Cause and Effect

James walked down the old and cracked asphalt in the cool air of post-sunset. On all sides he was surrounded by rolling hills, covered sporadically with oak trees. From the old and uncared-for road winding behind the hills, James could see the branches of the trees silhouetted against red clouds, underlit by the set sun. As James' own driveway disappeared behind the curve of a hill, he walked by the driveway of a boyhood friend. As he passed James traced the path of the driveway up to the little house -- deserted now for years -- at the top of a hill.

Turning his eyes back to the road stretching out in front of him, James notice for the first the sounds of crickets in the still evening air. A few miles off, James could also heard the sounds of cars whizzing by on the highway. He began to whistle to himself, a sad song he hardly knew. In his mind, the words floated by, fitting for the current scenery.

The falling leaves,

James sighed deeply, and closed his eyes. He shivered. Opening his eyes and casting them upward, an overcast sky looked back at him. James' brow furrowed; the sky hadn't been overcast a moment ago. Quickly, he scanned the horizon. As far as he could see in both directions the sky was blanketed with gray clouds. It didn’t seem any darker or lighter than it had been, but the light seemed... different now. Instead of coming up from the horizon in front of him, as it had, it seemed to filter diffusely through the clouds.

There was something else too... though James couldn’t place it at first. He took a step apprehensively, weary of what might happen. As his foot settled firmly back to the earth, James heard the crunch of loose asphalt being displaced under his weight, though it seemed oddly dampened. That was it, that’s what seemed wrong; there was no other sound. It was totally silent. He looked back from where he had come. The abandoned house on the hill was no longer there. Even its driveway seemed to have gone without a trace.

James shivered. His brain was tumbling wildly. He suddenly had the urge to throw up, but nothing came out. He panicked. His head swam and his vision went black. No sense of direction or orientation. With a thud he collapsed to the asphalt where he lay, breathing heavily, as his eyesight returned slowly.

Collecting his wits -- as they were, anyway -- he sat up, using his arm to support himself up. Suddenly he became aware that he had just collapsed in the middle of the road. What would have happened if a car had come by? he thought with a growing sense of panic. With sinking spirits though, he reminded himself that all sound had ceased; there were no cars on the highway, and there would certainly be none on this little road.

Trying to calm himself, he closed his eyes and started breathing deeply. Remembering a mediation technique he had learned, he started counting his breaths. He got to thirty-five before he realized that there was something else at the edge of his consciousness, a tiny nagging something vying for his attention.