Beep... Beep... BEEP... BEEP!
Felix awoke to the sound of his phone, buzzing frantically to wake him. "What the hell was that", Felix asked himself, obviously questioning the phantasmagoric severity of his dream and what it meant. In his sleepy stupor, he began to feel around for the device that emitted the annoying resonance.
Try as he might, he could not locate the phantom-like beeping with his hand alone. Annoyed at this, Felix huffed and climbed out of bed to perform a more thorough search for his phone. Felix searched and searched, but he still couldn't find his phone and the sound of beeps and chirps were long gone now. Felix's fruitless search became more apparent to him as minutes passed, so he decided to search the fridge for sustenance instead and continue the pursuit for his phone later.
On the way to the fridge, Felix stopped mid-step as the repetition of his actions washed over his consciousness like a tidal-wave of realization. Suddenly he remembered everything, but with the recovery of memories also came the emotions, the denizens which resided dormant in his soul were now oozing to the surface as though he had reopened an old wound. Although these feelings came back, his vision did not fade, but Felix wished it had. He did not want to live through this again nor did he feel that his fortitude could withstand another attack on his sanity.
Now drained, Felix entered his bedroom, for what would be the last time. He noticed a bunched up coil of rope lying in the corner of his room and he went to it. As he picked up the rope he ran the length of it through his hands. Feeling the rough texture run along his skin, Felix thought it somehow paralleled his own life in some twisted representation of irony. The springs gave way to his feet as he stood on the bed, twisting and folding the rope around his ceiling fan, preparing a noose for his final seconds.
“It’s ready…”, Felix whispered to himself.
The finality of his decision was very apparent to Felix when he felt the spindly hairs of the rope tickling the base of his neck. “I don’t think I want to do this anymore…”, Felix said, but as he began pulling the noose off he miss-stepped…
Mournful regret liquefied in Felix’s eyes and rippled down the mounds of his cheeks as the rope pulled taut. The Strange Man had won. He had finally beaten the quaint young man, in his contorted game of manipulation. The entire room swayed and darkness began creeping in from the corners. Then just as Felix was closing his eyes, he thought he heard the jingling of keys far off in the distance.
Upon opening his eyes, blurred orbs of light swam throughout his field of view. The lights danced and morphed into a quartette of colors, until they formed the symmetry of a face. The lights radiated behind the face, as though he was gazing upon an eloquent being of divinity.
The beautiful being called to him, “Felix… Felix, are you okay”? The being slowly came into focus, it was Marzia and she was leaning over him, staring at him with genuine concern. Once she saw that Felix was fine, she smiled. Then she cocked an arm back and slapped him across the face, leaving a throbbing handprint painted on his cheek.
“OUCH”, Felix cried, “What did you do that for”?
“I thought you were dead. I’ve been calling you for several days and you never answered. Then I came in and you were lying on the floor with a rope around your neck. Did you try to hang yourself? What were you doing”?
Felix sat up and looked at the carpet, appearing to study the individual threads for an answer to Marzia’s questions. However, his action was simply an attempt for his mind to escape the full gravity of the situation he was in, even if for only a moment. Although this attempt had little effect, as he could feel Marzia’s concentration on him, penetrating his every desire to flee reality and he immediately broke into tears. Marzia wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head in her lap.
“Felix, no matter what, nothing is important enough or bad enough to end your life over. Just talk to me. If you ever feel this way again, please tell me! I love you.”
“O-okay, I’m sorry. Thank you, Marzia. I love you too”
-And just like that, the evil Strange Man was defeated, vanishing as quickly as he had appeared – while Felix and Marzia lived out their days together, never to be bothered by him again.
However, little did Felix know, that Marzia was actually Bruce Willis the whole time…
THE END
Felix awoke to the sound of his phone, buzzing frantically to wake him. "What the hell was that", Felix asked himself, obviously questioning the phantasmagoric severity of his dream and what it meant. In his sleepy stupor, he began to feel around for the device that emitted the annoying resonance.
Try as he might, he could not locate the phantom-like beeping with his hand alone. Annoyed at this, Felix huffed and climbed out of bed to perform a more thorough search for his phone. Felix searched and searched, but he still couldn't find his phone and the sound of beeps and chirps were long gone now. Felix's fruitless search became more apparent to him as minutes passed, so he decided to search the fridge for sustenance instead and continue the pursuit for his phone later.
On the way to the fridge, Felix stopped mid-step as the repetition of his actions washed over his consciousness like a tidal-wave of realization. Suddenly he remembered everything, but with the recovery of memories also came the emotions, the denizens which resided dormant in his soul were now oozing to the surface as though he had reopened an old wound. Although these feelings came back, his vision did not fade, but Felix wished it had. He did not want to live through this again nor did he feel that his fortitude could withstand another attack on his sanity.
Now drained, Felix entered his bedroom, for what would be the last time. He noticed a bunched up coil of rope lying in the corner of his room and he went to it. As he picked up the rope he ran the length of it through his hands. Feeling the rough texture run along his skin, Felix thought it somehow paralleled his own life in some twisted representation of irony. The springs gave way to his feet as he stood on the bed, twisting and folding the rope around his ceiling fan, preparing a noose for his final seconds.
“It’s ready…”, Felix whispered to himself.
The finality of his decision was very apparent to Felix when he felt the spindly hairs of the rope tickling the base of his neck. “I don’t think I want to do this anymore…”, Felix said, but as he began pulling the noose off he miss-stepped…
Mournful regret liquefied in Felix’s eyes and rippled down the mounds of his cheeks as the rope pulled taut. The Strange Man had won. He had finally beaten the quaint young man, in his contorted game of manipulation. The entire room swayed and darkness began creeping in from the corners. Then just as Felix was closing his eyes, he thought he heard the jingling of keys far off in the distance.
Upon opening his eyes, blurred orbs of light swam throughout his field of view. The lights danced and morphed into a quartette of colors, until they formed the symmetry of a face. The lights radiated behind the face, as though he was gazing upon an eloquent being of divinity.
The beautiful being called to him, “Felix… Felix, are you okay”? The being slowly came into focus, it was Marzia and she was leaning over him, staring at him with genuine concern. Once she saw that Felix was fine, she smiled. Then she cocked an arm back and slapped him across the face, leaving a throbbing handprint painted on his cheek.
“OUCH”, Felix cried, “What did you do that for”?
“I thought you were dead. I’ve been calling you for several days and you never answered. Then I came in and you were lying on the floor with a rope around your neck. Did you try to hang yourself? What were you doing”?
Felix sat up and looked at the carpet, appearing to study the individual threads for an answer to Marzia’s questions. However, his action was simply an attempt for his mind to escape the full gravity of the situation he was in, even if for only a moment. Although this attempt had little effect, as he could feel Marzia’s concentration on him, penetrating his every desire to flee reality and he immediately broke into tears. Marzia wrapped her arms around him, cradling his head in her lap.
“Felix, no matter what, nothing is important enough or bad enough to end your life over. Just talk to me. If you ever feel this way again, please tell me! I love you.”
“O-okay, I’m sorry. Thank you, Marzia. I love you too”
-And just like that, the evil Strange Man was defeated, vanishing as quickly as he had appeared – while Felix and Marzia lived out their days together, never to be bothered by him again.
However, little did Felix know, that Marzia was actually Bruce Willis the whole time…
THE END
