One-shots about Depression and Mental Illness

The Play

He slowly walked onto the stage. A school play, that's all it was. His chest tightened with the stress and anxiety of what he was about to do. But no, he was never scared of the play, never scared of acting. No, no, no. What he was going to do now, was going to be much, much worse. 

He bought the mic up to his face, flashing one of his famous smiles in the way of the audience. Good, all his friends and family showed up. Might as well give them a real show.

"Good evening everybody! How are you?" that beautiful fake smile was still there, but he was very close to going off-script. To really start the real thing. 

"So this was supposed to be a play, and I was supposed to be the narrator. Well, I'm sorry to ruin it! But hear me out, ten minutes. That's all the time I need! I promise! Just ten minutes to tell everybody here something, after all, it is my last chance!" he hoped dearly no one would come to grab him off stage, and to his luck, nothing happened. 

"One thing before I start, nothing bad will happen during this speech," he claimed, knowing very well that was far from the truth for everybody but him standing in the room. 

The looks he saw on everybody he knew were strange, confused, maybe even angry. He couldn't care less about them. Well, except a single person, though he was sure he didn't feel the same.

"I fell in love! I really did!" he screamed at the audience, a smile still brightly plastered on his face. 

"But, I also learned something. Something important," there was a pause in his speech before he continued, "Let me ask you, what is the point in love? To have your feeling returned?"

The audience was silent, not even the slightest audible response. "No, that's not the point of love. It never was, never will be. You see, I've been ready for death for years now. I've thought about killing myself, but somehow, somehow, I found something better than death. I found him. And, after realizing that he would never love me, I still wanted to live on. Not because I cherish life in any way, but because he was still alive," he turned and looked at the boy, staring deep into his eyes. The smile that was previously on his face was no longer as large, instead, it was now a small, sad smile. 

"So, I found myself living for him, and him only. Not even for myself, but for him instead. He doesn't know I love him. He never has, he might only realize now, when it's already too late. But no matter, I'm not here for pity. I'm here to share my story. You see, I always tried to get him to see me. But he never did. Yet I never gave up. This is my last and final attempt, though." A tear slid down the boy's face, yet his small, sad smile remained. 

He took a deep breath, tearing his eyes away from the beautiful boy's face, though suddenly feeling dizzy. "I don't need an "I love you too" though. I never have. He was in an accident a month ago. I sat at his side, blaming myself for his injuries. It was my fault. I watched him sleep, waiting for him to awake. The window of the third-floor hospital was open. I knew that if he was to lose his life if he was to seize if the nurse told me his time of death, I would leap from that window. As soon as his life was lost, so would be mine. That's how desperate I am. But as I said before, it was my fault. So, either way, if he's dead or not, I am in-depth with him. I owe him my life. So today, August/5/2022, I'll be losing my life. There is no stopping it, I'm already as good as dead. You can call the ambulance now, but the poison is already killing me. I already feel it."

The ambulance arrived. Someone had called one. With the brightest and most real smile he had ever had on his face, he bravely said the last thing that would ever leave his lips, "I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU, FOREVER AND FOREVER!" he then lost his balance falling on the ground, already unconscious. White, bubbly saliva left his mouth as the pre-called ambulance tried to save him. 

They lost him. His dead body was on the ground. The boy he loved looked at him, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. He said only four words, "I loved you too..."