Guy--Part Thirty-Two

Splog # 140

Thirty-Two

   As Guy began to fall, he brought his arms up so as to provide protection  for himself when he landed. Everything was happening in slow motion so his arms didn't respond as swiftly as he had expected. He seemingly floated down to the floor of the ocean. His hands went a little way into the muddy bottom and he experienced a slight jolt through his small frame. He was holding his head back but the inertia of his fall brought it gently forward into a painless contact with the sandy surface. He closed his eyes instinctively to keep from getting sand in them, even though it wasn't necessary. When he found that he was stretched out on the ground and that he hadn't hurt himself at all, he felt for a moment that he would just like to lie there and forget about everything that had been happening. So he remained motionless and just let his body sway gently back and forth with the peaceful current. It felt good to not be doing anything or trying to puzzle out all the strange circumstances of this new place. His mind drifted to his parents and he saw them standing and watching the singer. How long ago had that been, he wondered. And then he pushed the thought from his mind. No questions. No problems. No troubles. No thoughts even. He just wanted to luxuriate in images of his parents. His mother and her brightly colored clothes. His father with his hat and watch and umbrella. It was pleasant to just see them and feel the reassurance of knowing they were there...somewhere. Behind his eyelids, he watched them sitting and reading or eating at the table or dancing or even sleeping. Sleeping seemed like a wonderful idea and ,since his eyes were already closed, he allowed himself to grow drowsy. More images paraded through his mind. Riding on his father's shoulders, gently moving up and down as his father walked. Falling backward into his mother's arms and being swayed back and forth while she sang a quiet tune about princes and clowns. Being carried to bed and maybe tickled a little before finally being tucked in snug and warm. Dreaming about dragons and eagles and knights and giants. And being gently awakened by mother or father, a warm hand on his arm and a soothing voice in his ear. "Guy...Guy Thomas...time to get up...it's a lovely day...even if it is raining..." And as he came out of his slumber, he wondered how the rain had gotten into his bed. "Guy! Guy! Guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy-guy..." Guy rolled over and found his mouth moving and a steady stream of sounds emerging from it, almost like the buzzing of some insect. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times but everything was dark and as he sat up he felt a strange pressure around him. For a few moments he didn't know where he was. He couldn't see anything of his surroundings and wondered if he'd been awakened in the middle of the night. Then his voice said, "Excuse me..." and all of his current circumstances flooded back to his awareness.

   "We really can't stay here very much longer. We've taken awhile to get acquainted but we should start out pretty soon. Therer are things to be done that would benefit from our participation. Now, if I'm not mistaken, it wasn't far from us when you had your little mishap. If you take a look around I expect you'll see it somewhere nearby."

   When the voice stopped speaking, Guy tried to look around from where he was sitting but could make out next to nothing in the darkness.

   "Well," his voice spoke again, "any luck?"

   "But I can't see anything, sir." And as an afterthought, he added, "Besides,I don't know what I'm looking for."

   "Of course you don't. Of course you don't. There I go again...But what do you mean, you can't see anything? Did you try blinking your eyes?"

   Guy did as the voice suggested, with no result.

   "I'm afraid it doesn't help. sir."

   "No? Hmm. Give a long hard blink. Or maybe try a series of rapid blinks. Or how about one eye at a time? I suppose you could try rubbing your eyes a little. Could you manufacture a tear or two?"

   Guy complied with all these requests in turn, except the tears, which weren't readily available, but nothing seemed to produce any effect.

   "Still in darkness? Very well, give me a moment."

   While the voice went on hiatus, Guy began to wonder what he had tripped on that had precipitated his fall, and possibly the current blackout of his eye-lights. He began to feel around in the wet sand around his feet. He moved on to his hands and knees to explore more easily.