Stolen Time

So one night… in the 90’s. I was downstairs. It was around 11:20 PM. I was waiting for Saturday Night Live to come on.

I was alone. I laid down on the ground next to the fire place on one elbow, partially watching TV. The local sports news came on. I had a quickened ear to what’s happening upstairs , to make sure Mom and Dad wouldn’t bust me for smoking. I lit up the cigarette and took a drag… The smoke predictably escaped into the fire place. Thats what we did back then, instead of going outside. All the smoke would go into the stove.

I was staring at the TV. INSTANTLY the TV was playing the national anthem with the flag waving. It then went to black and white fuzz. Old TV static.

I had missed the entire SNL episode. Back then the TV used to sign off and go to static.

I was still in the same position, which was weird. I was propped up on one elbow, and the fire had died down to a smolder.

The cigarette had a long ash, and had burnt down through the filter and burnt my fucking fingers.

HOW? I was very confused. My instant reaction was that I was pissed that I had fallen asleep and missed SNL.

But how can you fall asleep propped up on one elbow, miss hours of time instantly, and have a cigarette burn down through the filter and singe my fingers without consciousness.

Even to this day it gives me the chills. It makes no sense. I wasn’t drunk or high.

I had hours instantly vanish, and a cigarette burn my fingers , without collapsing off the elbow I was propped on.

If I had fallen asleep… I would have laid down flat right?

I then started thinking maybe I had a seizure?

But that would have laid me flat or rolled me around from the original position I was in…..

It was real. It was disorienting. It was unexplainable. Still to this day…. I have nothing.