Faceless

I am an invisible man.

I have dreams, and hopes, and wishes, just like any other. But I am not ordinary, no; I am invisible. I can't see myself; the images I see are contorted and distorted and blurry and hoary. I awoke in a grave. I planted my own tombstone in the rich soil that would have been my bed. I awoke into a reality without reason, an existence without care. I am a blind, invisible man. I am mute, I am silent. No-one can see me, but I am there. I am the man with a bleeding heart. I am the man without a face.

I am the man without a face.

I am the blind, invisible man, but I am watching you. I can see you though I don't have eyes. I am right there. I am the wisp of smoke that you kick up when you walk. I am the wind that rustles your hair. Open your eyes, focus your sight, can't you see the invisible man? Can't you see me?

I am the fear that you feel at night, with the lights off, and the curtains closed. I am the incandescent light that shines through your window in the morning. Can you see me now? The man without a face? I'm watching you. Can you see me now? The man without a face? I'm watching you.

It is me who opens those creaking doors while you're asleep. I am the whistling in the wind. It is my breath that freezes your spine. I am the shadow that you think had moved. I am the footsteps in the quiet. I am the man without a face, without eyes. Can you see me now? I'm right beside you.

Oh, how I long to see, to breathe, to speak again! I wish I were you. No, I must be who I am, and yet I am nothing at all. I am no-one. I am fighting a war within myself. A civil war: Nightmares versus dreams. And the nightmares are winning. I do not know where I'm supposed to be. Am I supposed to go somewhere? There has to be some reason for my blindness. For my invisibility.

I was once ordinary, like you, a person, a person who could see more than just darkness. I used to go to the forest before, the trees were my refuge; I, the seeker. I can't find it anymore. Is it gone? Or am I gone?

The forest has to be there, somewhere. My memories still are, so it can't be gone, right? I remember the clearing; I used to sit there with you. In the stillness of the glade, under the pale reflection of the moonlight. Don't you remember? You said you loved me too.

Then, I was destroyed. In the forest. My forest. You were there. Don't you remember? Something made me this pallet of emptiness. Don't you remember? Come, come with me, to the forest. Help me find it. Please.

Hear me now. Look at me now. Can't you feel me? Can't you hear the whistling? Can't you see the dust from your feet? It's cold, isn't it? You can feel my icy fingertips, can't you? You can see the trees bowing down to me. My trees. I'm right behind you. Don't look around. I'm calling your name, though I'm not speaking. Can't you hear it in the wind?

Stop. Turn around. Look at me. You can see your shadow dancing, can't you? Come, follow me, I have found the forest. I can feel the leaves. I can feel the scent of the mud, so familiar. Don't you remember? Come, come to the clearing. I wish to show you something. Come, come. This is the spot we first met, remember? I was playing hide and seek and I got lost. Then, you found me. But this is not the thing I want to show you, no, no, come follow me.

Can't you hear the wind growing stronger? Can't you feel it getting colder? Can't you see the gathering dust? Can't you feel the icy fingers? Now, open your eyes, properly. Open them. Now.

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This is my home. Tell me what you see. Can't see? Better yet, I'll tell you. There are more of me. Look around, you can see, I can't. Look, there are thousands. I am not the only one. Didn't you feel it getting colder? There were more fingers holding on to you. Didn't you feel the wind getting louder? There were more calling out your name. Can you hear me now? Can you see me now? I know you can. For you have become just like me. We have played and lost. You and I have become the epitome of childhood fears. We have become the very thing we fought. You will soon know what it feels like to be me. We are ghosts.

Welcome, welcome, welcome. We are the invisible people. We cannot see, we cannot hear, we cannot speak.

We are faceless. This cadence is your disaster.