“It’s about time you woke up. You must’ve been laying there for hours.”
He sat up and shook his head, perhaps knocking the cobwebs of slumber away from his brain. Putting his head in his hands, he seemed to be confused. He was clearly disoriented and eventually asked the man next to him how he had gotten here. When no response was given, he turned in his direction and realized that he was gone.
The man rose up and strolled down the pavement and came across a young kid playing alone in a sandbox. Scratching his scrappy beard and fixing his Marc Jacob suit to get the wrinkles out, he stopped and let the moment fill him, past memories overcame him. Memories of similar times, he staggered backwards and had to sit under a nearby tree to collect himself.
“Hey kid, where are your parents?”
He turned his eyes to the child’s direction. Again, the child in question was gone. Out of the corner of his eye, the man noticed a water fountain. He figured that maybe he was just dehydrated and was in need of some water. He stepped over to the fountain and leaned his head down, taking in the water flow.
A brown SUV pulled up nearby and approached the old man that he had spoken to earlier. Six men, all wearing different colored hoodies huddled around him and began to assault him until he collapsed to the pavement. He tried to speak up and say something, perhaps save his life. The words would not come to him.
Putting his hands on his head, he let out a shriek of rage, frustrated with the ways of this world. He tried to run over and assist the dying man, but he stood up and walked away as if nothing had happened. The SUV circled the area. The old man in the surgical clothes waved them down and they pulled up in front of him, opened the door and he hopped in the van.
His head spun. “Where the fuck was I?” he thought to himself. He turned around and saw a woman before him. She was gorgeous. His first thought was that she was an angel, but she lacked the wings of one.
“Hello.”
“Who are you?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking yourself the same question?”
“What? No. My name is Sheldon Jameson and I live in New York. This clearly isn’t New York, so where the fuck am I?!”
She chuckled and walked around him. Her blonde hair was kicking in the wind, dancing, teasing him. I told her to have a seat with me on the bench nearby but she declined.
“I will stand by this tree, though.”
He didn’t argue with her. Sheldon made his way to the tree and leaned down next to her, back against the tree.
“How long have you been here?”
“You tell me, silly boy. This is yours. All of it.”
“What? No. I’ve never been to this place in my life, how can it be mine?”
“It’s mine too. Yours, his, the boys, it’s everybody’s. We made this together.”
He rose up and was visibly agitated with how this conversation has went thus far. His face turned a brighter shade of red as rage began to take over.
“Listen, lady. I don’t know you, you don’t know me, now stop breaking my fucking balls and tell me where the fuck I am!”
“Calm down. What is your name?”
“James Sheldon.”
“What’s that? But just a few moments ago you said your name was Sheldon Jameson. Who are you, again?”
“My name is Sheldon Jameson and I live in New York.”
“Are you sure?”
“…No. No, I’m not. What is this place?”
She motioned her finger to tell him to look behind him and what he saw startled him. There stood a seven foot man, a near giant, telling Sheldon, or James, to come with him. Without a moment’s hesitation, he did so. They walked together down a paved pathway and eventually reached a forest so beautiful that it actually took his breath away.
He needed a second to collect himself before he could continue on. The giant kneeled down before him and placed an arm on his shoulder, which seemed like a twig in comparison.
“What is wrong, my friend?”
“I am not your friend. What is with everyone here calling me that? I don’t KNOW you people. Why am I here?”
“Didn’t you used to ask yourself that question a lot? I’m sure many of your kind have. It must be a quite the transition for you. You have no idea where you are, or the beauty of it. Do you even know where you have been?”
“Why should I care where I’ve been? I’ve been to a lot of places. Chicago, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, California..” he was cut of mid-sentence by the seven foot man with silver locks down to his waist.”
“I have heard stories of these places that you mention, but that is not what I mean. You are far beyond the land you once resided in. Are you ok to continue our journey? There’s something you must see. If you cannot keep up, I will carry you.”
“No, no, that is not necessary. It’s just… this place. It’s astounding. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful, so pleasing to the eye.”
“There are many places like this here and I’d like to show them to you. Come.”
Sheldon, or James, stood on his feet and began trekking through the forest with him again. He asked for his name, and he said it was Samuel. They made small talk for about a mile or two, mainly about what life was like back home for Sheldon, or James.
“We’re here” said the monstrous man. “Follow me.” He walked behind Samuel as he forged his way into a lavish castle. He had to use a handful of different keys to open the door. This prompted Sheldon, or James, to ask just what was so important in these quarters.
“You are.” Samuel said.
Samuel pushed open the stone door and told him to go inside. He followed his orders and ventured into an empty room.
“Is this a joke? Why am I in an empty room? Explain yourself.”
“Give me a second. First of all, what is your real name? I ask you this once.”
“My name is Sheldon Jameson and I live in New York.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. My name is Sheldon Jameson and I live in New York.”
“Step forward and stand in the middle of this room. When I tell you to look up, I want you to do just that. Do you understand me?”
Sheldon nodded in agreement.
“No. Tell me that you understand what I just said to you.”
“I understand.”
Samuel stepped out of the room and into a corridor nearby.
“Sheldon! When I flip this switch, I want you to look straight up, you got me?”
“I got you.”
“Look up.. now!”
Sheldon looked up and saw a bright light, actually a variation of them. Purple and blue lights colored his figure. Tears came over his face and he stepped away from the light. Samuel came out of the darkness and stepped forward, approaching Sheldon.
“Is this heaven?”
Samuel giggled to himself and said bluntly, “no sir, you were already there.”
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