and as I fell, I heard a voice say..

It's 4am. Shouldn't you be asleep?

>Hmph. I should be dead.

Dead? Now why would you say something like that?

>I dunno. Just.

Are you afraid of dying?

>I dunno. Maybe..

Hm. Why do you think that is?

>What are you, my shrink? Lay off!

Now now. No need to be so confrontational, we're all friends here.

>Speaking of which, where exactly is "here"?

It's a place..

>..in my head..

..Well, yes. And no.

>Explain.

I can't.

>Why not?

You're supposed to figure it out on your own.

>Ah. I see.

Not yet you don't. But you will.

>How?

Well, traditionally, you'd start with opening your eyes.

>Oh wow. Another straight answer. Great.

I think you already know what I have to say to that.

>...

>I'm asking the wrong questions..?

Oh no. You're asking the right questions, sure enough. It's just..

>What?

..the wrong time. It's too early in the story to start revealing all the answers.

>I call bullshit.

You can call whatever you like, it doesn't change the fact that I can't tell you anything right now.

We shouldn't even be having this conversation yet. There's a ton of exposition to go through first, character development, foreshadowing, yadda yadda yadda. And remember, always keep an ace up your sleeve. You gotta keep the audience guessing.

>Oh please. "Always leave them wanting more". What a cliche.

Don't underestimate the power of a cliche.

>Sigh. I suppose now you'll explain.

And how can you say that?

>I dunno. Just a feeling I have.

What kind of feeling?

>Like I've..lived this..before. Like deja vu, only weirder.

Indeed. This particular facility of yours is going to come in very handy, in the days to come. You've only been skimming the surfaces so far, floating along with the currents, but you really need to learn how to surf the waves. Now if only you could combine the two..

>The two what?

Foresight and hindsight.

>Ah. And what good would that do me?

You'd finally be able to perceive life the way it was meant to be perceived.

>In glorious stereoscope?

Something like that. But you need to take it one step at a time. You're close to the edges of it, but you're too easily distracted, too eager to make the leap. Here's an image.

>That's my grandmother. What does she.. oh.

Exactly. Remember what she used to say?

>"Nanga koode ujaad mein." The naked man jumps into a wasteland.

Indeed. As she put it, it is the prerogative of the naked, the unprepared, and the reckless, to throw caution to the wind, and jump willy-nilly into the barren wasteland of hopelessness. "What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish? Son of Man, you cannot say, or guess, for you know only a heap of broken images, where the sun beats.."

>I must confess, I have no idea what you've been going on about. Actually, I'm quite lost.

Indeed you are. You do realize there is an easy way to deal with that particular issue?

>And what would that be?

Go find yourself!

>Ah. Brilliant.

Aren't I? Well, looks like my work here is done. Cheerio, pip pip, and all that. Keep a stiff upper lip and all, the excrement, it's going to be flying thick and fast pretty soon. And I'm afraid I won't be too much help this time. It's still too early for me to make an actual appearance, and I've tarried too long as it is. I mean, you haven't even written in my grand entrance yet.

>But I don't even know who you are!

Ahem. I daresay I'm tempted to resort to another popular cliche. Summat to do with pots and kettles, if you catch my drift.

>What does that even mean??

Nevermind. Oh look, a random reference to a song that doesn't quite fit but has a deeper meaning when considered in the context of this particular incident/blog post/drivel!

>What, where??

Here.

Incoming Message from the Big Giant Head

Greetings, faithful readers! Just a quick update, November being National Novel Writing Month, expect limited bloggery. The downward spiral story will continue in December, so bear with us! Rukaavat ke liye khed hai, and all that.

50,000 words by November 30th. Woot! :D

ps : if anybody else is participating, I'm bluechartreuse.