Out and Stranded

My soaked body felt chill as the air embraced me but my heart was warm and at peace. Although I knew the need to climb out, I couldn't help but relax for a while.

The water level was still rising compelling me to give it space.

"Time to get out." And I chose to comply with it.

When I tried to stand, a wave of nausea hit me as expected. My legs were barely keeping up with my demands as they wobbled nearly making me sit back.

'Why?' They felt so weak as if they had not supported my weight for some time.

While feeling sorry for the poor legs, I used my arms around the edges of the damage hole to support them and managed to lift my waist straight up, now on bent knees.

By lifting the axe above and scrapping more from the newest hole top, I widened it enough so I could now finally stand on two feet.

While I felt the reluctance to part from the new height of mud that was now half my own, I forced my way out. Still gripping the axe like grapple much of arm strength was needed to hold the pit's edge firmly and drag my exhausted body out before the waters reached neck level. Fortunately I didn't fall back down as the firm edges supported my weight without fail. These were firmer than the earth over the box as expected.

After my hips were outside, I let go of the axe, pulled my legs out and facing the ground lay prone to rest. To recover from the vertigo that welcomed me, I had to keep my head low, close my eyes and stay immobile. It was quite horrible to feel like vomiting when the stomach was already caving in from hunger. The surface dirt poking and some kind of plant trickling my skin wherever in contact actually felt pleasant in contrast.

The assaults of dizziness after every exertion was proof of having already exceeded the normal limits. The workout I typically did was only to maintain a healthy physique with no ambition towards any shape muscular. The sets in my schedule were light and short, so my stamina wasn't much to speak of either. Yet today I had struggled for some time most likely longer than two hours, not just my muscles but mind and soul too had suffered. So yeah, I had overcome my limits and now I was facing the consequences.

It was quite a ride of emotions and switches between hope and despair.

With those thoughts, I waited for some strength to return on the solid ground right outside the pit I had left behind.

So in actuality I had not yet laid eyes on the new surrounding as they were still struggling with the light even after the light-headedness had passed. The brightness had increased allowing me to perceive it even through closed eyelids and was still climbing bringing the much desired warmth. It was time of morn after the dawn had passed.

Before sitting up and studying the immediate surrounding, I composed myself and filled my mind with multiple scenarios I might find myself in to resist any further shock. Then with an abrupt raise of head and a serious expression I delivered a piercing gaze forward.

That effort proved to be quite useless or even little stupid. Because with what I perceived next, the little composure I had gathered along with my mind was blown towards high heaven! It was definitely blown quite far because the shock left me silly and blank for some time as I fell back on my buttocks and kept gazing in bewilderment into the wilderness that lay before me.

Unlike structured and hollow blocks of concrete I was expecting, the horizon was the pair of heaven and earth and right before me was a water-filled field, a swamp to be precise.

There were creeper-friendly thick and tall trees everywhere with their upper roots bare and rest underwater and some occasional small islands covered in moss and strange vegetation growing on them, like pieces of veggies floating in vegetable soup. The calm but murky waters that could have fooled those with visual imparity for smooth and bare ground kept its depth a mystery.

And where was I?

Behind me was thick green tropical forest probably the swamp as its sub-zone, its greenery flourishing so wildly as to leave no land bare except where I lay. The thick carpet of blade grass coexisting with myriad of other creepers and shrubs and the large family of greenwoods made it impossible to see past them, the distant lands hence magnificently veiled. Between the swamp and the forest grounds was a narrow moist and mossy borderland, struggling between the fluid's erosion and the vegetation's siege.

That's where the box was buried and I was sitting with a stupefied expression at the time. It felt as if it was a heavenly blessing that the burial location was neither of the two fields but the middle-ground which provided only the benefits of the two making my escape possible in the first place.

Between the contrasts of shady silent waters and the ravenous noisy greenery, I actually felt at ease on that middle-ground.

One thing was certain, I was in the middle of nowhere and possibly stranded in this wilderness.

And what's more? When my vision finally peaked in clarity, I had to rub my eyes few times to finally believe that nothing was wrong with them.

While I was previously suspicious if all of this was a new level of lucid dream, I had rejected that idea quite early on. What was happening was in fact quite real, I didn't need to verify it by pinching my skin.

You know, it's something like common trend that people and characters in various media pinch themselves to check if they are dreaming when something unbelievable happens.

If it hurts then its reality. Otherwise they are still dreaming.

While there's some half-truth in that, the whole concept is absolute bullshit. If you are actually dreaming you will never bother to consider checking if it's a dream.

In a normal dream, you will carry on without suspecting anything. You will be 'driven' by your instincts completely that you will live it like how you would in reality. Even though some miraculous occurrence might catch you off-guard, you will most definitely take it in stride as the new norm.

Even if it's the most lucid dream, you will still play along because your lucid will cannot go against your innermost instincts within. Your walls and facades will be quite suppressed as well.

Not convinced? Then imagine.

Even if you know it's just a dream, you will never think about picking a bat and swinging at your parents or your loved ones for that matter. Because by your primal instincts you will never think about hurting them, even in your dream. Yeah, unless you're a complete psycho.

Even if you are certain you're dreaming and therefore nothing should have actual effect on you. But then a ghost or any frightening entity chases after you, oh boy...or girl, you will run. Or even try to fight back, if you are the courageous type.

You will not stand uninterested and uncaring sure of the unreal.

And do you know what's more interesting?