Noise

“No time. No time. I must run. I have to get away.” I kept telling myself that until I fell silent to the ground. “I can’t stop now,” I told myself. I was nearly in tears as I forced myself to my knees. The sand was hot from the day’s sun. A few rocks stuck to me as I got up. I brushed them off and winced from the pain. Looking around, I became less panicked, nothing. The sand, the weeds, the rocks, the sun in the sky, were all I saw. I stopped moving to listen. I held my breath out of the fear I would mistake it for another. Nothing is louder than the sound of air moving slowly in the nothingness of time. My anxiety grew. I had to keep moving. I let the breath out in an exasperated wheeze. I coughed and hacked till I saw stars. I think I could make out constellations; I was so lightheaded. Another stop I could not afford. I put my head between my legs until my breathing slowed, sound.

I popped my head up as quickly as a meerkat on century: nothing but the hot, deafening, silence. I started moving. The direction didn’t matter, as long as I moved. I walked briskly only moments until I heard the sound again. I twisted and turned about; nothing but the sand, weeds, and rocks. I began walking again, wincing at the pain in my thighs. I had to move. There was no time. I felt only an ounce of courage as the adrenaline surged, but it was enough. I could run again. I ran fast and hard across the blazing hot sand. Over the rocks, though the weeds, till the sound came back to stop me in my tracks once more. I looked around and still saw the nothingness that had always surrounded me.

The only difference being that the sound echoed in my ears like a distant memory. I had to keep going. I rallied up the ounce of courage once more and ran at full speed, the sound still echoing in my ears. I heard it again; only this time, I closed my eyes and ran past. Screams. It was screaming, I heard. I stopped. The screaming stopped. I took a step, hearing the scream for an instant and then nothing. I looked up, wondering if the sun was playing tricks on me: another step, another instant of screams. I had to keep going. I felt it in the unease of my soul. I began to jog. The scream could be heard in any direction I went. My only reprieve was in the silence of motionlessness. Stop, silence. Jog, scream. Stop, silence. Walk, screams.

The sounds echoed in my mind so loudly I could no longer tell one from the other. I ran under the heat of the sun. Sweat dripped down my face. I muffed my hands tight against my ears. Neither the silence nor the screams would grant me their upheaval. I screamed in protest. Loud and long, till I collapsed to the ground, motionless and silent. My breath gave way to the screams in my mind. My body could no longer move. The last thing I saw was the sand, weeds, rocks, and a branch of beech wood all fading to the blackest black. Or so I thought. Moments later, I screamed again, cold and covered in wet. A face smiled above me as I felt a warmth surround me.

“Welcome to the world little one. Come meet your mother.”