It started with a sugar cube and nearly twenty minutes later I was on my way. Waves of euphoria and laughter washed over me like a constant rising of the tides. The walls, floors, and everything in between began to move, breathe, and pulsate with energy. I decided to go out on my bike and see what the world had to show me. I rode fast and free down my city streets and through familiar places while seeing everything as if for the first time. Sounds were extraordinary and coming from elements I would not normally have been aware of like passing conversations from people on the street, a slip of music from someone’s car or window, crickets, the wind. I rode down to the river and to the top of the Eau Gallie causeway where I was delightfully assaulted by a swarm of swerving sparrows flying under the bridge. Their calls took my breath away and their dashing and darting mesmerized me. The lights of the city, on the water, and in the sky were overwhelming. I stood entranced and wondered what people driving past thought I was up to or seeing. I saw an abandoned bike on the causeway and feared someone who had been hit left it. It disturbed me so much that instead of continuing to the ocean, I turned back toward home. Zooming down the causeway like the first drop on a roller coaster felt as if I might take off at any moment. The ground and the air around it all seemed to bleed into a collage of colors and altered forms. I could see the faeries everywhere. Their gnarled forms lurking out of the trees and bushes, absorbed in the shadows, but released in my heightened sight. I rode back toward home but lost my way. The familiar became foreign and direction lost its meaning. I wasn’t afraid. I just kept going. I stopped to text my friend Joe about the experience and was temporarily hypnotized by the lights coming from my cell phone. I had to resist the impulse to ride my bike carelessly through the streets heedless to traffic. Somehow, I returned to my own neighborhood but still couldn’t find my own apartment. The street names were familiar but I still couldn’t make out directions. Eventually I found my way and went in for some much needed water and food. I slowly came back through late night TV. It seemed cold and I crashed under covers and blankets.
