Phantasmagoria

For days… Weeks… Months… Years…

- "You are the greatest."

- “You are my savior."

- "I love you".

The pressure on his ulnar nerve cuts off his rotator cuff muscles -  a coursing numbing sensation spreads through his left arm and fingers. The pain is excruciating. He goes under the shower, and pushes his shoulder into the tiles - it hurts like hell. He hasn't slept in a week. Multiple scans reveal nothing - there is no structural damage.

On April 21st, at 10:44 PM, he touches down at the desolate Sarcova airport. The empty corridors ring hollow as he turns the darkly lit passageways with his guitar case and a black carrier bag. Climbing the marble steps leading to the passport gate line, he slips out of the present. The night porter takes a good look at him.

At 11:24 PM, the door slides open. He steps into the expanse of the airport terminal.

He doesn’t say anything,

...

250 CE, at 1:52 AM, April 22nd, the priestess of the Di Cressa nymphaeum tends to the wounds of a veiled girl spread across a mahogany wooden pull down chair next to the confession booth. She’s been stabbed in the back with a harvor blade that clove her scapula. She bites down on the side of her thumb to subdue the pain. A natrix vipera snake coils up her wrist and moves across her bloody lips.

Her vision is impaired due to the degradation of blood vessels and blood around her eyes. In less than a year she will be venerated a few miles down the southwest lawn of the acropolis. Her sister is in her thoughts. She’s been ill for two months - the backdrop of a crumbling Roman empire, where food and medicine are scarce. She falls to prayer. The priestess is the only one that can hear her.

PM, 251 CE, six Goth warriors circle Emperor Decius, pulling him from his fallen horse amidst the towering evergreens. A whisper through his heart. Vicarious, they tear at his flesh. He will be buried in an empty grave, along with his son - blood still soaking the ground.

1750 years later, on stage, the promoter waves his hand gesturing that they have to cut soundcheck short. I stand, observing each detail.

At 1:38 PM, near midtown, she arrives at her apartment at the Mane Tower, her sanctuary amidst the tumult of the city. With a turn, she unlocks the unit known as The Seven Sleepers, and steps inside.

At 8:41 PM, she encounters him on the roof of the Ghost Theater for the second and final time.

At 5:01 AM, at the ICU, a patient is examined for multiple laceration cuts. I lie in the bed with her and hold her head to my chest. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She won't make it through the night.

Two weeks later Demian locks the door of his apartment and falls on the sofa. his left shoulder is torn. Dark rings mark his left scapula. No matter how deep I go, I cannot sense his thoughts. The last contractual shows of the Virtual Tears tour are over. He reaches for the table. The glass cuts into his hand.

A star is perfect by being.

...

About 1730 years earlier, on May 5th, within the solemn walls of St. Katherine's Cathedral at the center of the city, a figure emerges carrying a sacred chalice towards the altar. The flickering candlelight illuminates the moment that will endure, a testament to her faith.

She gazes upon the solemn procession.

She believes the prophecy, down to the very word.