Prologue

I never realized how lovely grass smelled, nor had I ever savored the musty scent of the rich dirt just beneath it. My legs were numb and so were my arms. I couldn't lift my head, hell, I couldn't move an inch of any part of my body, so I just continued to lie there, on the ground, letting the delicious smells of the earth violate my senses. It was dark, and though I could not see the sky above, I knew there was no light from the heavens breaching the blackness of this night...yet. I tried to look up, but my face was paralyzed, forever staring at the pitch-dark shadows of the grass surrounding me. I was almost face down in what appeared to be a ditch, my eyes fixed on the blackness surrounding me, threatening to engulf me.

It hurt to breathe, and my jaw ached from my mouth being frozen in this open position for only God knows how long. How long had I been here? Where was here? How did I end up here?

The grass lit up in a brilliant radiance followed by the ground trembling as the sky growled furiously. It was then I caught a whiff of it. I could smell it in the air. Rain. It hadn't begun yet, but I knew it was coming. Would I drown here? Why couldn't I move? At least being paralyzed, I was spared the sensation of pain. Physically, I felt absolutely nothing. Emotionally...I won't even go there. How could I possibly describe the terror of waking up paralyzed somewhere, having no idea where you are or how you got there? Not remembering anything except the last few minutes of a conversation you were having with a colleague at work...then blank. Nothing. Like someone went inside your brain with a magic eraser. Then suddenly waking, realizing your eyes and mouth are fixed open, and you are lying on the bitter, hard ground in a trench, paralyzed. 

I watched helplessly as a heavy drop of rain landed on my forehead and trickled down the side of my face followed by a cascade of tears.