"...YES. . .YES. . .I AM!"

He was like the dark.
When the light went out.

Himself, but:
not himself.

Erased.

More the map
of himself.

And a crude map at that.

Here his mind
marked with an X.

Contour lines
impossibly close together.

Then the continental shelf
of self.

Different shades of blue.
Deepening...deepening.

This somehow
much more detailed.

Half the map
torn in two

as if something( or other )
owned the other half.

He couldn't say what
or who.

Only...it wasn't him.

Now the fever
nibbling his consciousness.

The world gone.
AWOL

as if it intended
never to come back again.

Somewhere in this thing
that wasn't him

his sister's voice
trying to coax him

back into being.

Her voice
cool water.

His mind sipping
the sound of each syllable.

Speech.
Precious.
Delicious.

Ridiculous words.
But words...nonetheless.

His voice answering
just for the sake of answering.

Thought once again
dressed in words.

"Yes..!" his voice said "...yes I am
alright!"