Part 1
Rain slapped against the concrete outside of the dimly lit parking garage. We were being hunted. The group I found myself with were unfamiliar to me, yet we were required to act together for our own safety. None of us planned to get caught in parking garage surrounded by enemy forces after dark, but here we were.
A large enemy batalion was sweeping the garage and would soon discover us. The floor of the garage was already covered with bodies from the violence of previous days. Our fate would be no different and there was little chance of hiding considering there were almost 15 of us.
We crouched behind an old sprinter van. These vans became popular in the early 2020's after BlackRock monopolized housing and many of us were forced to live in our vehicles. This van had been used to live in as well, and it was the last thread of protection we had.
We sat still here and waited. No one looked at one another due to the intensity of the moment. Risking the vulnerability of eye contact would certainly make us unravel and invite inspection. Each of us silently imploded with heat and electricity.
A gun shot blasted! The sound echoed through our concrete coffin and straight down my spine. Adrenaline coursed through every cell in my body and in an instant the group decided to flee. There was no thought, just running behind a disorganized and terrified group of civilians. Our intense fear pushed us in one direction and our adrenaline pulled us in another. Each emotion building on the previous as we turned corner after corner in a dimly lit maze of cars.
The enemy had watched the entire movement and performed the duties they had been trained in. A tighening group of soldiers circumambulated parking zone A just as our sympathetic nervous systems redlined. We were face to face with the enemy, their guns pointed at us.
Military commands were yelled. My ears rang and my mind couldn't process what was happening. I found myself on my knees along with the rest of the group. With guns on us we were pushed forward and upward. I don't know where exactly, I just remember being pulled up and up and up and the world moving past me, drenched in the rain. My legs were moving but I wasn't controlling them. The world became distant.
Part 2
A strong breeze whipped through my sweatshirt and stirred me awake. My head and body ached and I felt a chill as I sat up and understood the situation. The night had passed and we were now on the roof of a skyscraper controlled by the enemy. Dark clouds moved angrily across the morning sky exhausted from their night of down pour.
The other captives from the garage were seated around me underneath a protruding glass facade, everyone shivered and ached with trauma. Our bodies told the haunting story that would stay with us for the remainder of our short lives and perhaps carry on even into our next one. Nearby, soldiers stood casually by metal double doors blocking the only way out.
The tip of the skyscraper pierced the cloud layer and opened up to clear sky. In the same moment, my mind sharpened and I saw the situation from a distance. Our imprisonment would benefit the enemy. I would be used as a bargaining chip and my life would cause harm to other innocent people like myself. The clarity of this truth prompted immediate action. I wouldn't let myself be a victim to these circumstances.
The edge of the roof was only 20 meters away from where we were sitting and in the opposite direction of the soldiers. My eyes, fixed on the precipice, shone like diamonds. A blissfull vertigo entered my heart and then I was running. Each step resounded with freedom as I sprinted closer and closer. Everyone on the roof was watching, motionless in suspense. The guards, unprepared, struggled to pick up their rifles and aim, but it was too late. I climbed over the waist high fencing at the edge of the building, planted both feet and then jumped.
Silent acceptance circulated my bloodstream and my inner awareness expanded as I fell. My body relaxed and a black spaciousness filled my mind. I braced for impact; not for my body's sake, but for my spirit's. The deeper I fell, the more spacious and quiet my mind became. When the outside world was nearly gone, all that was left was my profound awakeness alongside my curiousity and acceptance of whatever happens next.
My curiousity spoke first, it extended into this stillness with the words, "What happens when I die?". I didn't expect an answer. However, I knew the question was heard by the me that is beyond me that isn't me. The answer to the final question drew closer. Time slowed and then stopped. In this eternal moment I accepted whatever would happen.
A message blossomed from this timeless and formless space of my mind. It wasn't words or images, just direct and immediate perception of the thought, "Can the suffering of the world be alleviated?". My soul filled with bliss and, still possessing memories from the previous night, my answer was clear. The thought "Yes! Totally and completely, yes" eminated through the shining void.
From the complete stillness and timelessness of this place, a subtle rise and fall began. The movement wove itself into my consciousness like thin oscillating threads of light. The peaks slowly grew taller and the troughs deeper. The dimension of time became clearer in my awareness as each cycle increased its rate. The oscilating threads of light intensified creating a bright white tapestry, filling me with purpose and peace.
The rise and fall, carried in this brightness, filled every corner of my being. Then, at it's culmination, there was a quiet, soft inhale followed by an exhale. I was in my body and I was alive.
Part 3
My hands sunk deep into the soil I found myself laying in. Each finger spread in full contact with the fertile matter. The sensation of in my hands scraped away the remnants of chrysalis that had surrounded me. The warm morning sun landed on my face and reminded me of the bright light that remained within me.
To Be Continued...