes under the stairs were rabid hell hounds, foaming at the mouth and now standing as a pack staring at my new playing card bikini I somehow managed to have covering my private parts. Without hesitation, I leaped out of the church and sprinted down a long cinder block corridor lined with school house lockers. Behind me, I could hear canine nails and carnivorous howls galloping like a herd of racing steeds. Before me, at the end of the corridor was a hole.

The sound of rushing stiletto heels.

The hounds drew close, closer, CLOSER!

The sound of the train.

The sound of rushing wind gusts.

I leaped through the cement hole and fell to the floor, eyes closed and heart open.

The sound of home.

Am I home?

The End.