Ziggy the Cyborg
Chapter 1: You Poor Lost Soul
There was a soft light around her as she stood looking down forlornly at the man. He watched as her mouth moved to speak, but he could not hear.
"Sharon…" the beleaguered man rasped.
The woman's arm reached out to him and suddenly she seemed so very far away. He began to do the same. He thought he might reach out and take hold of her hand before she faded forever. For some reason, he did not want that image to fade, but the distance between him and her seemed too great.
"Jan, come with me…"
Her voice finally came to him as clear as day as if she were sitting down right next to him. It was when something began to click in his mind. When he attempted to lift himself he found that he could do so with ease. He wondered why he hadn't done so from the beginning. The distance between the two began to lessen as he hastened towards her.
"Don't worry, Sharon. I won't leave you," the man said with a certainty that surprised even himself.
Though his mind could not fathom it, he felt a connection with the luminescent figure before him. She stopped moving further away and he was finally able to grasp her. Yet her eyes remained sorrowful.
"What's wrong, Sharon?"
"Follow me," she said calmly, "I want to give you something while I still can, while we can still exist together."
Without protest, he followed the strange woman. He knew only that he could trust her, but he could not understand why. A door appeared in front of her and she stepped through it effortlessly. The man did the same.
He found himself within a house one that felt so familiar that he knew he must have seen it before. The man looked around mystified by the familiarity even becoming annoyed that his mind simply could not clarify the situation. The woman turned to him then. This time there was a beginning of a smile on her face. It quickly brightened his mood. Who was this woman who could so easily have such effect on him?
"Do not be frustrated, Jan. You are not…fully here. I just wanted you to know happiness for one last time."
"One last time?" asked the bewildered man.
"From here on everything you experience will be tainted with gray. May your soul one day find peace."
Just then a young boy came through the front door. The man immediately felt his joy as he ran over to embrace him. Somehow he knew to bend down to the child's level, he knew what the boy had wanted to do from the outset, but he could not understand why.
"You're here, papa. I knew you'd find us."
"Find you? Why am I…?"
"Joaquin, he is a bit exhausted from his journey."
"Oh, I see," the boy said quietly as he let go of the man and looked back at the woman.
The he felt the boy's eyes on him. "It's okay, papa, you can rest here if you like. But you have to promise me something."
"And what is that?" the man asked automatically. He felt obligated to the boy.
"That you'll come back here someday."
"I will," the man acquiesced without a second thought.
"Joaquin, let me speak to your father alone," requested the woman.
"Alright," the boy said with a hint of dejection, but he soon left the two to themselves.
"Like my son has said, you can rest here for as long as you like, for as long as time permits. While your soul is trapped in limbo, I thought perhaps I could make things a bit more pleasant."
"Thank you," the man replied. It was the only thing he could think to say.
The woman paused before she spoke again. "Joaquin and I, we are trapped here."
The statement alone sent him on edge. "How can I help?" he asked without hesitation.
The woman smiled then. "That's just like you, Jan. Even in the state that you are, you would offer your help. At your core you will always be a protector I suppose. You cannot help us, Jan, not right now, but there will be a time when you can. For now, Joaquin and I will suffice with this false happiness without your presence. It is the way of things. I just want you to remember. I want our memories to lie within you so that you may find some form of comfort on your journey. You poor lost soul, rest now."
He did not know what exhaustion was, but he saw the world around him begin to vanish and he began to panic.
"Sharon, wait!" the man exclaimed as her image began to dimmer
"Peace now. There is nothing you can do. All is out of your reach," came her soft voice.
It was soothing, enticing. The panic he felt disappeared as he fell into a deep slumber.