When All Senses Fade Away

Auditory breakdown—the sounds of the world around you reduced to deafening all-encompassing silence. Silence that eats at your sanity, breeds paranoia and mocks you, transforming the world of sounds into a world of inanity.

Olfactory malfunction—the strong scents of pine trees, a lover's breath, your children's hair and the food you so desire is replaced with nothing to delight your nose, everything is the same, nothing stands out.

Optical deterioration—the visual treats you once feasted on in the vibrancy of the world we inhabit, disappear, be it gradually or instantly, leading you to a world filled only with darkness. The divide between the restful darkness of sleep and the waking light of life gone forever. Only darkness now rules.

Gustatory decay—the exquisite variety of tastes you take for granted are diluted, sanitised and deindividualized. Now everything is the same. No sweet, no sour, no umami, no bitter, no salty.

But, Interoception, still fully functional—as impossible as it now is to experience life in the same way, you can see feel, even if just on a profoundly deep level. From the prison of your mind, as each sense deteriorates and all movement is lost, only feelings internal remain.

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Thanks for reading!

Author's Notes: Was not a rugby fan, but was always impressed and inspired by Doddie Weir. I've been thinking about him, Stephen Hawking and the many other people out there who suffer from a form of motor neuron disease. The thought of it scares me, on the same level as dementia. And that's where this entry into the Sensational II Challenge came from.

Here are some references: