In the Middle of Nowhere
By Erin Ryan
The tour group wound to an uncertain halt and examined the area's new surroundings.
"Looks like we're in the middle of nowhere," said the guide, with troubled glances.
"I'd agree with you there." The group leader gave a chuckle. "Nothing here but earth and sky."
"There isn't a sky."
"Well," admitted the group leader. "You're right about that, too." He made a closer study of the emptiness. "Looks like a total void up there."
"I don't think you'd call this 'earth,' either," the guide persisted. He tried to pick up a handful of the vague substance below them, but it was too insubstantial.
"See?" he said. "It's all just sort of nothing."
"Whatever you say." The group leader betrayed no vested interest in the situation. "You're the guide."
For a while they stood listlessly, enduring a dearth of questions from the tour group. No one seemed to want to know more about the new attraction.
"Hey," piped the guide at last, squinting around. "Weren't we with a group?"
The leader did not seem bothered about this. "Easy to get lost in the middle of nowhere," he pointed out. "I'll go see where they got to."
He turned, took a few steps, and disappeared into the blank horizon.
"Didn't even notice they were gone," the guide remarked. After waiting for an indeterminate time, he, too, wandered aimlessly out of the picture.
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