The sky was red for a long time. Then it was black. I couldn’t tell how long I’d been standing there looking up. Or if it was morning or night. I began to walk but I didn’t know which direction I was headed. I had no idea where, or who I was. I kept walking, regardless. In the blind hope of finding some kind of clue or sign to remind me exactly where I was. Sooner or later something was bound to come back to me. But it didn’t. It was a long stretch. The roads were empty. And so was I. I had become a mere shadow of my former mere shadow. All I knew was I knew nothing.
Figments started to come back to me, eventually. Scattered memories. Shattered images. Oh yes. I was playing some kind of gig last night. But. Was it last night? Or was it last year? Visions of playing Blind Blake’s Breakdown with the guitar behind my head. But playing it wrongly. A party trick gone wrong. My hand coordination had turned askew. This could happen. Especially when Mezcal is the beverage of choice. The taste of it was still in my mouth, and all of a sudden I didn’t feel so good.
The sun started to creep up from behind the hill and I slowly realised that morning was attacking me without a warning. Lights in the surrounding houses started to switch on. People were rising. I needed to get to where I was going before anyone seen me. The walk of shame. But where was I headed? Then I seen the church spire and realised where I was. I wasn’t far from my destination. I was now in a race with the sun as it began to rise, casting shadows in front of me. I picked up the pace. Down the middle of the empty town. Toward the alley. And down the steps. Then I was there. The Boneyard. I fumbled for my keys and opened the shutters. Entering the shop I switched on the neon sign. I picked a record from the racks. The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey. Dropping the needle on the record I glanced at the clock. 8am. I was early. Ahead of the pack. I took out my hipflask and drank whatever drops were left inside it. My head rested on the counter. Faheys playing becoming hypnotic. I slowly drifted off into a deep deep slumber, where I found some sort of peace, for what felt like decades.