• No thought, no influence, no pain... Swirling nothingness, a perfect world. But what was that? Another soul, another being? The one to finaly set me free, to end my self induced exile and bring me into the world of life. But what was life? I can't remember quite right... Of coarse I was not alive, master to a heart that never beat. None could start that gentle rythm again, the sweet sound of a pulse through my dry veins. So how could I remember a thing that never truely existed. As if my cold hands had ever felt warmth, I can almost cry, if I was still able to do such a thing. Yet still I wonder, what poor spirit fate has intertwined with me...

    And how can I, one with a soul most foul, hide the demon that shows clear throuh my palid skin. No one shall ever call me companion so long as I sustain myself off the life of others. I am a leech and no more. I am the monster that all fear and no one forgets. And while most would revel and shake with the power, I cower in my coner and weep. Life is unjust, and I am the pound that tipped the scale. To send everyone tumbling into the blackness.

    My eyes stared blankly at the forest before me, seeing everything yet nothing all at the same time. Leaves coverd nearly every inch of the trees, like something from a dream. it was a depressing thought really, how these areas were so few compared to the bustling cities that I grew up in. No filth here to cloud your view, no smog to take your breath. I couldn't help but laugh at the thought, at how much difference a hundred or so years could make. I stopped the thoughts, turned them more hopeful, there was really no use dwelling on the past, not when I had eternity before me. The only goal now was to find my fate and with it, my future.

    The wind blew and the wild scent of the greenery hit me full in the face. So natural and heavenly it seemed, a good smell none the less. My arm twitched, disturbing my thoughts as I looked down at my hand. A leaf lay inside, my body catching it involentarily. Sometimes it wasn't all great to never be suprised by the feel of another, of anything at all.

    Then the sky grew dark and the clouds let out a mighty roar, water rushing down apon me. The rain pattered against the ground and in seconds it grew into a storm. I sat and enjoyed, let the natural feel of it wash over me, let myself be carried in it. There was noreason to fight this experience and so I sighed with relief. The thunder rolled like cannon fire and the sky let loose more tears. The rain pounded against my ivory skin and my black hair clung to my head, but it wasn't a bad feeling at all. I was not some simple minded man on his way to work or a busy woman afraid of getting wet. I was Alter, the vagabond with no home and no meaning. A man destined for death and destotuion and no more.

    So I sat in my loneliness and accepted it as I had for so many years. The barrage of rain worked its magic over me and all feeling soon left my boy as purpose had so long ago. With my arms outstretched I caught the water in my hands and brought the small puddle to my face.

    "To look at this," I said aloud to no one, my bitter-sweet voice ringing in the storm, sweet for the sound and bitter, for if you heard it, you weren't likely to live very much longer. "how they gather together and unite with no resistance at all. Yet most would think them insignifigant and meaningless, while others will get on their knees and pray for just a single drop. Humans, so unique, yet thet're all the same..."

    My thoughts swelled in my mind and took over my body, feezing me to the spot. No longer was I in controle of my flesh, if you could call it that, but rather lost inside my mind. My thoughts wandered once again tell the torrent of images and memories was all I had.

    At last the stillness was broken, for the briefest moment, for my final words to flow. "What an odd hand fate has dealt me. Now the only question is... Do I fold?"