CHAPTER NUMBER 11

As each day progresses, as time goes by, as the clock ticks away, my misery grows, my strength goes away, so does joy in life. My body had become a statue, a structure hollow inside, people would see and think that’s a dead man walking.

The only thing that was making me go through the day was my frustration and anger to find the person responsible for all of this.

With that in mind I went to college to hand in my application to take a few days off and to see if I could find anything that would lead me to him/her.

When I arrived at college, almost half, more than half of the college couldn’t recognize me, my appearance which I kept had completely changed, I first went to the administration department to hand in my application, which they approved immediately just by seeing me.

I then walked to the classrooms and started observing people, especially the people who knew me. I went to those who I had spent the night with, along with Jack. They were on the top of the list of suspects as they introduced me to this abomination.

I would get called out by teachers for the way I was acting, even I sometimes thought about what I was doing, going from class to class, staring down everyone, making everyone uncomfortable, I felt like a stalker.

After a couple of hours not seeing anything strange or anyone acting suspicious other than me, I went to the library to clear my mind, as I was walking and just like last time I was being shown something against my will, it was the same vision I had like last time but it was clearer than before.

The perspective I had was that of someone standing behind the person who was sitting in the chair, I could now see things more clearly, I saw myself laying down on the couch in a state even worse than I was in at the moment, I clearly looked like a person who had gone through pure torment

It seemed like we were in a tall building, the wall were painted something like gray, greenish? and white color, there was a person who was sitting in front of me, I could only see her back from the perspective I had.

My expression showed distress, exhaustion, fatigue, agony and was visibly sleepy, very sleepy but was afraid to do so according to my expression.

I couldn’t hear anything, but it seemed like I was the only one talking and she was calmly listening to me. When I saw my expression change completely, it was as if I had made eye contact with the king of Hell himself, I saw myself getting up from the couch and started walking towards me. I walked right past me, after which I was able to move, as I was about to turn.

Badump.

I hit my head on the door of the library entrance. I was back to reality, back from that vision. I was confused by what I saw.

“What was that!? that vision, was it a scene from my future? Was it again something that was fabricated to make me more anxious? increase my suffering?”

I didn’t know what to do with the things that I just saw. I walked into the Library and sat down at a desk in the corner, contemplating what I had just seen.

I put my head down on the desk to ease my mind, when I saw something from the corner of my eyes, A book with the name, The Bridge Between Dream And Reality.

After reading the name I remembered that it was the same book Jack was talking about, I dragged the book near me, inspected it to see the author’s name. Maybe if I know where I can find him, I can ask him questions about my condition, I was inspecting the book when I saw the name of the Author on the first page of the book, The Author name was Ackj.

It was a hard name to spell and a never before heard name, I started flipping through pages to see any useful information when I reached the page from where Jack had given me a temporary solution but when I started reading I read something Jack hadn’t the part where it said.

It could be something worse which is described as real terror, I was taken back after reading this.

“What!? Why didn’t Jack tell me this? didn’t he read up until this point? with his personality it could be or did he not tell me on purpose” I went into a turmoil, I immediately called Jack to ask him about this.

Ring, ring.

Jack picks up the phone.

Jack,

“Hey, Animosity, what’s up, did something happen? how are you holding up?”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I asked him in a way which wouldn’t give away that I had the book in front of me.

“Yeah Jack, I have something that I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead!”

“So, you remember, that you told me a solution from a book.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Did it had anything else written in it”

“emm, there could be I only told you about the part I read up to, after reaching that point I thought there is no need to read more so I closed the Book, why is there something wrong?”

“hah, Thank God.”, in a quiet voice.

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing just wanted to ask you that, I will talk to you later, bye.”

Jack with confusion “Ah, alright? bye.”

Phone ends.

“That means that it was a coincidence that Jack didn’t read the rest but it is strange that whenever I reach or find out something about my situation it always ends up leading to Jack!”

The only information I got from the book was telling me to be on guard, there was no solution or any consolation which I could have got from it, I was reading the end page when I saw that the Author had written a place where people could meet him if they wanted an answer.

This instantly caught my eye, I saw a light of hope after reading this but when I started reading the adresse, I got chills all over my body, a spark went through my spine, the address was.

A skyscraper at a certain place in which I would have to go to and come up to the 30th floor of that building.

The same thing which was written on the card I got from Jack, my mind after reading started going crazy.

“What, it’s the same place, Why?! How can it be, A coincidence?”

Uncountable possibilities started to fill my mind, what if it’s this, what if it’s that, no more sense of mind left, I thought of asking Jack about it again but I was scared, I was scared of what Jack would reply, If I heard the reply I don’t want to then…

I went home feeling indescribable emotions, completely devastated with not finding anything but an address which felt like the only place left for me to go and find something.

I reached home, knowing that as soon as I lay down on that bed I would once again be taken to somewhere I don’t want to or somewhere which would make me feel pity on my emotion, true feelings.

A thought came to mind that, “What if the bed is the problem, what would happen if I lay down somewhere else”, thinking that I laid down on the floor and had a slight hope that it would work but it didn’t.

***

I woke up, dark circles under my eyes, strength none, emotions fading, scared of the night, scared of the bed, no one to rely on, will to go through the day didn’t exist, the only thing left for me to do for to go that address and if I didn’t find anything there then, I might even lose the will to live.

I booked a taxi, as the taxi arrived, I looked around my house before going down as if I wouldn’t come here again or if it was my last time here.

I went out and sat in the taxi, when the driver saw me he was taken back, I told him the address, hinting to not ask questions, the driver started driving and didn’t say anything.

As we were about to reach the destination, the driver said something.

“Kid, I don’t know what you have been through or what you are experiencing but remember there is always something to live for, there always be light to reach out to, so don’t lose hope and end up doing something.”

Even if I didn’t want to hear anything or wanted someone to say something to me, those words felt like a cold breeze in hot summer, it gives you some relief from the heat but the problem about that cold breeze is that it only feels nice for a moment, after a while the heat from the scorching Sun again makes you dripped in sweat and the comfort you felt you don’t even remember it.

Driver,

“We are here.”

I got off the car after paying him,

“Thank you for the drive and for those words.”

The Taxi driver nodded his head and drove off, after he left I started to think.

“Hah, what would he think if he got to know that I am like this due to mere fake dreams”, I internally laughed at my pathetic sight.

There I was standing in front of the Skyscraper. It looked like it was about 45 floors tall. The area was quite busy but I felt like the people were being controlled, not paying that much attention to their surroundings, only walking to their destination, not even giving simple greetings to each other, it was a little scary, gloominess surrounded each person, there was no light of Joy which would lighten the atmosphere, it felt like the people had no soul or their own will.

But who am I to talk, my current situation is no better than theirs.

I walked into the building and headed to the reception. They were nice at first but when I said I want to go to the 30th floor their expression changed completely.

Receptionist,

“Which floor would you like to go to, sir.”

“The 30th floor, please.”

“You said the 30th floor, are you sure?” said in a slightly frightened voice.

I got confused as to why,

“I am sure, why? Is there something wrong.”

“No! no, there isn’t anything wrong, the elevators there you can go straight up” now being slightly panicked.

“Alright, Thank you.”

After that I went to the elevator, there was a mother and his child with her, I pressed the 30th floor while they were going on the 15th floor.

In the elevator as it was going up the child was staring at me, after staring me down for a while she asked her mother a question.

“Mom, is that person sick?”

Her mother looked at her, while putting her finger on her mouth, telling her child to stay silent.

I started thinking “Man, I must really look bad huh?”

The elevator stopped at the 15th floor. The mother and child walked out while another person walked in. They pressed the button to go to the 20th floor, I looked to see if there was anyone else but there wasn’t.

The elevator started going up, I thought to myself, “There seems to be many rooms on a single floor, the card nor the address on the book had a room number written on it.”

The elevator arrived at the 20th floor, the person walked out while staring at me, there were again many rooms on a single floor, the elevator closed and I finally reached the 30th floor.

I walked out of the elevator to see that there was only a single room on the whole 30th floor, I was confused, super confused and a little scared.

“Why is there only a single room on this entire floor, the other floors had multiple rooms.”

I slowly started walking towards the door, as I got closer I started feeling the same pain I was feeling which had suddenly vanished, the cramp which I felt on the first day returned to me, the pain which would grow gradually also came back, I was barely able to lift my hand to open the door, somehow, I opened the door after which…