"Myst"

I stand there listening to the tick of the clock.  Tick, Tick, Tick.  There is no other sound.  No one screams.  No one cries.  The sound of our very breath held inside a soundless vacuum.  Time is so still.  I see him so sick, screaming to be held, screaming that he is held.  The sound like a specter howling in pain.  The sound like a baby crying for home.   He stares upon those who look at him, his eyes blank, his eyes filled with love, his eyes filled with sadness.  He knows the end is near.  He fights behind the glass, struggles, clinging to whom he is, trying to forget, maybe fearing whom he might become.  Tick, Tick, Tick.  I watch him, my senses focusing on nothing else.  I hear the sound of my heart.  It beats to his, it speaks to him, and for a moment we both become one.  Our eyes meet, our hearts connect, our eyes close, my heart skips a beat.  Eternal night falls.