Darkness... So much darkness... I barely remember light now. It's been so long, almost as if it were only a dream. Will I ever know it again? It's fading. Soon I probably won't remember it at all. Maybe I'll just sleep. Is that what I've been doing? Must be...

…

…

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The darkness again. How long has it been? I doubt I'll ever know. If there was just some light, a tiny sliver, or even someone to share the lonely empty unforgiving darkness with- wait. What's that? It's so far away, I can barely see. But I can see! Light! It must be! It's a circle, growing bigger and bigger, shooting straight towards me. It's so bright. It's so close I can almost feel it.

"H-hello? Who are you?" The ball of light doesn't respond, instead it bumps into me. "Where did you come from?" There is no reply as it retreats back where it came from. "W-wait! Don't leave me! Don't leave me in the dark!" It's so far now I can no longer see it. All my hopes drain away as my heart sinks. Do I have a heart?

Beep.

What was that?! I try to look around, but the darkness is never ending. I strain to hear it again. Nothing. Then it's there again. My little ball of light. It's going to go past me, further into the darkness. I slide myself up to stop it from going any farther. "Little ball of light, where did you come from? Was it you that made the noise?" It bounces off and retreats again, same as last time. "Stop! Why do you keep leaving me?" Gone.

Beep.

There! Again! This time the ball comes back sooner, farther under me. I swoop down and get it just in time before it goes plummeting into the darkness behind me. It retreats without a sound.

We go back and forth like this; me, my ball of light and that mysterious beeping sound. All the while the beeps come sooner, the ball comes and goes faster in more erratic patterns. It's getting difficult to keep up. Pretty soon I'm going to miss. I dare not think what will happen if I do.

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

Boom. I freeze in horror. I just missed it. The darkness seems heavier than ever. What will happen now? The beeping has stopped. I try to move towards the beeping but I can only move up and down, like there's some sort of invisible force field keeping me on the narrow straight line. Struggle as I may, the barrier does not budge. Despair takes over. I slump to the bottom, as far as I can go. Suddenly I look up to see my ball of light, shooting towards the barrier. I jump up just in time to grab it, sending it back the other way. "How did you do it?"

Beep.

Elated, I zoom up and down as fast as I can. My little friend comes back and I stop it again, nudging it back into the darkness.

Beep.

After a while the speed picks up again. This time I'm ready. This time I won't fail.

Beep. Nudge. Beep. Nudge. Beep. Nudge.

Beep. Wait... There was no beep this time. It just stopped. Something terrible must have happened. Maybe it left for good this time. I wait around, hoping, praying that my light will return. All is silent. All is dark. Then BAM! My ball of light appears right in front of me. Oh how glorious and beautiful it is. I've not a clue how it got here but I am overjoyed all the same. I move up and down, carrying my ball, studying it closely. No nicks, no scrapes, no faults whatsoever. Just a beautiful globe of light. My light. I feel an overwhelming sensation to push, so I push my ball and off it goes, back into the darkness.

Beep.

And there it is again! Oh joy of all joys! There's gotta be someone else over there! Maybe it's someone like me!

Beep.

If only there were some way to get over there, or even communicate some how.

Darkness.

Horrified, I'd missed again. I've got to be more diligent. Who knows what'll happen if I miss again. Maybe this ball of light is the only way my comrade from the other side of the darkness can come over here. It's the only thing we have in common after all, the only thing connecting us. If I lose that light, I lose them. Here it comes again.

Beep.

Good, they're still there. Gotta keep a good lookout.

Nudge.

Beep.

Deep breaths. Concentrate.

Beep.

It's starting to speed up again. Don't lose your cool. Just nudge it. Good.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Silence~

The horror crashes into me with all the force of the darkness. Is it gone forever? No, surely it'll come back, like last time? Come on, come back. Come on my little ball of light, come back to me. Sure enough, there it is, hovering in front of me like before. Still as glorious as ever it just sits there. I can't hold back the urge to nudge it any longer and I set it back into the darkness. I hear my partner returning my light to me. The wonderful beeping gets faster, more frequent. It's getting difficult to keep up. The ball of light is going so fast now it's starting to look like a small line.

UP!

Beep.

DOWN!

Beep.

STRAIGHT ON!

Beep.

FASTER!

Beep.

FASTER!

Beep.

FASTER- Not fast enough. The darkness is so thick it's suffocating. Not. Fast. Enough. I wait, staring into the darkness, hoping my light will come back to me, praying for that wonderful beeping, the only thing that made me feel alive, as if there was someone else, someone else to share the loneliness with. I count the seconds, minutes, nothing. My ball isn't coming back. My partner is gone. Will I ever hear them again? Will I ever see that lovely little ball of light again? I slink to the bottom, as far as I can go. The silence is deafening, the darkness blinding. All seems lost. But perhaps I will know them again one day. Until then I wait. I hope. I dream of the light.