Perspective and perception are everything.

Two people could look at someone and see entirely different people.

Who they saw would also differ from how the person being observed saw themselves.

I looked at my reflection in a pool of mucky water at the foot of the trashcan I stood before and saw a husk of a man.

Dropped out of college to pursue the arts but that didn’t work out so I got a job as a waiter. Things didn’t work out any better afterwards and I lived day by day on the slow march towards my ultimate demise as my ambitions and hopes were crushed one at a time over the course of my life.

The world eventually turned a dull grey.

That’s how I saw myself and the world around me, a dark image made clearer by the moonless night.

A mute, grey and busy orb in a sea of silence-

“Hey, Simbi! Quit daydreaming and get back in here!” I glanced at the door next to the trashcan to find a balding middle aged man peeking his head out of the restaurant’s back door and glaring at me. He had evenly tanned skin, deep wrinkles, a round head, short stumpy body and a gold tooth.

This was my boss, Frank.

I stared at him for a bit as I stood motionlessly in the alley.

“Well? Chop-chop!” He snapped before slamming the door closed.

I eventually let out a sigh and tossed the trash bag I held into the dumpster.

I would have otherwise cursed Frank but he was more patient with me than I deserved so I took a breath and turned to return into the restaurant but just as I did, something fell from above and crashed into the trashcan.

My heart jumped along with my body as I stumbled backwards.

[Curses!] Someone spat although it sounded as though their voice was coming from inside my own head.

I looked up to search for where the thing which fell came from but my eyes quickly returned to the trashcan.

My racing heart then almost burst out of my chest as the can violently shook.

I wanted to run away and call for help but my quivering legs found no strength.

The junk from the topmost layer of the can then suddenly flew up and out and the thing that had fallen, seemingly from the sky, revealed itself to be a naked woman.

Her skin was pale but also had an opalescent look to it.

It had dull blue hue which matched her dark blue lips.

Her dark blue hair was so long it looked like it would go past her knees if she stood upright and it covered her eyes.

Her hair also draped over her slender figure and had a faint glow.

I opened my mouth to question the woman but no words could escape my fear bound throat.

[Mmm… a human.]

The woman seemingly muttered and although her mouth had moved to speak those words, I heard them as though they were coming from the space in the centre of my skull.

My eyes quaked in their sockets and my stomach filled with terror.

Who was this woman?

How was she able to paralyze me with fear?

“Oh, for fuck’s sake- Simbi, what’s taking you so long? The dishes aren’t gonna wash themselves!” Frank yelled after shoving the backdoor open again.

I blinked a few times and my eyes widened to their limits upon seeing that the woman was no longer there.

I turned to Frank, who’s frustration turned into slight concern.

“Kid, you’re bleeding!” He alerted while rushing towards me.

I felt something wet on my upper lip and within my shirt.

So I touched my lip and saw blood which had fallen from my nose, further adding to my unspoken dread.

“Are you alright? Can’t have you dying on my time so get inside!” Frank urged and I followed him back into the restaurant where we passed my two colleagues who worked the kitchen as we entered the office.

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Frank had me sit down opposite his chair and desk where he handed me some paper towels.

“Come on, say something, kid you’re starting to scare me and I ain’t scared of much.” He pleaded as I slowly wiped the blood that had fallen from my nose.

“What’s going on?”

One of my co-workers cried as she rushed into the office.

Her name was Tinashe and she was tall, athletic, had dark skin, a big afro and wore a black chef’s uniform.

“No idea! I just saw him standing outside like a zombie! I thought he was daydreaming as usual but this definitely ain’t like usual!” Frank shook his head.

My other colleague joined us in the office and he was a tall, lanky man who had pale skin, dark hair and eyes, hollow cheeks and also wore a chef’s uniform.

His name was Isaac and he joined Tina in looking me over although he was far less concerned.

“What’s this? Has the boy been possessed or something? If so we must prepare the holy salts.” Isaac scoffed while crossing his arms.

“Nows not the time for jokes. It’s probably the summer heat that fried his brain.” Frank supposed and it was his banter with the others that brought me back into the present.

I finally blinked after wiping g the last of the blood and, after taking a deep breath, I turned to Frank.

He was right.

What I had seen was probably an hallucination caused by heat and dehydration.

I just needed some water and I’d be good to go.

“I’m alright.” I finally said.

“Are you sure?” Frank raised a brow.

“Yeah.” I smiled while trying to ignore the dread that gnawed.

“Alright. If you say so but if you die on my floor, Isaac and I are gonna carry your corpse home where it’ll be discovered by someone who isn’t me.” Frank nodded to himself as I stood up.

“Why are you involving me in this?” Isaac whined in his usual monotone manner.

I held my weak smile as I left the office and the last thing I saw were Tina’s concern eyes as I closed the door.

I then made my way to the bathroom where I raised my shirt to see six gill like structures above my lower ribs. Three on each side.

I touched them and although they were oozing blood, I felt no pain.

I slipped a single finger into one of them and saw that they were only a fingernail deep.

No.

This was far too much for me.

Only so much could happen in a single day of  otherwise uneventful life and so, after taking another deep breath, I wiped away the blood and returned to work although I couldn’t help but notice Tina’s gaze.

That was very much a part of her nature.

Ever the worrywart.

Even for the likes of Isaac.

It was a miracle her hair wasn’t all grey.

Our shifts eventually ended and we closed the restaurant.

“Are you sure you’re alright, kid?” Frank asked as he got into his car.

Tina and Isaac both used the bus to get home and I lived only a few blocks away so I usually walked.

“Yeah, I’m good.” I nodded but this just made Frank shake his head.

“Alright but if you don’t come to work tomorrow we’ll just assume the worst!” Franked yelled as if it was the last time he’d see me before driving off and I couldn’t help but genuinely smile at this.

He spoke as if he really cared and I guess he did, to some extent.

The one who didn’t, was me.

I sighed as I turned towards the street that led home and the silence of night quickly proved to be the last thing I wanted.

The streets were empty and the air was still leaving me wit nothing but my thoughts.

Thoughts which were filled with her sight and her voice.

I reasoned that I was losing my mind.

That, at some point on this night, something had broken in my brain and my ability to differentiate reality from fantasy had malfunctioned.

My hope was that it would be short term.

I could handle a few strange visual and auditory hallucinations but I didn’t think I could live a long life with them.

Chances were, if my mental state continued to deteriorate, I would just kill myself.

Wouldn’t want to burden anyone with having to deal with a fucked up loser.

Heck- even I didn’t wanna deal with me.

I eventually got home to my small apartment which I could barely afford and promptly stepped into the shower where I washed the dried blood from my chest.

The gills were still there but I accepted their existence as part of this particular episode.

I eventually crawled into bed and tried distracting myself by playing my favourite games and watching my favourite shows but I couldn’t focus on anything.

I would just start a game, stare at my small screen for a couple of minutes and then quit before trying another.

Same thing happened with anything I tried to watch.

It was all a fuzzy blur.

The only thing that was clear I my mind was…

I bit my teeth and turned off the screen.

Maybe an early night’s rest would help.

I had work the next day and maybe I’d be more productive if I didn’t sleep one or two hours past midnight.

And so I closed my eyes.

.

..

A chill breeze awoke me and I quickly realized that I wasn’t in my room.

I was in a garden.

A small, cubic space which seemingly floated beneath a starry night sky.

Its four Stone walls were lined with vines and moss.

At the centre of each wall was a wooden door atop which floated four different symbols which I couldn’t read.

It wasn’t that I didn’t recognize them.

I simply couldn’t see beyond the vague blue outlines of their shapes.

I turned my ever widening eyes towards the centre of the garden where a stone fountain sat.

A simple structure which had a floral column at its centre where water would otherwise spring from.

I stood up, realizing that I was naked in the process, and cautiously inched towards the fountain to find that it was indeed dry.

I didn’t know what to make of any of this.

Perhaps my encroaching madness had followed me into my dreams.

I let out a sigh before walking towards one of the doors and trying to open it but I couldn’t.

Not only did it not have a handle, it wouldn’t budge when I pushed or tried to pull it.

I turned to the symbol above it and the harder I focused on it, the more pain I felt in my head.

I decided to abandon the symbols and returned to the corner from which I awoke.

If this bizarre dream had  nothing else to offer then I was fine with just sitting until it ended.

And so that’s exactly what I did.

My eyes eventually fell and what followed was a brief blackness.

.

..

“Simbi.”

A voice called and, like that of someone I had known for my whole life, I recognized it immediately.

I opened my eyes to find that woman straddling me only something was off.

Something that made me question the nature of this particular hallucination.

She felt more… present.

Even in the dark, I could see that her skin was far less blue and I could feel the weight of her unclothed body as it pressed down on me.

What I still couldn’t see were her eyes.

“Who are you?” I asked, content with the fact that I was speaking with a figment of my imagination.

“My name… is Aun-“

By merely uttering her own name, she shoved me back into unconsciousness.