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Through the overgrown shrubs I could at last see a path leading me to somewhere that I might recognise. I carried on and made out through sleepy eyes an area of familiarity. If I was right, this section of the park would lead me to a nearby clearing where cars park and a local lodge could be found. This was where strollers would find toilets and a pleasant refreshments pantry. The desired coffee wouldn’t be far away. I managed to find myself a seat that pleasantly caught the morning sun and enjoyed one cup after another. Something had seriously drained me in the recent hours, and I required more recuperation than normal. Surprisingly the unknown events of the previous night seemed to become a chore to try to recall and I couldn’t think why. I had been doing things very out of character the past few weeks and last night couldn’t have been stranger. My usual sleep problems would make sleeping in a luxury hotel difficult and the idea of roughing it seemed absurd. All I could recall was the sudden fatigue and a series of ludicrous dreams thereafter. The dreams didn’t seem as important as my purpose for coming to the park, particularly last night. I suspected that I wasn’t alone during those hours but that was just another odd notion that I couldn’t justify. Coming around was easy. I snuggled into my warm bomber jacket sipping coffee as I watched the world go by. I might have been just another wandering drunk who spent the night in the park. As always there was never a shred of evidence the next day to support the suspicions, just vague memories of a non-addressed oddity. No conclusion had been met and no confusion was solved. I remembered feeling disappointed at this stage because something prevented me from remembering. Last night’s sunset was an effort to process and trying to recall what happened afterwards was impossible. My efforts were met with the familiar burning sensations as I tried to cross that mental boundary. I seemed to harbour another disappointing feeling, one that I’m sure was instigated by the Programmers, and that was doubt. What if nothing at all had taken place last night? What if it was just another of those weird phases, only this time you fell asleep? I knew these impressions weren’t justified but as there was nothing else, they had substance. As I left the park that morning, it was the start of a new phase in my life, a very sober and cynical one. However, the evidence from my past that suggested strange things going on seemed to keep this wavering door open. In other words there were times when I just felt agnostic. Belief would be met “if” there was supporting evidence but other than that, I would just put 48