The Human Equation

A/N: Written for the Dribs, Drabs, and Doggy Tales Week 21 Challenge Prompt: Dream.  Based heavily on Arjen Lucassen's Album The Human Equation. Citation below

 

Dream

            Me grinned as he watched his childhood self climb the great oak. He and Friend scaled it with ease, doing their best to impress childhood Wife, who watched in awe while they ascended ever higher with childhood fearlessness, laughing when they reached the top. That was when they looked down and realized just how far they had come. Me winced as he watched himself cling to the branch and refuse to move for hours. The air shimmered until a new scene came into focus.

            Teenage Me stood on the fringes of a circle, red cup in hand, filled for the third time as Friend entertained everyone with another embarrassing story. He was distracted, however, as Wife caught his eye.

            He was used to the Friday party circuit, but he had never seen her. They had not seen one another for years and she had blossomed in that time. Their eyes met as his circle exploded into laughter. Thunder struck, sealing his lips and nailing him to the floor.

            A soft voice spoke in his head, telling him, "Do it now." He mustered up his courage and bridged the distance, thoughts of what to do and say racing through his head. Wife flushed, never breaking eye contact as he approached, biting her lip. Me watched as the crowd and music were engulfed in darkness, unimportant in the memory. They talked for a second before he took her hand and took the floor, the music and crowd coming back in full force. The air shimmered again.

            A muscular man dressed in a white robe stepped forward from the darkness. Me recoiled, realizing that this was not a memory. The man did not slow his approach until he was standing a foot away.

            "You can't stay here forever." His voice was deep, commandeering.

            "Where are we?"

            "Think hard. You're lying here in a hospital bed. Disregard the emotions inside your head." Images flashed in the background and he felt the weight of his body and the hand rubbing his. He pushed reality away with revulsion.

            "I don't want to go back." He expected a question, but it never came. "Who are you?"

            "I am Reason. It's not too late to leave your burdens behind." Me tensed and Reason became silent.

            "Don't lock yourself inside of your head. You're better off dead!" Spoke another voice. Me turned to see a wiry man in a bright red robe. "She will never let you go." Me felt a wave of nausea.

            "You have forsaken her for too long." The soft voice spoke. A woman in yellow touched his arm and he felt his chest ache as reality slammed into his lungs. He fell to his knees and the woman in yellow joined him, touching his back as a tear slid down his cheek. A faint voice rang out.

            "Does he cry because of us...?" Friend asked.

            The hand at his back was swept away as Reason approached, a man in a purple robe standing tall at his side.

            "How did I get here?" Me asked, his eyes cast down.

            "You had to show your old man you're in control." Said the man in purple, smirking.

            "I'm not a ruthless man!" Me cried out as an image of Friend's termination notice flooded his vision.

            "You're superior. No one opposes you." The man in purple responded.

            "I love her..."

            "You don't have the time."

            "You can still change." Reason's voice boomed.

            "But can you swallow me, am I too strong?" The man in purple asked.

            "You have to leave." Reason spoke.

            "Give in to your rage."

            "Listen to Pride, for once he's right."

            "Listen to Reason, let us be your guide." Images began to flood Me's mind. He pressed his palms to his eyes as he saw Friend and Wife embracing and his fists tightened as he saw the long stretch of road. He cried out as his front bumper slammed into the trunk of the oak.

            "You have to make them pay!" Pride demanded.

            "No, there has to be a better way!" Me slammed his fist into the ground. "It's my fault, it tears me apart!"

            "He's all alone..." Friend spoke softly.

            "I need your help!" Me cried into the darkness.

            "Listen to me! Hear me shout!" Wife called through the haze.

            "Let me out!" Me called.

            Me struggled to move his lips.

            "His voice is weak" Friend said, lowering his ear to Me's mouth. He closed his eyes as Me spoke. "Please... Just come back to us." Me felt cold fingers lace through his. Her voice and the soft voice from earlier spoke inside of his head.

            "Come with me, I will lead you back where you belong." Thoughts swam through his head.

            "Rise up and show the world you can be a better man!" Screamed the man in red.

            "It all seems so unreal. Can you decide what to do?" A man in black whispered into his ear. Me felt strength in his fingers as he grasped Wife's hand.

            "Yes I can. Look at me - I'm alive." Wife kissed his fingers as she squeezed tighter.

            "Come to me, My Love." She pressed her face to his fingers.

            "Do you feel her warmth glowing on your skin?" Reason asked, smiling.

            "I knew we could make it." The soft voice cried.

            "Can't you feel that fire? Can you feel it burn?" The man in red screamed.

            "Well rise up! Your battle has been won!" Pride screeched. Me opened his eyes and his world was engulfed in bright white, silence pounding his ears as the high-pitched beeping of the heart monitor continued steadily in the background. After his eyes adjusted, he saw Wife leaning above him, tears in her green eyes as she pressed her face against his chest, embracing him. Me wrapped his arms around her and held her against him with all of his strength as Friend stood by his side beaming along with the guides inside his head.

            "What a dream." Said Me.

Works Cited

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 10: Memories" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 11: Love" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 12: Trauma" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 13: Sign" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 14: Betrayal" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 18: Realization" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.

Lucassen, Arjen. "Day 20: Confrontation" The Human Equation. InsideOut Music, 2004. CD.