Fiction

It was all dark, he tried to get up and see where he was but he was in severe pain. “why is my head bleeding? How did I end up here?” he wondered. He just lied there for a while. He checked the time on his phone, it was almost midnight. He remembered he had to send the paper. He got up and headed home. There was n’t a single car in the street. He walked and walked, he could n’t stand on his feet when he got to the front door. “damn, still have to climb all these stairs.” he said. He fell on the floor when he opened his apartment’s door. “not again!” the floor was all wet. Went to get his tools that he’d got for his birthday. He thought of it as sarcasm for P to get him tools for his birthday as he was never good with technical stuff. He struggled with the pipes for a while but he merely made it worse. He went to get his laptop to send the paper. “why is it so cold in here?” he asked himself. Checked all the windows, kitchen’s window was open. Could n’t recall leaving it open. Wore his dark jacket, was sick of his feet getting wet so put all his stuff on the kitchen table and sat on the table and turned his laptop on. “Server not found” was all he got everytime he tried to open the the page. “what now?!” he shouted out loud. Went to check on the wifi modem. “Perfect!” he said. Water had leaked into the modem and it was n’t working. He needed to send the paper. Opened the door to see if Mr. A was still awake. His lights were on. Wanted to knock but remembered the blood on his face. Washed his face, grabbed his laptop and knocked at Mr. A’s door. “I’m sorry, is Mr. A home?” he said. “who?” the man who opened the door asked him. “I’m the next door neighbor, we hangout sometimes.”. “I live here, but is there anything I could help you with? What happened to your face if you don’t mind me asking?”. “I had an accident, but I’m alright I just have a little headache. The reason I bothered you at this time of the night, I have an important paper I need to send but my apartment is all wet and my wifi modem is not working. I …”. “come on in, you can use mine. So what do you do? Are you a writer or something?”. “ yes, I’m a freelance writer. I mainly write for the magazines.”. “cool, I always wanted to write but never had the time to try. I’m an insurance salesman. here, drink this I’ll bring you something for the pain. I’m J by the way.”. “nice to meet you J, I’m …”. “I know your name, I’ve seen it on your doorbell. Mine does n’t have wifi but you can connect with cable, I don’t use it a lot you know.”. he connects to the internet. Beside the modem he sees picture of girl, she seems so familiar but he can’t recall where he’s seen her. “here, it’ll make you feel better.”. “so, you think insurance will cover the damage costs to my apartment?”. “how would I know?”. “I just thought as an insurance salesman you would know.”. “what are you talking about? I work in a travel agency.”. his headache was getting worse and worse, before sending the paper he tried to read it once more. “I don’t mean to be nosy but can I ask who’s the girl in the picture?”. J’s expression changed. “no I don’t think you’d know her. She’s passed and she lived far from here.”. “I’m sorry. I …”. “No, I’m sorry. I invited you to my house but there’s something wrong with you. You need to leave. now!” he left before he could send the paper. His headache was so severe. He went to sleep. “I need to sleep. Could be okay if I sleep.” He told himself.

“wake up honey, it’s almost afternoon.” It was his mom. “Mom! When did you come? I was n’t expecting you!”. “you were n’t expecting to see me at my own house? Well, get up I fixed you something to eat. I talked to Mr. A this morning, he said that he heard noises coming from the apartment last night. He said he was worried, he knocked but you didn’t answer. Also, you had left the kitchen water going all night. The floor was all wet. I can’t leave the house alone with you just for one night? What’s with you lately?” he was staring at the newspaper. “Mom, give me the paper.”. the girl’s face on the paper was so familiar. “mom, do you recognize her?”. “no, why? You read the title? She’s lost and she’s from another state. Her poor family, they must be devastated. By the way before I forget, your friend M called. He was wondering why you did n’t show up today at the college. He told me about the paper. Don’t worry. I called your professor, he agreed to give you until tomorrow to send your paper.” His mom went to the kitchen, started cleaning and opened the window. “Mom, close it. Mom!”. “why? The whole house stinks. Also it’s not cold.”. “close it, please!” he went under the sheets and tried to sleep again.

He woke up again. He was n’t in his bedroom. He didn’t know where he was, it was all blank. He walked a few steps but his headache made him stop. His eyes went black, he fell down. He got up after a while. Opened his eyes, he was at his house. He saw himself in the kitchen. He remembered everything now. He was writing the last letter to her. his face was covered with tears. some shed on the letter and made some of the words difficult to read. After he finished the letter he went to the other side of the counter where he had put a razor and the pills. He stared at them for a while, could n’t make up his mind. Finally he opened the window. He was n’t anymore.

The End

Photo and story by Hadi Asgari. All rights reserved.

Dedicated to S.