Monday, March 27th

When I left for work the next morning, the line was still there.

I don't have to dress up for work, so I tromped right across the dew-covered grass in my tennis shoes, and began to circle the building. When I got to the back, I found it continued on into the distance.

I followed it.

From time to time it faded from bright to dim, it curved a bit this way or that, but it took no heed of the buildings in its way.

Sometimes someone would push me out of his or her way, or a car would honk to warn me that I was about to get myself killed.

Eventually, my stomach growled and I looked down at my watch, noticing that it was time for lunch. My stomach clenched tight and I hailed a cab that took me home.

I called my boss and asked him if I had remembered to ask off this morning. He agreed that I had forgotten, and although he was upset, I think he was considerably less pissed than he would have been, had I told him the truth.

Thursday, March 30th

Could barely get out of bed this morning. It had been a terrible week. I hadn't tried to follow the strange line again, but it kept showing up in my work.

I couldn't draw a new logo or ad concept that wasn't centered around a glowing line of violet. I couldn't concentrate, and my temper was wearing thin.

I called in sick and stayed in bed.

Friday, March 31st

Tried to call in sick again and my boss gave me stern lecture over the phone. He had looked through my recent work while I was at home in bed and was unimpressed.

He implied that he doubted I was sick, and said that if I came in and continued to produce at this level, then I might as well have stayed home anyway.

I felt guilty.

He asked me to take a week off to recharge.

I felt real bad.

He said that if I took off next week, he wouldn't count today.

I felt much better.

He's a good guy.

I washed myself off, got dressed, packed a sandwich, and drove off to find out where the line led.

It turned out that the line was hard to follow by car, so I parked it and set out on foot.

When it got dark, I took a cab back to my car and wished I owned a bicycle.

Saturday, April 1st

It rained today. Didn't buy a bicycle, but I did find a great map of the city. I sat around for a while and penciled in the streets I had walked, before driving to the library.

Didn't really know what I was looking for at the library. I stumbled across a book on schizophrenia that I couldn't bear to check out.

Went home and watched television.

Something seemed ironic about not following the line on April Fool's Day.

Sunday, April 2nd

The rains had stopped late last night and the skies looked clear, so I packed a backpack with a big sandwich, some bottled water, my map, a sketchbook (you never know when you'll see something you want to sketch), and a couple good pens.

I put on my jogging shoes, some sweats, and headed out.

The line on my map snaked its way toward downtown. I followed it to the end and parked my car (making a little notation on my map for later).

I walked the whole day, and although I resented having to pay for yet another cab, I reasoned that it was cheaper than any vacation I would have taken. Besides, what price can you put on mental health?