In the Black Hole

By Arijit Das
Kolkata, India


I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. I felt sick and weary. My body ached as though every bone had been crushed. I looked around myself. It was dark all around. The darkness felt strange - it was blacker than pitch! It was cold. It was quiet. And it was scary.
I desperately wanted to run out of this darkness. Even in this eternal silence I tried hard to pick up the faintest of the sound that would lead me out of here. And yes, I did hear something. It was a soft thumbing sound. But soon did I realize that it was the sound of own heart. It was pumping faster than usual. I felt my pulse racing.
I tried remembering the events that had brought me here. Could recollect nothing. I tried to calm down. I spread out my arms in the darkness to feel for objects around me. There wasn't anything or any obstacle around. I decided to walk ahead cautiously. So before taking every step, first I would feel for objects around me with my hands. If its all clear then I would stand on one foot while feeling the ground around me with the other.
As I was about to take my first step did I realize something. And I froze. For I had just discovered something that made me doubt if I was still alive. When I tried to feel the ground around me did I realize that I had been floating in this eternal darkness.