Vortex: Part One

The air rushed past my ears, hissing softly as I plummeted in what appeared to be an endless vortex. Now and again, the hissing of the air would grow in intensity. As if, perhaps, the vortex was some feral beast, and I had haplessly wandered into its territory. If there was any other sound to be heard, I could not hear it. The sound seemed strangely tranquil, in stark comparison to the calamitous events occurring before my eyes.
Objects of all sizes and all shapes swirled about the vortex. Some objects moved slowly and steadily, as if guided by some invisible hand. Others moved with great speed, erratically dodging this way and that. Still, others seemed to slide smoothly, in no planned direction, like small balls of mercury set before a flame. At no time, however, did any of the objects ever collide. The slow objects trudged along their hidden path, while the erratic objects skipped miraculously between them, and the sliding objects danced playfully in what space remained.
No matter how hard I strained my eyes, no matter how hard I tried to follow, I could not make out the myriad of orbiting objects. Here and there, an object would begin to come into focus, only to dash out of view or become obscured by some other passing objects. None of the objects were near to me. Neither they, nor I seemed to affect one another. I simply fell continuously down the endless funnel, devoid of any real interaction. At times, the vortex would begin to constrict, hinting at some possible end, only to widen yet again.
I extended my arms, trying to change my trajectory. I reached, trying to pull myself into view of the other flying objects. It was useless. No matter how much I flailed and kicked, I always seemed to stay in my same relative location within the vortex.
After a time, I began to feel that I was blind. I could see the objects before me, but they had no true shape, no true meaning. It was if I was a child again, watching the strange swirling shapes hidden beneath my eyelids. I closed my eyes. Trace objects seemed to wander about, even behind my eyelids. Some minutes passed, and the memory of the foreign objects began to fade. Finally, I saw only darkness.
I breathed deeply. The air seemed unordinarily clean and fresh. It was at this moment, that I began to feel inconsolably tired. Soon, I was drawn into the sweet reassuring embrace of my dreams.

***

“Hallo!” Came a voice.

My eyes flew open. Above me, the endless vortex still swirled. I squinted, confused as to what might be occurring.

“Hello,” came a rich voice, once again.

I pressed my palms down, surprised, to find them actually connect with something. Rolling on to my side, I saw that I was lying on what appeared to be a large, flat boulder. My eyes followed the smooth stony surface, finally falling upon two stick-thin legs. I gaped, as my eyes followed the legs up to the fat body of what must have been a meter and a half tall beetle. The beetled twisted his head from side to side, an act accentuated by the bobbing of his two antennae.

“Are you feeling alright?” The beetle asked.