Heist

One of the biggest thefts in the world is the theft of happiness

“He’s an intelligent boy,” the teacher remarked, glancing momentarily at the boy with downturned eyes who was twiddling with his fingers, before turning back to his parents, “but he isn’t much else.”

The car ride home was quiet, and the boy spent most of it messaging his friends.

Through a jumble of emoticons, acronyms and slangs, he stumbled his way through the conversation listlessly, till the car stopped with a jolt outside his house.

Just like he normally did when he returned from school, he shuffled up the driveway and kicked off his shoes. As he passed his mother in the hallway, she tried to place a hand on him, but her open mouth failed to produce any kind of sound, and he took this as the cue to head up to his room first.

He fell on his bed, spread eagled, and watched the dust around him swirl under the rays of sunlight that fell in from the window. They danced, fervently, passionately, and particles that collided would catch each other in their arms and spin, albeit a bit faster than the others, back down to his bed. The room was completely silent, save for the sound of his breathing. Posters of astronauts and models of spaceships, now unused, were lined up on his cupboard, and collected more dust than love. He sneezed. Funny, he thought. I thought the liquid came out of your nose.

That night, he was visited by a dream. He danced and danced and danced in a ballroom full of people, and when he collided with someone they would twirl with such intensity that he almost felt like he was twirling for his life. Eventually, a misstep would occur, and they would both collapse on the ground, smiling and laughing, getting up to dance, but never meeting the other again.

When he woke up that morning, he had an epiphany. 

And the next month was never the same again.

He no longer spent his breaks at his seat; he wandered around, finding the groups in his class to talk to, and in the ones he chose to stay in, any joke brought a brilliant smile to his face.

He no longer payed any attention in class; He’d doze off, or draw in his textbooks, sharing a laugh with his deskmate at his poorly drawn caricatures that had lines so unstable you weren’t sure if they were supposed to be straight or not.

He was originally good looking, and his change in demeanour brought him a good number of confessions, all of which were turned down. The funny thing was, even after rejection, the girl felt no ill intentions towards the boy, and he remained equally warm towards them as friends.

He loved the class, and in doing so the class loved him.

The second half of the month was near exam period, and most people went home quickly to prepare.

He found himself alone more, and he especially felt it during weekends, just recently having gotten into the habit of meeting with his classmates on Sundays to play.

One day was sunny, and he stayed at home to shelter from the blistering heat, appreciating the songs that he never knew existed a mere month ago.

One day was a thunderstorm, and he opened the window to shout at the roaring thunder, to the amused laughter of the whistling wind.

One day was a light shower, and he put on his track shoes, and ran. For hours, for miles, he didn’t know, but when he arrived back at his doorstep he fell on the grass and laughed, gazing up at the grey sky that had only just broken to reveal a breathtaking rainbow. The doppled sunlight fell on his face, and streamed down into the grass, that tickled his back with joy.

And one day before the exam, he climbed a building, to the highest floor. He stared at the beautiful sky, and the setting sun, 

And smiled back at the world.

...

The police would probably cordon off the area after a passerby discovered his body the next day.

Whether his parents, his family or his friends knew what happened to him didn’t matter.

...

Aged 18. 

Cause of death, suicide due to depression.

Author's Note

It's just something I consider sometimes and I wanna hear thoughts about it.

Reviews

[Christoph]

Well, this made me a bit uncomfortable, which is probably a compliment in this context. It's also relatable (to a point) and I'm mildly jealous of the protagonist, enjoying a round of introspection and solitude. But then he goes and kills himself, which sort of harshes the vibe.