7. Eye to I

   There was stillness in the pitch-black night.  Not a single creature scurried; not a worm crawled.  Effort to hear even the breathing of one’s own lungs would put strain on the ears, and yet be in vain.  It was a world where a blind, deaf man and the most athletic person in history could stand side by side, eye to eye, and not know the other was there.
   So strange it is to be in such a place, I thought.  Where am I? Who am I? Have I yet to be born?
   I pondered for a moment, searching hard and long for answers I could not find.  At times, I found myself squinting my eyes, only to realize I should be searching my memory instead.  It was difficult to differentiate between the world outside and my very own mind.  Whether I was actually looking about or thinking to myself, I could scarcely tell.  Both my head and the world around me were empty and dark.
   A booming voice echoed from beyond.  “Worthless planet being! We are not worthless planet beings! We are from other planet! We worthful other planet beings! What is your name?!”
   I could not perceive the significance of the statement, nor understand it.  It was as if I was listening to aliens from another planet, but I did not say that, in fear of insulting the seemingly higher beings.
   Instead I questioned back as politely as I could, “Are you God? Am I in heaven? Why is heaven so dark?”
   “WRONG YOU BAFFOON! We are not dog! We eat dog! Tell us your name!”
   This statement, I understood and cheerfully replied, “Ah, so you speak English?”
   After what seemed an eternity, I suddenly noticed a finger against my nose.  The finger was the only object visible amidst the darkness; the hand attached to it was faded away and hidden in the shadows.  It must have been there for some time, for I felt neither pressure nor pain; the nail of it appeared to have been dug deep into my skin.
   Was it my finger? I wondered.  What did my finger even look like?
   I glanced at it again.  Lack of light made it incredibly difficult to examine the finger, but it appeared to be a shade of green.  Several spikes rose off its sides and a strangely familiar sapphire ring enclosed it.
   Was my finger green? Did I have a ring? What is sapphire?
   I pointed my eyes inward and focused more intensely upon it, as it was the only thing there was to look at it, but immediately I experienced a terrible headache.  A sharp numbing pierced my eyes and my brain throbbed feverishly.  My eyes felt as if yanked from their sockets, and I immediately redirected them toward the black space before me.
   What just happened? Why did I feel pain? Should I try again?
   And so I did, only this time, the pain came back twice as strong and my dizziness three times as disorienting.  My brain seemed to have become dislodged from the interior of my skull, spinning independently about.  Was the world spinning with me? I could not tell.  All I could see was the finger still attached to my nose, its nail wedged deeply into my skin, although I could not feel it.
   Then out of nowhere, an alarm rang.  The folds of darkness lifted to reveal a blinding white light.  Deafening noises blasted their way into my eardrums, shredding every one of them.  Memories overwhelmingly flooded back into my head; I felt my scalp burn and stretch, my head ready to burst open.
   I slapped my hand at my head to keep it shut, but it met a small, hard ball.  My headache only grew as I struggled to understand the new revelation.
   Why is my head so small?! I screamed in my mind.  No wonder I have headache!
   After a moment however, I realized the absurdity of my previous statement.  It could be my eyeball.  That would make more sense.  It would also explain my headache if my eye was detached…
   That must mean my head had burst! I realized alarmingly.
   “What are you screaming about?” the voice of an elderly woman grumbled.
   A hard fist collided with my nostrils, freeing the mysterious finger.  My eyes cleared to reveal my surroundings.  The shock of what lay before me almost sent me hurling back into the depths of insanity.
   “Mom?!”