The Market
Yeah, so I had a really bizarre and depressing dream last night. So much so that I did not feel better til I wrote it down. That's what follows, a slightly fictionalized version of it.
For all intents and purposes, the market should be louder than this. The place is packed. People dressed in all white wander from product bin to product bin, stall to stall. The market sells everything. Produce, jewelry, food, clothing… Whatever you need for wherever you’re going after you leave. But that’s just the thing, no one leaves the market, they just disappear into the labyrinth of booths.
The market also has more peculiar merchandise, as all markets do. Down one aisle, memories are sold. The bins are filled with pictures, broken toys and small ticket stubs. With a ticket stub, and the proper payment, the buyer can purchase time with a loved one. Lost loves, abandoned friends, missing pets are all available if you know where to look.
Tearing off a ticket, you round the corner of the booth. The merchant, who you never properly see, pulls back a shimmering black curtain and leads you into a darkened room. The room is not only completely sealed off from the light, but from sound as well. The quiet shuffle of the market’s patrons is gone. You begin to wonder if you’ll be able to hear your heart beating or your lungs expanding. But even that noise evades you. Off in the distance is a tiny prick of light. Following the only stimulus available, you head towards the light.
The source of the light is your best friend from school. The one who you thought would be with you at your wedding. The one you lost touch with. Your friend is saying how much they miss you. Reminding you of all the fun that could’ve been had, had you not left.
The feelings and emotions you expect to have evade you as you turn around and leave. The general malaise in the air seeps into you. Back outside, you turn to exit the market but something stops you. A heavyset woman in all white with curly hair looks at you and shakes her head no. No words are spoken. Yet you know it is not your time. You must leave the market and return your soul to your body. You are not dead yet.
For all intents and purposes, the market should be louder than this. The place is packed. People dressed in all white wander from product bin to product bin, stall to stall. The market sells everything. Produce, jewelry, food, clothing… Whatever you need for wherever you’re going after you leave. But that’s just the thing, no one leaves the market, they just disappear into the labyrinth of booths.
The market also has more peculiar merchandise, as all markets do. Down one aisle, memories are sold. The bins are filled with pictures, broken toys and small ticket stubs. With a ticket stub, and the proper payment, the buyer can purchase time with a loved one. Lost loves, abandoned friends, missing pets are all available if you know where to look.
Tearing off a ticket, you round the corner of the booth. The merchant, who you never properly see, pulls back a shimmering black curtain and leads you into a darkened room. The room is not only completely sealed off from the light, but from sound as well. The quiet shuffle of the market’s patrons is gone. You begin to wonder if you’ll be able to hear your heart beating or your lungs expanding. But even that noise evades you. Off in the distance is a tiny prick of light. Following the only stimulus available, you head towards the light.
The source of the light is your best friend from school. The one who you thought would be with you at your wedding. The one you lost touch with. Your friend is saying how much they miss you. Reminding you of all the fun that could’ve been had, had you not left.
The feelings and emotions you expect to have evade you as you turn around and leave. The general malaise in the air seeps into you. Back outside, you turn to exit the market but something stops you. A heavyset woman in all white with curly hair looks at you and shakes her head no. No words are spoken. Yet you know it is not your time. You must leave the market and return your soul to your body. You are not dead yet.