I had never done this before. Well, I had- just not on my own with no partner in crime to back me up. I left the steering wheel and the hand break along with all the aids from others in my backpack as I lifted myself into the tree. I reached a branch that seemed good to settle into. Enough space from the ground and I, from the living and dead. I rested my back on a sturdy but seemingly useless part, feeling my feet smear into the bark like I was a breathing extension with facial hair. I could smell the wind. It smelt of memories and running dogs and a long night. The sun was peaking at me over the horizon of tree tops and whispered clouds. Sunset already. Apparently this horrifying drug had already had me in its grips for a while. But I was safe. Safe as any man in a 40 foot tree on acid could be. I took a cigarette out of my pocket and lit it, scowling at the fire and the smell. Don't ruin the air, I thought. It's perfect right now. The solace of natures breath. You bastard addict, selfish and needy and bitchy.
Below me, I could see a familiar face holding the sun in spot for us. Our minds must be powerful, I thought. Our space was different, collision in the making possibly. Would he tolerate the garbled murmuring of this drug? Would I understand his pain and dismemberment and missing heart in his low, mediocre wave of opiates? Could he hear me up here? Am I up here?
The clouds began to wash away from the egg. Sunny side up in ocean pan made of bristles and dusk. Dont leave yet. Stay for a little longer. There's a party I heard only you and I were invited to and we can get naked and share stories of where we've been and what we've seen and all the times I've woke up to you and how you didn't get off my back some days and all I want to do is hang out with you. Just you. Just for the moment.
But moments pass like whispered memories and dogs running. That familiar ant below looked up, squinting through his monocle and said
'Think we should start heading back soon?'
I suppose he was right. No use getting lost amongst the animals and darkness. Dangerous things can happen, I thought. Who knows what the natives have hidden back here for times like this. The neighboring boy scouts could be armed and ready to attack at any moment. They're trained for such measures and have uniforms. My feet began to hurry through patches of sand and broken branches, twisting our path in the right direction. There in the open crater laid a friendly monster. It was sleeping but I knew what it needed. Just a good pep talk and a pat and off we went. Alright buddy, lets get us where were going, I said. The music smelt of trees and ants. It made me giggle, smirking with my eyes in my ears.
'You sure you're good to drive man?'
Of course I'm confident with beasts of this nature. I speak their language. They go and stop. They play tunes with dirty feet and gentle meanings. They separate the living from the dead. They keep wonderful sights in front of me, lighting symbols, lines that border my side from theirs. This is my side. Keep out of my god damn area. This is safe over here. Safe as any man on this drug. Trust me with your life. I know what I'm doing.
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