Darkness

Where am I?
The question melted into the darkness and disappeared.
There was no answer forthcoming and he knew. The question was directed more towards himself than anyone or anything else. But the darkness stood at hand, everywhere, ready to swallow all that presented itself.
The head rose slowly, filled with stabbing bursts of pain running down the sinews. This was not a dull thudding pain, but a sharp, singular and linear bolt of lightning delivering pain in places that hitherto had remained unknown to the owner.
The pain of the movement advocated zero movement. Yet inspite of this the darkness had to be crawled out of.
The pain now a part of him, and therefore much bearable, he got on his knees and hands and crawled forwards. Moving in no general direction, yet certain of his movements, not unlike most of us.
And on he crawled for what seemed like an eternity. Stopping at times as the pain got worse, but carrying forwards dillgently none the less, as bursts of determination subdued the pain.
The darkness was unrelenting.
And then vibrations, gently moving the damp air of the abyss. Impossible to tell what or where the source lay. Yet this acknowledgement of another brought about new enthusiasm.
He waged on, crawling through the darkness, riding the waves of pain, in hope of finding light in the darkness.

Shiver

I am lying down, she is next to me. She is talking to me, telling me things that I do not remember. Her lips are tantalizingly close to mine as she speaks, and I can taste her breath in my mouth. Someone enters the room, we separate.
We stand, she with her back pressed to me, both of us looking out into nothing. She keeps talking, and I remember not a word. She takes my hand and wraps it around her chest urging me to hold her close. I can feel her breasts through the smooth fabric of her sweater. She wraps a scarf around her neck and it drops on to her chest.
It is a chilly evening.
We walk out, and she smiles as she asks me what I am doing for the evening. Before I can reply I see a man walk up to her, he leaves, angry eyes stare me down. She comes closer, laughs and says that we should go to this place down the street and have a few drinks.
I notice I have no boots on, my heavy brown boots. I am uncocerned as I fold my jeans up so they don't catch the dirt from the street.
I am in a daze as I follow her with her on my arm. The street lights appear surreal as they reflect light off the loitering people in the streets. I notice envious glances, as she rests her head on my shoulder, slight smile playing on her lips.
All of a sudden I am stricken with panic, I have forgotten my boots, I tell her. Wait here for me, I will be back in two minutes.
I dash back to my apartment through the light from the lamps, but I cannot find my boots where I left them, on the pavement outside my place. I run around, agony gripping my heart as I look for my boots.
Thick rain begins to fall.
I find myself no longer in an urban jungle but on a muddy road, still looking. Fear envelopes me as I lose myself. I care not for the boots any longer, where are you, where are you I yell. I am running along a swollen river. A dark shape walks towards me from across the divide, but it is not her, it is the ghost of her, it is anything but her. Here I am it whishpers, here I am.