Unlost

Cutting the Strings

He could feel his breath, uneven and ragged, just like he could feel every step on the sidewalk, and the pebbles bouncing on the road as the cars zoomed past. He was feeling everything he should be hearing and everything he should be hearing was spilling out in bright colors. The car tires left blue streaks in their wake and every car honk was a burst of red. People all around him were speaking in rainbows. He could almost touch the colors but whenever he came close they'd slip through his fingers. The world around him was buzzing so fast he could hardly keep up. He was frozen in the middle of it, this busy street, with people, cars and everything else was just speeding past him.

He was stuck. He wanted to be moving like everything else but his feet were glued to the sidewalk. He looked around at the colorful and loud place surrounding him. He wanted to be a part of it. He needed to be a part of it. He swallowed and the sound rang in his ears. He pulled his foot up and took a clumsy out of sync step. Everything was moving off pace, too fast and too slow all at once. The colors were too bright, the sounds were too loud and he could feel everything; the blood rushing in his veins, his heart beating, lungs expanding and contracting, and every neuron firing in his brain. It was so overwhelming it was starting to give him a headache but still it gave him such a rush that his hair stood on end.

He could feel the same things in the people around him. Whenever someone brushed past him he swore he could feel their pulse. He could feel everything that was living and breathing and everything else that wasn't. Across the street he saw a girl open the door to a building and as she did an abundance of color spilt out onto the street. He didn't have to decide that's where he wanted to go before he was moving towards it.

Trying but failing to move as quickly as everything else he stepped out into the street ignoring the red from the cars honking at him as he followed the colors. He looked up as he walked, watching the stars dance. Instead of remaining stagnant they twisted and twirled, faster and faster. So fast that he had to stop to look as they whirled so quickly they became a white blur against the black background of the sky. A puff of red brought them to a halt and they fell back into formation. The car he was standing in front of was yellow, he could feel it when he touched the hood of the car. There was a man sticking his head out the window with angry black words forcing their way out of his mouth.

He frowned and continued walking, following the colors that were pulsing through the windows. The closer he got the more he could feel them. When he walked through the colors, his heart started beating in rhythm with the sounds he couldn't even hear.

The building was filled with color. Pale blues and greens were pumping out of the speakers, some of them lighter and smaller but some were bright and full. It felt like they were knocking him back almost pushing him out the door.

The room was packed with just as many people as there were colors. They were all moving, wiggling. He guessed it was dancing but he didn't really care to pay attention. He was more focused on the colors that swirled above their heads. He could hear the heartbeat of everyone in the room. They were all mostly moving in the same rhythm as his, only a little slower.

He shoved through the crowd in the hopes of getting closer to the speakers, closer to the color and the sound. As he brushed past them he could feel the colors of their clothes, skin, hair and eyes. There was too much to focus on, it was making him dizzy. The room was spinning just like the stars. Heavy colors that sank to the floor when they exploded from the speakers were the only thing that stilled it. They slowed everything as they rolled like waves under everyone's feet, shaking the ground. They came from the four giant speakers in every corner, almost as tall as the wall.