“Come on Tyler. Wake up.” The words sound as if they are coming through a 1900’s radio instead of being right next to me. There are fifty pound weights on each eyelid. They won’t move, no matter how hard I try. I’m swimming through the dark depths of my consciousness, desperately trying to fight my way to the surface. My arms flail wildly, trying desperately to grasp anything. I break free for just a moment. My eyes crack open. Light assaults my retinas and I quickly close them to return to the comfort of the dark and prepare for the next emergence. Just when it seems that I have broken through, I’m always pulled right back under. I try again. Countless times I try without any avail. When my eyes finally crack the veil of artificial night, they are covered with a layer of opaque glass, everything is out of shape and edges of objects are indistinguishable. My face is covered in snow. Again and again I try to muster the strength to keep my eyes open, only to succumb to the heavy weights of the anesthesia. Instructions from the brain are received and fulfilled, yet they aren’t filed. The recollection department must have lost power. Mere snatches of information are stored; random images without any pathways or clues to tell about them.
Events occurred that I have no recollection of. What I know to have happened was told to me. Sometimes my eyes stay open just long enough for me to start text messaging friends. I have no idea how my phone was turned on, or even how it ended up in my possession. Even the text messages show how oblivious I was. One of them reads “Hey, I’m texting right now.” There are pictures of me on my phone. I have my mouth open and I am trying to take shots of the inside of my mouth. I don’t remember taking them. My actions were mechanical, like a robot, functioning normally, but without any cranial activity. My eyes were open, but my mind was shut down. It’s as if Tuesday afternoon never even happened.






Tyler Keeley
1989
141 Washington St.
Ayer, MA 01432
978-772-8600
Ayer High School
Paula Sullivan

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Tyler Scott Keeley