4098 YEARS

THE PROLOGUE

"You'll be born on your 4098th birthday", a dark humanoid figure appeared in front of my blurry vision.

And, what was he saying? I'll be born on my 4000- something birthday? That really doesn't make much sense.

"I really don't know what will become of you or this world but...for now," saying this he placed a hand on my hand and I began to fall...fall deeper and deeper into a void of darkness. I can feel it- my proximity to the 'unknown'. I am entering their realm, I can sense it.

PART-1

Hello, I am Kurtana Mihir- an handsome, rich, multitalented, topper and a committed guy. Well, the hot girl currently clinging to my arm- Matsuoka Maki- is the one whom I've given my 'heart' to. Also, she may be my girlfriend but is happily cheating on me with my 'best friend'. Well, I've known this for months but didn't care to take any action, just because. I am letting her do what she wants as I couldn't care less. She's a bitch, a fine one.

"Hey, Maki-chan, wanna come over today?", I asked her, as we 'lovebirds', often stay overnight at each other's homes. We never had sex, though we have kissed.

"Umm, I might wanna disagree this time, Mihi-kun~ I've already made plans with the other girls tonight..., so I'm reaally sorry!", she answered in her usual fake 'trying to be cute' accent.

As I thought, she is probably gonna join the gōkon or what they call a group mixer. It is often organized between students of various prestigious schools and rich academies. I've never attended one but rumours are that sometimes they go all the way.

"Ah, looks like we have reached your home, Mihi-kun".

I turned my attention towards the broody mansion, 'The Palace with Wheels', as it was called. It was humongous with large and beautiful gardens surrounding it and a large decorated pathway leading towards the main house.

"See you on Monday, Maki-chan", saying this I entered the gate and started walking. For a moment, I stopped and looked back at her, considering this would be the last time I'd see her.

PART-2

I put my bag on the bed and went for a quick shower. As I proceeded to shampoo my hair, my fingers ran across that spot, as usual. It reminds me of that day when everything started to change for me- that day when I listened to him.

I remember that day quite well. I was around 9 at that time when on that snowy night, I shot him- my own father. The events leading upto this climax are another day's story as it is the climax which is the most appealing. I recall how he turned around and glared at me with those demonic eyes as he would really devour me and how he violently smashed the whisky bottle on my head as I dropped unconscious.

The very next thing I remember was me crying like a total maniac lying on the hospital sleeper. The pain I had experienced that day was totally unlike my previous experiences. I almost felt like my skull was ripped open and insects were eating my brain. Well, I did have a cranial fracture then.

The doctor put me on anaesthesia and I initially went to sleep. When I later woke up, for a moment I couldn't see anything. Yes, my surroundings were blinded by them- my 'Birthday Beasts'; as I called them. They are something, which I can't really explain, to be honest. Let me explain a bit more.

Apparently, the birthday beasts started appearing on my birthday, every year ever since I was born. I can confirm this because I often heard from my servants about me crying a lot due to no reason on my birthdays as an infant. I consciously started noticing them since my 3rd birthday, I think. At first, I only saw strange black masses with white eyes revolving around me the whole day. I can't really remember so specifically but I at least recall I, just like any average child, started crying and told this to my then-alive mother. She immediately consulted medical assistance concerned about my mental health. The doctors checked me but couldn't really find anything irregular with my brain activity and told my mother that I was 'extremely hallucinating'. They gave me some medication for the same. That day, I literally spent the majority of the day sleeping on my mother's bed as the usual birthday party was cancelled. Nevertheless, I could still sense their presence.

The next year was the same but this time I reacted lesser than before because I had kind of anticipated this before. Though I don't remember much about that day, I recall that their appearance had changed a bit than before. They now seemed to have hands and legs but still were like a black mass. I didn't want any trouble like before so I kept quiet about it. The following year my mother died and I stopped socializing after that. I became a shut-in. As I grew older, I started to notice changes in them. Their figure was appearing more and more like humans, year by year and their numbers decreasing. On my 8th birthday, an exact replica of me appeared in front of me. I was a bit nervous at first but just as always, it stayed at a corner in my room doing nothing. I had now grown accustomed to them or so I thought until I woke up that day in the hospital.

PART-3

I slowly opened my eyes to find my whole line of sight covered by 'them'. I immediately got up, but they suddenly disappeared into thin air. As the area around me cleared, I noticed something very peculiar. The whole room was covered by mist. I got up from bed and got in a frantic search of the door. I somehow made my way to the door and opened it. I looked left. I looked right. The whole lobby was enveloped by mist.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Hello?! Is anyone there?", I cried in panic.

Crying was a good option here but that would do nothing. I have to move forward, I thought. I took a deep breath and started walking right in search of an exit. Not too long after, I noticed something a bit ahead of me. I moved a bit forward to get a closer look.

"A person?..", I muttered under my breath. To be more precise, she was a woman clad in a silverish and shabby one piece, with her back facing me. Just when I was about to take a step forward, a chill ran down my spine as she raised her hand a bit, revealing a blood- drenched knife. That stance....She was going to stab something, something on th-

"KICHHH!!'. The sound of a blade piercing the body- I know it. Before I could even process the first strike, she continually began to strike it with an insane speed. What was it? A body part or a full body? My mind went running with thoughts. I was literally frozen at that spot. I have to run. I have to run. That thought repeatedly striked my mind. After a repeated 20 strikings or so, she teared something and threw it. I recovered from my shock and just as I was about to run, she turned her head around facing me. She had no eyeballs, her whole face disfigured and her legs were like she had rickets.

"Aaa?", she let out a creepy moan opening her mouth extremely wide. I immediately started sprinting with all my strength. My whole body was covered in goosebumps as fear filled my entire body. I could clearly hear unusual but rapid footsteps charging towards me. Suddenly, I stopped feeling my torso and lower body.

"Huh?'', I called out in shock as my vision rolled down the ground. I then realised that I was decapitated. She silently came, picked my head up and began to caress my hair in a strange fashion. I wanted to scream but nothing other than thin air came out of my throat. She slowly took me to a room, placed my head on a table and went out.

Unable to process anything, I stood there blank. My brain had yet to cope up with this bizarre situation. It is strange. I was beheaded but I didn't feel any pain and why am I still conscious? What is going on?

PART-4

As my head rested upon the table, someone entered through the door. As soon as they came into sight, my eyeballs went wide. To give you a slight analogy, the creature standing in front of me was just like a rake or a skin walker but with far more creepy aura. and it appeared to drag something. As I rolled my eyeballs down, I saw my mother, unconscious. The creature stopped at a distance to me and raised her body by pulling her hair. Before I could properly react, it pierced through my mother's chest with his long hands and took her heart out. Then he began to proceed towards me. Assuming the worst, I tried to move my head here and there but to no proper avail. He came to me and tried to push the whole thing into my mouth. I began to protest and mentally cry but it forcefully made me eat it somehow. Since my food pipe or rather my whole lower body was gone, I shouldn't be able to swallow it but it did went 'somewhere' down my throat, giving me the feeling of swallowing. My mental condition was unexplainable by now. He then again went towards the body, teared another part of her body and fed it to me. I just stood there, helpless, watching my mother's body being destroyed. I just watched as he cut down her in the most ruthless way. I had stopped responding to stimuli by now. This went on for hours as he fed me every single part of her body. After everything was finished, he silently went away. As he closed the door, I immediately got knocked out. The next thing I remember was me opening my eyes to find myself on the hospital bed. I no longer could control myself. I screamed, and screamed at the top of my voice. I began to run aimlessly here and there like a pyscho. I began to bang my head on the glass window as hard as I could. The hospital staff was the one who saved me in time. They gave me an injection and made me unconscious. I later woke up in a desperate state but this time, I was a bit more stable as I came to process the reality. I realised it was all fake but something was still troubling me inside. It was the realism in the incident. I still remembered the taste of flesh, whether fake or real. I just couldn't control anymore. I was thoroughly mentally disturbed by now. After sometime I heard from one of my servants that my father had disappeared somewhere after that night. That was the best piece of news I had heard in my entire life. With some psychiatric counselling and medication, my condition started to grow better. I was really scared of my birthday this year, but to my greatest surprise, no one appeared. I slowly returned to my home after some months. Even then, I spent most of my time in my room, just drawing or learning swimming. I completely wanted to wipe off my previous memories at any cost. Thus, six months passed and one day out of no notice, my father returned. and he didn't come alone. He had brought a woman- a replacement of my mother, my step-mother. When I heard this, a strange sinking feeling filled my heart. He locked contact with me for the first time and in his usual tone said," I believe you have changed, even if a bit, Mihir. I count on you to take care of your mother here." Saying this, he walked of, leaving me and her alone. I was taken aback by it a bit. I have shot this man and that's all he's going to say to me?

"Nice to m-meet you", I somehow bowed my head. Saying nothing, she too walked off. I, too, silently walked to my room. I had then realised something. I realised that how I now could never escape my current way of living. It would be the same thing over and again. The same thing as before. What do I do now? Ending my life seemed to be the perfect option but I didn't really consider it. I decided something else. I decided to explore this little cage of mine and accept my current situation. I decided to be the 'perfect guy' in this small aristocratic world here and find something worthy. That was my goal. I was simultaneously ready to face anything like my birthday beasts as earlier. I didn't want to back down at any cost. Thus, began my grind which brought me here, 7 years later to my present condition.

PART-5

As I explained earlier, my history and my goal, now that I'm almost 16 and have climbed up the hierarchical order in the student's society, I can now call myself the perfect aristocrat. In these seven years, I've never once encountered any being or supernatural phenomenon like earlier. Those have all become childhood memories now. But one thing I am yet to find is the worthiness or benefit of living this life. Once you get to the top, it's the same over and over again. In all these years of my fake pursuit of happiness, I couldn't find a single thing which made me 'feel' something. I have always wondered how other kids of my age living the same life find their lives enjoyable? Is it some parental problem or my personal mental problems? This irritates me. What is that everyone in this society is seeing that I can't see? Why am I so twisted? WHY? Why can't I adjust to the environment in which I was born? Am I mentally unwell? I am...maybe. I haven't cried in the last 8 years. I can't cry now. I have forgotten to cry now. I neither feel love or hate. I...want to die now, but I'm afraid to kill myself. No worries, I can get myself murdered though. Easily, well enough. Tomorrow, everything will end. I will finally be free. I'm tired...tired of myself.

"Knock, Knock".

"Yes".

"Your father has called you, Mihir-sama".

"Ah, yes. I'm coming."

I finished changing my clothes and descended downstairs. He was waiting for me in the living room.

"You called, father?", I asked him politely.

"Yes. I have something to offer you."

"Something for me?".

"Yes. Since you are already this grown up, I wanted to appoint a personal maid for you, how about that?''.

"That would be very kind of you, father".

"Fine, then. She is waiting outside the gate. Fetch her and assign her a room. She is all yours from now."

Wait.. She is already here?

"I-"

"And yes, I'm going to Kyoto today midnight for a 4-day business trip and your mother is coming back the same day in the morning, so be ready and don't forget about the photoshoot and the T.V. programme shoot".

"I understand..".

To Be Continued.......