I walked across a land of dust and ash. The suns and moons danced above me, but the earth remained unchanged by their waltz in the sky. This world is not a world I want, but it's a world I create. Every moment my parts move I cause destruction. My breath is so thick it covers the sky. My oxidizing body falls into the ground, poisoning it. My existence is a curse and my companion is death. Death walks alongside me and we discuss the fate of the living. I am immune to death's touch, but it's the touch I've craved the most. Death tells me that I am fortunate, but I did not believe her. As I walk I become envious of the world around me. Death touches everything around me, but says that she cannot touch me, for to die I must live and I am not living. Death tells me I have no soul. I did not understand what a soul was. I asked her and she said she could not tell me. So many things I did not understand. I just walked. That was all I ever did. If I was not living, perhaps if I saw something living, I could then understand it. But I never did see life. All I saw was Death and she tried to be kind. As the suns danced across the sky once more, I continued to walk, until I stopped. I never stopped. I looked down. It was something so bizarre I was compelled to pick it up. What was it? I looked at Death and she looked at it contently. Whatever it was, it made her happy. Death was never happy, but she told me that I made her happy, because she could not touch me. I asked her what it was. Death said she could not tell me, but she could not touch it. Whatever this was, it was like me. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. "I-SEE-YOU" I said. Death had a tear in her eye. I understood what I was looking at and Death told me. "I cannot touch it, until it ends. Your existence is a curse because I am your companion, but I must not accompany you anymore." "I-MUST-BE-DYING" I said. These words made me sad. "No. I cannot touch you. You cannot die. You cannot live. You can only stop. What you hold in your hand is life. Life creates life, but you created me." "I-CAN-CREATE-LIFE" I said. "No, you cannot. You can only destroy. It is because of me that you do this, so I am leaving. I will rejoice in the fact that I cannot touch you and so must you. What you hold in your hand envies you." Death stayed for a little longer before finally leaving. The world was different around me now.  I could not move, but everything else did. The object in my hand had grown, holding my arm and twining down to create the new world around me. I still did not understand. Death visits sometimes, but she does not even see me. She touches the green columns around me, but she cannot touch me. The growth increases and objects of movement begin appearing. According to the movement around me, I am a protector; an Intensive Care Unit. I will never understand.