Fiction: My Front Door

By Andrew Graber

                   

What on earth is happening right now to me?

Did I just pass away from natural causes on earth, and this is my next stop after death?

Did I do the unthinkable and take my own life?

Although feeling down at times, I would never have done that.

I'm scared.

I am really scared.

Engulfed in a peculiar unknown place and time.

Oh no!

I can't believe what I am seeing right now.

There are human beings that resemble human beings. 

However, only from the neck down. 

All there faces look exactly like pigeons!

I don't know if I should be frightened of them or not.

I'm not sure if they are dangerous, or if they are peaceful creatures!

 Oh good heavens.

I hear them talking to one another, though they were talking in another language that I have never heard before.

Ever so cautiously, I inch closer and closer towards them.

Apparently, I must be invisible to them.

 They are not saying anything to me, though I am right next to about ten of them.

It's as though I were a ghost.

Oh no.

Maybe, I am a ghost.

Perhaps they know of my presence, but are pretending they do not see me.

Maybe, they are frightened of me.

 Deathly afraid, I mustered up enough courage to talk to them, hoping to get some answers to my whereabouts.

My words went unheard.

No response from the group at all.           

Maybe in time, I will be able to figure out where and why I am here.

This place resembles Earth.

Maybe I am still on earth?

I see the sun in the sky.

I see beautiful red mountains in the background. 

There are many lakes in the not to distance too.

I began to walk around and noticed a few large trees.

By now, exhaustion was setting in.

I was drained.

Mentally and physically.

I approached  one of the trees, sat down, and rested my head against it.

That feels nice, I uttered to myself, as I slowly began shutting my tired eyes.

A few hours passed and awoke to something that sent shivers throughout my entire body.

Now, instead of about ten, there were hundreds of these creatures all segregating right near me, chatting up a storm with one another.

Once again, these creatures didn't come to me and introduce themselves.

It was if I were invisible like I had previously thought.

I just don't know what to think anymore.

By now, I was getting very frustrated and extremely angry.

My patience was running thin.

 I am a peaceful person, I shouted out!

Do not fear me.

No need to be afraid of me.

I am not going to hurt any of you!

By doing this, I was hoping I would get a response.

Nothing!

 No one said a word to me.

Quickly, I came up with another idea.

 I had nothing to lose anymore.  Perhaps it would help me put the pieces to this jigsaw puzzle together once and for all.

Although enraged, fear of the unknown was running through my veins.

Getting up, I began to see if I could feel their bodies and faces.

 Slowly, I reached out and placed my hands and fingers on a few of these creatures.

Oh my God, I hollered out!

I can feel you.

I felt the soft feathers on their heads, as well as their flesh on their human bodies.

For crying out loud, I can feel you!

Do you not feel me?

Once again, no reaction.

Not even a glance, or any eye contact from any of them!

For the first time, hunger was setting in.

Thirst as well.

What am I going to do for food?

 I'm not sure if this place has any type of food for me to eat.

For water, I can go to one of the beautiful lakes.

I'll take my chances at this point, and hope that the water is not contaminated or poisonous.

What about food, though?

What if I cannot find any fruit trees or one of the lakes does not have any fish that I could somehow catch.

If I can't find any type of food, the only other option left is to kill and eat one of these creatures.

I don't have that in me, though.

I can't do that.

I won't do that!

I'd rather starve to death than do that.

What have I done to deserve this sort of punishment?

I'm a good person, I screamed out while feeling a never ending sense of doom.

Trying desperately to divert my tortured thoughts, I rested my head up against a tree, while the creatures were still chatting up a storm with one another.

They sure like talking, I jokingly uttered out to myself.

I just wonder what they are talking about.

Who knows?

Maybe when I wake up, things will take a turn for the better, while I slowly fell into a nice deep peaceful rest.

Suddenly, out of the clear blue,I began feeling excruciating pain, as I awoke to a whole bunch of these creatures pecking at my face with such ferocity and rage.

My blood was squirting everywhere.

  I became weaker and weaker as each second passed by.

The pain was brutal.

With whatever strength I had left inside of me, I begged them to stop.

I raised my hands up straight in the air, hopeful,they would realize that this was a symbol of me surrendering to them.

Suddenly, I heard a loud buzzing sound that wouldn't stop.

Oh my goodness!

What's that noise?

I can't deal with that noise!

Just as I felt I was ready to die from the relentless savagery from those creatures, I suddenly realized what that buzzing sound was.

Shaking and trembling, I turned off my alarm clock that was ringing on my night table.

I can't believe it, I shouted out with a huge sense of relief!

 This was all just a nightmare.       

Suddenly, I heard knocking at my front door which almost made me jump out of my own skin.

Wonder who that is, as I opened up my door?

Oh no!

It can't be!

Oh my God!

Outside my front door, were at least a dozen of those creatures from my dream that I just had!

Slamming the door in complete shock, I was hoping and praying that the knocking would somehow stop.

A few moments passed and everything seemed to be alright.

There was silence.

Dead silence.

Still not completely satisfied and 

searching for piece of mind, I slowly began to look through my front door peephole.

 Not knowing what I was going to see, I was hopeful I would not see any of them outside my front door.

 Slowly putting my eye against the glass hole, I torturously cried out in terror, as I noticed one of those creatures faces pressing against my little glass peephole, while staring directly straight into my right eye.

 Taking a deep breath, I sat down on my sofa in my living room.

Feeling somewhat calmer after some time had elapsed, I started walking over to my front door again.

 Once again, I slowly started to look out my peephole.

At that moment,I began laughing out loud to myself.

There's nothing outside, I jokingly said.

Nothing at all!

It's just all of the stress I've been under of late!

That's all this is.

Just my overworked anxious mind.

Bending down a bit to take another look, suddenly I heard glass shatter, while feeling and seeing a sharp pointed pigeon's beak violently pecking at the insides of my eye through my front door peephole.

Hollering out in excruciating pain, the creature's beak was pecking relentlessly in and out of my eye with so much rage.

I tried desperately to pull away, but I couldn't because it's beak was now caught and stuck in my eye through the hole.

The only thing that was separating us was my front door.