He lay there, observing.
The music was soft. He was peering through the partly opened door. It was a ballroom, dimly lit, with two figures dancing. He remembered the time, when very young, watching his parents dancing in the ballroom championships. They received some sort of prize; he doesn’t know what. People were clapping and they were taking a bow. They looked so happy. This was not there. This was not then. This was different. The dancers made no sound, they were barely touching the floor as they swept around the room. It seemed as though, while embraced and swirling in a faltering dance, neither was leading. As he looked on he realised that each was in a determined struggle to take the lead.
He pushed the door open further, it made a squeak. The music and the dancing stopped and the figures turned to look at him. Their faces revealed their identities; life and death. His eyes closed, shutting out the scene.
Other sounds came; beeps and drones, things clattering. Then, gentle voices. “That was close… Stabilising now… I’ll let you close… Thank you all.”
Life had taken the lead.