CIRCLE OF LIFE (or Death): Part I

[image error]Hundreds of meat-eating maggots writhed en masse at the bottom of my garbage can. The movement was revolting and mesmerizing. The putrid reek of decay burned the back of my throat. The stench was repulsive and intoxicating. My head swooned from the overstimulation.

I didn’t even think about why the trash collectors had left the mess in the bottom of the can—why the automatic dumping truck hadn’t shaken them loose. I couldn’t think. I was lost in the sight– drawn deeper into the swirling mass—my eyes, my mind. Without hesitation I climbed into the garbage can—head-first—and plunged into the maggots.

The dive wasn’t stopped short—just slowed—as the maggots redirected their attention to me—to feasting on my head. Thousands of tiny bites—hundreds of thousands—thundered in my ears until they were devoured. Silence. Once my brainstem was consumed the agonizing pain ceased. I felt nothing.

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