Unaware

Under the floodlights, loud commotion disturbs the sleepy night. And when the objects that I see become dim and blurry, I flop my head back and look up at the dark sky and notice that the moon has a wonderful halo around it and that the stars are twinkling far away, unperturbed perhaps unaware of all the commotion in this tiny place in a tiny planet in a tiny solar system.

The steps I take as I retreat from the crowd go unnoticed. A few more steps and I am walking on the grass, grinding my teeth, battling a sharp pain in my left ankle that had twisted unabashedly earlier in the evening. In the distance I see shadows dancing round the fire, gyrating like madmen to music so loud and unearthly. As I approach them I can make out their faces, knarled and twisted and their hands wildly beckoning me to join them in their carousal.

I keep walking past them, to a gallery of people who stand and applaud me. I notice a man standing on an elevated platform speaking gibberish, waving his hand making big gestures and inviting me on stage. The lights are on me now as I walk up to him and straight through him. I emerge from the stage with a plastic smile and watch intently as the buzzing crowd dispels into a hissing nothingness. The lights are dimmed. And there I am in the middle of nowhere all alone in the cold. The moon has a halo around it and the stars are twinkling bright, unperturbed, unaware.