Jacob Arroyo

Period ½

Losing Sight of Day

Everything was ready to go. Albert had just finished synthesizing a vial of Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) in accordance with his plan to ingest 250 μg on a bike ride. His checklist of items consisted of a jacket, a bike, a vile of LSD, a hat, and an open mind to what events that could possibly take place.

I can’t begin to imagine what level of cognizance that LSD might bring about. Maybe I shouldn’t ride a bike… he thought to himself as he left the lab. Conflicted with possible scenarios, he began to feel anxious. His palms clammed up and his thoughts began to race. He shook himself clean of it, however, knowing that it was a very low dose and that this was merely to achieve what he believed to be the threshold of LSD’s effects. Head up high with a confident state of mind, he reached his bike and began to prepare himself for the journey ahead. He removed the vial of LSD from his jacket and proceeded to drip one drop on his tongue. Intrigued by the lack of taste or physical sensation, he jotted down a quick note in his journal that he made solely for this experiment.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” he quietly said with a soft smile as he began his bike ride. As he waited for the onset of the effects, he made small talk in his head to pass the time. Thoughts of how green the leaves on the trees are and how warm the sun feels on his face were simply thoughts spurred by anticipation. He recalled his accidental exposure to LSD while in the lab and how he felt the subtle yet distinctive change to his perception of reality. Time had passed faster than he expected, as he noticed his environment had flourished with elegance. Colors began to increase in vibrancy and complex patterns grew within the plant life around him. A sense of bliss took control of his train of thought, seeing the beauty in the smallest of things as he cruised along on his bike down the trail.

“I can’t help but feel an urge to talk to others right now. I must see what it is like to talk to another human in this state of mind,” he said as he began to slow down his pedalling to fully take in the scenery. With this initial thought, he set off to his home where he might share this sensation with his roommate. It was a long way home but he didn’t care, as he enjoyed every moment of this growing euphoria. The bike path began to straighten out, and he fell into a trance as cruising no longer required much attention. Trees began to appear on both sides of the dirt path and the sun began to reach the peak of his vision.

With an overwhelming feeling of love for the life around him, he abruptly stopped on the path to stop and observe a patch of flowers. They spoke to him, but through waves of energy. He wanted to see them as he once saw them as a young child. He approached the patch and squatted down to get a closer look. A breeze gently blew towards him, allowing for the flowers to indulge his senses.

“This sensation I once had as a child, I feel it once more. It is beautiful,” he thought to himself as he closely watched the small ecosystem of bugs and flowers interact with one another.

“I must share this with Simon! He will be astounded!” He proclaimed as he turned around and ran back to his bike.

His bike began to take on a bright shine, as every part of it illuminated an aura of industrial colors. He looked to the sky to see if there was a significant change in his perspective on reality. The clouds had a crisp and clear definition to them. He watched fractals flow through the clouds as they moved on with the wind. Each cloud grew in and out of itself; clouds encompassed his sky and refracted the light from the sun. His pupils dilated; every detail was inscribed in his mind as every moment felt like a day full of bliss. Through the edge of the cloud a rainbow glowed, with every color having extreme and distinct detail. A certain sharpness cut each cloud perfectly into the sky that created a remarkable and breathtaking painting. Hofmann had to shake himself of the hypnotic state he began to fall into and focused on getting the word to Simon.

Hofmann noticed that his fine motor skills became not-so-fine, and had to slow himself down before he fell off his bike. A seed of doubt was planted into his mind, as he watched himself fall into a rabbit hole of fear.

“What if I can’t make it to Simon?”

“Will I make it to the town?”

“What time is it?”

“Where am I?”

“What time is it?”

“Where am I?”

“It won’t stop...” he whispered to himself as his world began to warp into a bad Disney movie. This recursive thought loop entrapped Hofmann. 250 μg was more than what he expected it to be, and more than he could handle; the potency of LSD was far greater than anticipated, and he knew that the world he came from would not return anytime soon.

This bike ride turned into a long and strung out mission, as every pedal made his legs feel weak and heavy. His eyes, engulfed by the abyss of his pupils, scanned his surroundings to make sense of what reality had become. Doing his best to stay on the bike and get to town, he pushed himself to keep going at a steady pace.

“It’s been two hours and I don’t feel this ending anytime s-soon… I need to find S-Simon. He can help m-me,” he said to himself with an anxious stutter. He noticed that he was feeling a weight pull down on his shoulders, his eyes began to grow heavy and his legs were becoming unresponsive. He saw what was going on and snapped himself out of the numbing trance.

He had to keep himself going, “The town can’t be very far. I’ve been riding my bike for long enough,” he thought to himself as despair began to overwhelm him. This trip went from a blissful bike ride into a journey of anxious worries and doubtful thoughts. Unsure of what to do, he pedalled faster as his world lost the vibrancy it once had. The sun went from a warm and brightening being of energy to a gloomy and dull star following Hofmann down the trail. Soon he was able to see the town over the horizon. This sight was the push he needed to get through his trip.

“I can see it! Simon is so close!” he exclaimed. A sigh of relief left his breath as he knew that this trip would come to an end soon once he found Simon. With the town in sight, he pedalled on and ignored the world he had endured just minutes before. His vision was no longer plagued by melancholy and was replaced with the growing light of the sun. His path was illuminated and a great wave of energy washed over him. Euphoria replaced despair and the bike ride was absolute joy from that point on. He pedalled faster than ever before with no sign of fatigue.

“Less than a kilometer away!” he proclaimed to the world. He could see the people walking and enjoying themselves on such a beautiful day. Albert slowed down as he was about to approach the streets of town. He began to ponder how he would explain such a sensation.

He winded through the streets, turning corners as fast as possible. His mind was racing with the possibilities of how to explain this wonderful feeling of bliss to someone who had never experienced it. He recognized the streets; he knew he was close. Simon was only a few hundred meters away. He slowed down more in order to keep from flying off his bike as he hit the brakes. He dropped his bike in front of the building and ran upstairs to find his roommate. Each flight of stairs was a new level of a thousand emotions and a thousand thoughts on how to communicate those emotions. He saw his room number, 12-19-4, and felt pure clarity flow into his mind, giving him the exact words to describe his journey. He shook his keys loose from his belt and hastily attempted to unlock the door. With a squeal of excitement, he flung the door open.

“SIMON! I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!”