The Error of Creation

The darkness was oppressive and overwhelming. I tried to blink, but my eyes wouldn’t open. Yet, I could sense the presence of light in my surroundings.

How long had my been? How many days had past? No idea. My body was paralyzed, and my mind was trapped in a never ending nightmare. There was no beginning, nor end; there was just an endless cycle of pain and suffering.

I knew that I’d been woken up from a deep sleep by the sounds of screams and cries from outside my bedroom window. It was late at night and most of the residents of the building were already asleep, but some were still up watching TV or talking on the phone. The noise that followed woke up everyone in the building – we all rushed to our windows, eager to find out what was going on.

There had been an accident on the highway close by, and it seems as if a truck exploded into flames near a gas station by the side of the road. It wasn’t clear if anyone survived – there was nothing left of the truck but an empty husk amidst a sea of fire, and several people lay lifeless on top of each other on the highway below. The whole scene looked like hell had opened its gates right in front of us, ready to swallow us all whole. I screamed as well when I saw it – then fainted dead away.

When I woke up again, it was morning. A doctor poked his head inside my room and asked how I was feeling – apparently they had to treat me for smoke inhalation after my heart stopped beating when I passed out at the window. That’s how bad it looked outside – no wonder they had to resuscitate me!

I sat bolt upright in bed when I heard this news - "what did you say?" I asked frantically - "did you say something about smoke inhalation?" The doctor nodded his head - "yes", he said "you were exposed to a lot of smoke last night during the accident." He noticed my worried expression and added: "don’t worry though - you’re fine now." He handed me a mirror and pointed out how pale my skin looked in comparison with how healthy it looked yesterday afternoon before the accident occurred.

"Thank god", I sighed with relief - "I thought something else might have happened." The doctor nodded his head again - "yes", he said "something else did happen." His face turned sombre as he continued: "there was an accident on the highway last night." He paused for effect before continuing: "someone blew up a truck on purpose."

He took a deep breath before explaining further: "the truck contained highly toxic chemicals that caused severe damage to your lungs." He paused again before adding: "you’ll have to spend a few more days here until you can breathe properly again."