(urth) Like a good Neighbor

[António Pedro Marques]

Gerry Quinn wrote:
> ***********************************************************
> Sunlight warmed me. I kept my eyes closed, knowing that it would be painful
> to look at the sun. It vanished, and I opened them to see what had become of
> it, and saw Babbie’s familiar, hairy mask peering at me over the edge of the
> pit. I closed them again, and the next time I opened them he had gone.
>
> I think it was not long afterward that I came to myself. I sat up, cold,
> full of pain, and terribly thirsty. It was as if my spirit had gone and left
> my body unoccupied as it did on Green; but in this case it had returned, and
> my memories (such as they were) were those of the body and not those of the
> spirit. It was day again, perhaps mid afternoon. I was sitting among earth
> and fallen leaves in a pit about twelve cubits deep.
> ***********************************************************

Not to play the devil's advocate, but 'I closed them again, and the next 
time I opened them he had gone.' followed by a paragrapsh break, followed by 
'I think it was not long afterward that I came to myself.' can not 
unreasonably be interpreted as his dying, or getting to the brink of, under 
Babbie's gaze, Babbie leaving convinced he was dead, and his coming back to 
life (or his body being reanimated by a Neighbour spirit, but I don't like 
hat) slowly a bit later. Long loss of conscience which seems like a short 
while when waking is quite normal.