Wild Signs and Star Paths: Key #1, The Skeleton Key

Introduction

As I write this, a white blur that I’m sure is the wall surrounds my computer screen like a halo. I can hear the low hum of cars on the freeway through the open window to my right, and nearer, the quick chirp of birds. The light brown color near the bottom of my field is the floor, and in the center, a number of objects are clear. My laptop. The darker stain of the desk. A book with a white cover of a tree, a deer, a bird, a constellation. I can’t read the letters but I imagine I know what they say. In my other ear, a TV yaps tirelessly from the next room. There are things I don’t notice. The temperature, because it is perfect. My body, as nothing hurts.

I knew all along I was in my bedroom at my desk. Nothing that I saw was more than a few swatches of color or detail, yet I was able to fill it in and name the probably objects, know their state and purpose, and relate their positions. The sounds made sense in the context of memories. I’m sure all five of my senses were working hard to take in data, but only a small fraction reached my consciousness. None of the things I mentioned above occurred to me until I made it my mission to notice and describe them. Yet I knew where I was, even before that.
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