The Man, The Faceless, The Grave

Of Mourning Senses

My Gravedigger,My Gravedigger of the days I've lived when may they come to end?
My Gravedigger,My Gravedigger why is it that I must rest in a gouge on the earth?
My Gravedigger,My GraveDigger when all are put to rest what are you to do?

For what felt like hours of falling ,and falling, and falling I could open my eyes again able to see around me, blue sky above with what looked like a humanoid figure looking down on me reaching out a hand and as I reach out to be helped up I start to see more clearly what looked like a person but they had no face, no defining features it was smooth over the only thing telling about them was light gray skin and what he was wearing, a wide brim hat, a faded gray overcoat with dirt grown at the edges of that coat, with some old navy blue shirt and black pants,and holding a shovel.

At the sight I pulled back questioning what the they're supposed to be, and as I'm still trying to process what's going on they point to down to the ground, where I was laying, and what I see where they're pointing is a chalk outline of person the ground rough and dirty
"what is this, a sick joke?" I shout at them, only receiving a stare from a face with nothing, up until they move they lean they're head to the side directing to out of this alley and start to walk in that direction even with the questions running through my head of what any of this is I still decide to follow them I know I shouldn’t but I guess its better than the alley, and to what I see is the city its not unfamiliar but its strange, its alot more quiet than usual and more empty looking around which doesn’t make any type of sense for a city.

I look over to just see The Figure standing not moving I step slightly towards them to see if theres any reaction and he continues as I do and considering theres nobody here to reach out around so I just continue with The Figure, as I walk with them I keep noticing that nothing is right the city usually reeks with some type of stench but there is no smell its just absence of it and its just too quiet the city is just silent not even any kind of wind is blowing, none of this makes any type of sense.
With thoughts weighing down of this I hear a tapping of metal on gravel, its The Figure tapping some building with the shovel and pointing in a different direction, its a hospital their pointing at a hospital and he starts to walk towards walking through the street to get it I’m hesitant to follow them through the street, maybe its muscle memory grown maybe common sense I couldn’t tell you, but I eventually just keep going with them.

We make it to a hospital and like the outside its just as empty as the rest of the city, nobody at the counter nobody in seats waiting to be called and theres no cool air you’d feel if you would walk in its neither warm or cold its just something else maybe its unease, I get snapped out of my thoughts from a buzz on the other side of the room, an elevator, they called an elevator and are signaling me to get in, I walk in the elevator with them and they click a button labled -3, it starts moving and it feels like time its taking is streching out by being in here
“Can I ask, what even are you, what is any of this?” I blurt out, The Figure looking at me face with nothing and they just shrug, how can they not know their the one taking me from some alleyway after god knows what happens to show me the same city with nothing and nobody, and he just doesn’t know
“How do you not know?” I ask them out of persistence, some want for some type of answer and the most I get was them giving a pat on the shoulder their hand was icy cold to the touch a chill running down from my shoulder to my arm a ding of the elevator and a sudden stop, I step out the elevator with the The Figure still unsure of where their taking me while walking the sign labeled ‘Morgue’had caught my eye and I started to walk more slow with more and more questions stacking up in my head.

We enter through double doors, the sight of cabinet sized locker doors on spaces of the walls with frost crawling out of them, The Figure sets down the shovel next to the double doors we came through and walk over to the lockers, opening it up, and pulling the tray out slightly,
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask to them voice rasing a bit hesitant to walk over to them but still going towards them walking slowly to them, the closer I get to the freezers I expect to feel more cold but still no type of sensation, when I finally get to what ever body they pulled out they had turned the toe tag on the corpse towards me, its my name, what is this, what is any of this why is any of this happening, I feel more and more panicked by seeing what I’m seeing unable to move a muscle and feeling locked in place The Figure reaching a hand out with my only reaction just pulling back away from them, from whats apparently my body rapidly breathing in and out, in and out, in and out, in and out, unable to properly get a grasp on anything thats happening, the only thing I can only hear is the sound of the sound of the locker closing and locking, metal rubbing and clattering against each other being the only thing I could hear outside of ringing in my ears along with footsteps walking away followed by what sounded like metal rubbing against the wall and then footsteps walking forward and something falling and then complete black and silence.

After what felt like a good hour and feeling pulled across the floor in complete black until I feel like I’m able to open my eyes again seeing that I’ve apparently been brought to what looks like a funeral home, empty chairs lined up with a coffin at the front and center, the mouth of it locked shut, with sounds of sobbing being heard around but nobody here and The Figure sitting beside me,
“Theres nobody here, why is there sobbing, how are we already at a funeral home?” I ask them outright, The Figure going to sit upright, getting the shovel and tapping it on their head with their head limping back with a finger pointing at me, I can only give a more confused look at what their trying to say and deciding to get up and walk towards the casket getting a more and more sinking feeling as I get closer to it, footsteps being heard behind me, up until I’m standing up to it tempted to open it reaching out a hand to see why its closed in the first place up until The Figure grabs my arm halfway to opening the casket, stopping me to figure why it has to be closed in first place,
“Why can’t I see what happened to my own corpse, why bring me here if not giving me at least that much closure?” I ask The Figure out of some desperation, with their head shaking being the response I get along with hand on my back leading to the back where exit doors are while I at least try to resist but eventually just follow the lead of where their trying to lead only for the two doors leading out to an elevator, which doesn’t make much sense for a funeral home and much less for a wake, but at this point nothing that makes sense just does.

As we go into the elevator The Figure presses the button labled ‘G’ with the elevator taking its time to go downward, after a good few minute ride until The Figure starts reaching into the overcoat until it grabs what looks like photos and reaches them out to me unsure of what to expect I take them and the pictures are of friends and family, whether from holidays, to graduations, to marriage ceremonies all of them where they looked so happy and all of them are times that I know never happened
“What is this, what are you trying to say with any of this?” I ask them, not sure of why seeing as any answer is likely to be vague, he points their shovel near the top of the elevator behind us, pointing to a clock that looked like it had stopped working a long time ago the shovel tapping at the glass and moving the shovel clockwise across it
“Then how did you…” I begin to say before a ding of the elevator interrupts my train of thought the doors opening up to a field with grave stones not very far from the elevator doors The Figure stepping out first, their shovel over their shoulder and as I walk out with them I could feel cold air around my skin, which is odd considering everything, and its moist just standing around with the smell of mildew crawling up my nose, and as I’m walking with The Figure I look at the gravestones to see names of many people, and birth and death dates ranging from yesterday to years of B.C and then the sound of digging dirt being shoveled, I look and see The Figure got ahead of me, I’m able to reach them to see them facing an open grave soil not yet buried, the tombstone the holes infront of, my name, my birthday, and the day I died
“Is this what I think it is?” I ask The Figure, somewhat knowing my answer with a nod from them only confirming whats meant to be a grave for me, I step back hesitent for whats meant to be my fate The Figure shoving their shovel into the ground and stepping by my side putting a hand on my shoulder, reaching to get the pictures in my hand once more showing the people I’ve known in places and times that I know haven’t happened
“Their lives will go on without me?” I ask them already knowing what the answer is another nod from The Figure gaining some solace in that, with that I step toward the grave starting to step down into the grave, The Figure standing over my grave pulling the shovel from the ground.
“I’m not gonna see you again am I?” I ask them, hoping for an answer that isn’t what I know is likely with only a shake of their head snuffing that hope, starting to lay down in the grave The Figure piercing the dirt and tossing it in the grave the dirt wet and cold with senses going numb and everything going dark.