The man continued stumbling across the silent, barren wasteland despite potential peril and the many pitfalls which the swirling vapors might obscure. He knew for certain that standing stationary bore no risks but it also held no promise of reward either. As a man of action and purpose, he had to be the one to lead himself to salvation; wherever, or whatever that might be. No sleeping trees or unkempt underbrush impeded his weary path. No night creatures cried out for companionship in the distance. The wasteland was as silent as a sealed tomb; as if no living thing occupied it's endless expanse. Occasionally his heartbeat would accelerate to double or even triple the normal rate for no apparent reason before returning back to normal after a few moments! Even with the eerie surroundings and unexplained circumstances which had befallen him, he could concede no justification for the panic attacks and heart palpitations. There was no evil spirit or wild animal of prey stalking him. Only an overwhelming sense of loneliness and abandonment filled the chill swamp-like air. Even his worst enemy would have been a welcome companion in such absolute solitude.
Despite being unencumbered by obstacles of any kind, the man felt an illogical sense of recurring claustrophobia. The smothering sensation was like being tightly encapsulated by invisible walls of imprisonment. His neck felt encircled and bound by a non-existent noose until he could only breathe in labored gasps. A searing pain in his head made it seem like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand unwilling to grant pity or mercy! Every few moments the discomfort and constricting sensations would subside temporarily but would return again with a vengeance. The man felt as if he was rapidly losing his mind by the moment. Three feet at a time he made progress into the void of vapors until the swirling fog dissipated enough to yield a limited view of his surroundings. To his temporary elation he witnessed that he was not alone after all! There were others.
Ahead in the murky distance, an endless line of wandering souls were on an unknown but apparently identical quest to find meaning in the mist. The universal laws of perspective made their synchronous trek look like birds in the familiar 'V formation' migratory pattern. 'Who was he to question the direction of their march?'; He surmised. He followed their lead while frantically waving and calling to them but was unable to garner their attention or apprehend them. To his horror, he witnessed different individuals in the mass exodus disappear occasionally in the swirling fog and never reappear again. He could only assume they were being swallowed by pits of peril or quicksand in the wasteland before him. (The same perilous 'minefield' he too would soon be traversing without aid of lantern or safety marker.) Despite the lurking danger ahead, the weary traveler unanimously elected to proceed since he desperately craved their companionship. He sought to join their mass migration into the unknown since being alone was far worse than the risks of falling into an unseen abyss.
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The nurses labored exhaustingly during the contractions to free the baby from the cramped birth canal since the umbilical chord had wrapped precariously around it's neck. In that life threatening condition, decreased blood flow could deprive vital oxygen to the child's brain; so time was of the essence. The attending delivery doctor used specialized forceps and vaginal retractors to expand and dilate the cervix wide enough to grasp the baby's head before any serious brain damage could occur. Once the child's head had cleared the expectant mother's birth canal, the shoulders, torso and legs quickly emerged unscathed. The pediatrician examined the newborn and declared it to be a healthy baby girl.
Careful though he was in his footsteps, the man's wandering soul slipped into one of the obscured 'pits' and ceased to be. ...and so the eternal transmigration of souls in the cycle of life, death and rebirth continues anew.