My leisurely stroll on a nice, brisk evening began as I exited the confines of my apartment and put one foot in front of the other repeatedly, resulting in travel. No destination, just some walking. From the outset, I had many thoughts, none of which I remember in any detail. Most were likely about me and my life and me. And me. No pondering of current events or philosophy or whatever well-rounded individuals ponder. All me -- What am I doing with my life? I like burritos and want one now! Why don’t I have more money? How has happiness eluded me? Is contentment a myth? Should I just be glad I’m getting by and not starving? Cheese is awesome. -- those sorts of things. After an unmeasured bit of time had passed, I felt like I should turn around, not wanting to go too far and end up in the “bad” part of town, which I’ve oft been told is in the opposite direction of the “good” part of town. Wasn’t completely sure which way I’d headed at the start… Just in case, I figured turning around and going the way I’d come was in order. It was getting chilly and kind of late. Time to get back home.

After a while, I finally looked around, as I tend to stare down as I walk. This might be due to my kind of tall height and resulting bad posture in frequent attempts to see and hear others of “normal” size when in conversation and the like. Looking up, I discovered to my dismay that nothing and everything was familiar. Lots of cars parked on the street, lots of apartments and houses, a starless sky, some very dim street lamps. I could’ve been anywhere. Only mildly fazed, as this is a familiar feeling for me when venturing anywhere other than work, I continued walking.

This went on for what I can only guesstimate was more than five minutes but less than eight hours, as it was still dark. Unless I’d actually been so wrapped up in my head that I’d not noticed daytime come and go. Panic almost set in until I decided it’d behoove me to just maintain (maintain!) and maybe turn around again. Cross a street or something. The apartment complexes and houses all pretty much looked the same as they had last time I looked up, my apartment still not in sight. But I saw a street sign that seemed familiar. Did I drive past that on the way to and fro work every weekday? I theorized that if I went toward it, at some point there’d be a street sign for the street on which my apartment existed.

My eyes instinctively falling to the sidewalk again, I reconsidered and looked back up, thinking I should maybe pay more attention to my surroundings. If I were ever to make it to my apartment again, I’d have to keep my wit about me. (Not a typo. “Wit” singular.)

Soon, at least I think it was “soon,” as time had begun to have no meaning, I began wondering if I’d even ever had an apartment. The very concept of an “apartment,” let alone one in which I lived, seemed to me suddenly unlikely or at the very least a bit far fetched. I noticed that my slouching had gotten worse already and that I was no longer paying attention to where I was going again. Increasingly fatigued from all the wandering, I considered simply lying down on the inviting sidewalk and just going to sleep. Perhaps when I awoke it’d be daylight, and things would make more sense. I don’t remember actually deciding to do this, as it was a crazy thought, but apparently I did it regardless. Too much physical activity had completely drained me.

While I have no idea how long I slumbered, it was long enough to have this creepy dream where it rained a single stream of warm, salty, yellow water all over me. In my dream, after the brief rain, my shoes jumped off my feet and kicked me a couple of times. It was weird. Usually I don’t remember my dreams at all.

Suddenly, instead of my familiar alarm, I heard my roommate saying my name. He sounded worried and confused. When I opened my eyes and stood, only in my socks and stinking of piss with a pain in my side, ready to demand what he was doing in my room while I slept (not cool), I remembered the quick walk I’d decided to take the night previous. Looking around, I saw we weren’t in my room at all. We were in front of our apartment building, I glistening in crisp morning dew, he starting his day and noticing me passed out, piss covered, and shoeless on the sidewalk as he walked to his car.

After all the wandering, I’d no idea how I had gotten there. Like most places I end up.