The Place Called “Limbo”

By Shivansu Chatterjee

Grey.

A never ending space of grey, as far as the eye could see.

I was the only “living” entity in this unreal space. Why was I there? Was I dead? Was I alive? I knew not. I am a human who lives on Planet Earth. Yet, I existed in this space as well.

Have you ever seen the space around you glitching?

Have you ever questioned the existence of your pet dog sitting on your lap? Have you ever seen your best friend glitch in and out of existence in a matter of seconds?

On the one hand, your brain tells you that they exist; on the other, there is no proof of them ever having existed. But now they exist again.

That is what this entire space was like. People. Everywhere. Yes, people. Why were they over there? I knew not, but they were not quite human. Mindlessly doing things. Random things. All kinds of things. Carpentry, gun shooting, running, screaming, crying, laughing.

There was not a single sound.

All these people doing activities, yet I could not hear a thing. I was the solitary observer of the place I like to call “Limbo”. The silence was deafening. I thought I would never hear again, but as I write this, I listen to the television blaring in front of me and the firecrackers illuminating the sky outside my window.

I was not there for long, but I was there long enough to notice that something was amiss. But wait, was it something or someone? It was as if there was a somebody by my side in Limbo, but at some point of time, they had been erased.

Yes, my wording is appropriate. Erased.

Their existence was erased. I had a lingering sense of unease, thinking, “Who? Who was there with me?” but my memory had been reset. They did not exist anymore. What remained was a faint gap in my memory, a gap that could be filled by this person.

Limbo. It is quite an unsettling place, if you can call such a space a place.

An infinite grey. Glitching space. Humans in monotone. One observer. A missing link.

Now, it has been a few hours since I left that space behind.

I wonder what that place actually is.

A dream?

Or…

Someplace else?

By Shivansu Chatterjee