Things Wind Down, preview

I remember a rough impact. I remember my arms being lifted and my back scraping against rough ground. I remember the wind of passing people, of a busy street. And that's all I remember.

Well, I remember myself. I remember my childhood, my birthdays. I remember algebra and essays and arguing over Twitter, how to drive and how to swim, and how not to ride a bike.

But I don't remember my name.

I don't remember friend's names. My mom's name. Nothing. Faces and faces and faces but no syllables to build them. I was glad to know who I was, but as I realized I didn't know who I am, a slow, foggy panic set in. Just enough adrenaline that my eyes... Opened.

If people 'slip' into comas, I did not. I must have jumped a fence and cliff dived into the very concept of unconsciousness.

And as my eyes opened and my eyelashes stuck for a moment, and I took a breath for what felt like the first time... I came free falling out of the aforementioned coma without a parachute to even slow my fall.

And that feeling you get when you dream about falling- that's a nice thought, that I might be dreaming- and your limbs jerk and you're suddenly more awake than you've ever been... I became that feeling. Sweat coated my back and I was suddenly very aware of it. There were sheets over my body and a hard floor under my back.

And one thing-- only one thing-- was I sure of.

My teeth felt sharper than they did before.