by Austin Alexis
People ambling around–without heads. Sluggish, as if bathed in slow motion. But far from still. Not mummies, not zombies, not monsters of any kind. I observe them from a distance; they fail to see me. Or, being aware of me, they ignore me. Certainly, they have no wish to harm me. Therefore, no conflict exists. The stakes can’t be raised because there are no stakes. I am not in danger; they have no agenda. Maybe this is my vision of an afterlife: people without egos, at rest…but conscious. Wants are invisible to them. They step beyond striving.