The Tangible

By Stanley Blackman

Lying in my bed, I am relaxing my nerves.  Slowly drifting off to sleep, it feels as if I am halfway lucid and halfway unconscious, like my mind just won't let go and fall completely asleep.  So I lie there experiencing the best of both worlds.  Anything that comes to mind, I'm seeing and doing it as if I'm controlling the world--but somewhere in the back of my mind, I know it isn't real.  As I live out my imaginations and control my own world, I feel myself falling deeper and deeper unconscious; I am now unaware of reality.

In an instant, I feel this horrible vibe--something dark and evil.  It engulfs my feelings with fear and my beautiful imaginations go away.  Everything turns dark and a pair of ominous eyes appear in my sight.  I am speechless and horrified, so I close my eyes and pretend I don't see anything.  At that point, I jump back into reality.  I am calm and relaxed as I simply say to the dark spirit, "So, what... you just going around messing with the tangible?"  My satire must have really agitated the evil spirit because I feel myself stiffening as if I am undergoing paralysis.  Then I say, "Instead of testing my willpower, why don't you be a man, or whatever you are, and fight like a man!"

The evil spirit begins manifesting itself and the physiognomy of the thing is repulsive--two fiery-red eyes, decayed sharp teeth, grayish black fur surrounds its body, and it has a tail that stretches seven feet long.  He pulls out a sword with human souls surrounding it and raises it up for combat.  We stand there staring at each other, not saying a word, and then it happens.  It was almost like a tacit agreement--before you know it, he launches at me with his soul eating sword, so I quickly pick up the first thing I see, a pillow.

I throw the pillow as he launches at me, just to distract him enough to knock the sword out of his hands.  It falls behind me, and then I see it as an opportunity to get in his butt.  So I kick the evil spirit on the ground and start choking it.  As I am choking it, I don't know that the spirit has levitating powers and before I know it the spirit has levitated the sword to fly straight through my back and out my heart.  My soul begins to be devoured.  Out of options, I don't know what else to do as the spirit begins laughing as if he is the victor.  But no, I go out like a G.  The sword goes all the way through my chest, beginning from my back, which means it comes out just inches from the evil spirit's chest.  So, right before my soul is fully devoured, I grab him and pull him toward me, which makes the soul devouring sword thrust right through his heart, thus claiming his soul as well.  The evil spirit and I spend captivity in a sword, left there to fight and mangle each other for all eternity.