Chasing After You (Benry)

It's Like Being On Weed, But Worse

Do you know the feeling of free fall? It's hard to describe, because most people who felt it are now dead as a doornail. It is so traumatizing that you forget it immediately. It's like your organs, heart, lungs and other innards fly out of your body. You can't breathe, let alone think clearly. You may feel light as a balloon, but the fear of death is stronger.

The feeling of powerlessness would perhaps even describe the man's condition more accurately. As his own soul mends on and off in his mind's eye. He feels sick as hell, he would like to implode. Everything is spinning. He spins with and against it in an instant. His headache is like a never-ending migraine and it is more than unbearable. Thus he sinks deeper and deeper into the infinite abyss of his self....

...

Something warm, almost friendly, caresses the skin of his face, a ray of sunlight. His eyelids lift as if by magic and he sees the plain white room of a hospital. It was small but nice, with a window to his right and a door to his left. A glance at the alarm clock next to him showed that it was already noon. It was yellow and even had a second hand. This pleased the man very much, because at this time he gets company. He can't get up, which is why he lies in bed all day. He was very lonely, but now a visitor comes to take care of him. The nurse, who always comes on time. She reminds him of an old friend, which only increases his euphoria. When he heard a knock from the door, he immediately called out, "You can come in." Or at least that would've been appropriate at that point. She was now standing in front of his bed, all still and staring. Her wild black hair tied up in a bun, her outfit a colorless dress, a factor that clashed a lot with her unusual skin color. She didn't seem to mind that and neither did the man. "Hello, mister ... it's good to see you again!" Her enthusiasm was as warm as an angel's aura and her smile as trusting as a puppy's. "Oh come on, ... you can call me H-" Someone yelled as shrilly as chalk on a blackboard, it stopped as quickly as it started. "Of course, ..., but I hope you know, that this is not actually allowed," She gave him his medicine and put his favorite tea on the bedside table, where the alarm clock was also. It now showed 4:14. His house number. Linda- "Are you still worried about your wife? I'm sure she'll be fine." She put a kindly hand on his shoulder. "You'll definitely see her again, in fact, I can assure you of that. Because your condition has improved a lot the last few days!" She suddenly disappeared and he was once again all alone. Only the quiet ticking of the clock, which now always showed 4:14 o'clock and the subliminal feeling that everything here is fundamentally wrong. Well, he still had his black tea. Black. Black? What about the word? It has seven letters and describes a color, what's funny about that? Is it the fact that he drinks it every time after a hard day's work? Work? What work? How long has he been working? He can't think of it. Strange. Except- There was another knock. He instinctively looked at the door. What door? Since when did this room have a door? Where was the knocking coming from now? He turned to the- "HENRY! WAKE UP!" A boy? Why is he behind the window? His room is on the fifth floor! Can he fly?! "Why are you outside my window?" The black-haired didn't answer this and hit the glass.  "DAMN YOU, STEIN! THEY'RE GOING TO TORTURE US, WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!" He was irritated, so first he drank a cup of something bitter. Ink. Pitch black ink. He had to gag and spit the stuff out again. "I don't want you to die, okay?!... SO SNAP OUT OF IT OR THEY'LL GET YOU!!!" What is he talking about? Why would anyone hurt him? Everyone here is so sincere. Everyone? Here? There's no one here but him. He looks at the clock. "Huh, it's already.... Nine? Maybe? This thing shows too many hours." Overtime. Unpaid overtime. A man with a vision and one with a dream. Who was he again? His mind was as blank as this room. "Hey honey," the man winced as he heard that voice right next to him. He saw out of the corner of his eye a person in black clothes. That's all the detail his brain could take in, except for a grin, which brought out a feeling of uncomfortable recognition. It looked familiar to him, too familiar. "What are you doing here? We both know that ... will call the police if she sees you." His counterpart didn't answer, just silently took his hand. "I know." He then replied curtly, giving the man a kiss on the back of his hand. "I couldn't care less," he chuckled in his own personal way. "You're really stupid, you know that?" Retorted the man, having to suppress a small smile. "Of course, so stupid even to fall in love with someone who is married!" The other seemed slightly angry as he revealed this. "Because honestly, Henry Stein, you let me down. Was my affection worth nothing to you? DID YOU EVER GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME?!!!?!" The room became very quiet, only in a neighboring room someone seemed to be crying. No, he was crying. "I didn't mean to, Bendy, I'm sorry-" the clock dropped to the floor and was gone. His eyes slid to the window, the noon sun was shining. Twelve o'clock. The special knock on the door told him that his girlfriend appeared to be visiting. She hadn't been able to bring herself to do it before. "Hello..." It was ten to eight again, the sun rising and then setting. Meaningless is also free, his father had once said. He was right. "Henry, please get up!" It came from all directions. No one said it and yet everyone was standing in front of him. His nurse, the boy, his wife, and.... That was all of them, wasn't it? His nurse and the boy, the two of them exist. Didn't they? His nurse and he, they were now alone in his room. She sat down in the visitor's chair. "Listen, you're not getting any younger either, so go take control of your destiny! I don't want you to be stuck here anymore." She laughed lightly, her sadness palpable. "Will we ever meet again?" Asked the man, his mood rather clouded. "Haha, you're really funny," she stood up, "we live in the same house."

...

When Henry awoke, cold sweat was running all over his body. Loud ringing in his ears. Miraculously, he was still alive. He couldn't see anything, because ink had gotten into his eyes and he had a bad feeling in his stomach. Where was Kim? And more importantly, where was he now?

(I've been wanting to publish this chapter for awhile now, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it ✌️🦦)