Sea of Melancholy

A Story by Kevin

Just a short story on the daily struggles of melancholy.

Every repetitive tic of the clock growing louder, every sunrise and sunset blending together one after another, manifesting into a dull inner scream. From a deep sleep he leapt out of bed, panicking, overwhelmed by his thoughts. Panic attacks were nothing new. He knew in time, they would fade.

Standing in the kitchen, he looks out the window and notices the birds chirping, yet something was off. It as if the birds were chirping in reverse, like a record being played backwards. Slightly puzzled, he assumed he was exhausted from the night and prepares for work. Zipping up his coat, he goes out to the front yard to find his neighbor standing in her driveway, seemingly lost, staring off into the clouds. Shrugging it off, he approaches her. As he walked closer, he sensed something was wrong. He proceeded cautiously, calling out her name. She did not respond; She appeared to be frozen, as if rigor mortis had set in. Unsettled, he tapped her on the shoulder, to which she let out an ungodly scream. What was only a few moments, felt like a life time as it grew louder, bringing him to his knees. Struggling to stand, he forced his head up to look at her. Before he could make eye contact, her body crumbled into ash. Staring for a few moments in disbelief, he finally came to his senses.

Bolting into his house, trying to process what just happened, he reaches for the phone, but there is no dial tone. Stricken with fear, he slams it down and looks outside. He peers around the streets, noticing they are empty. Surely someone else heard that horrific scream? He goes out front, looking over to where his neighbor was standing. To his disbelief, he sees nothing. The pile of ash is gone. In his confusion, he notices there is an absence of sound. There is no sound. None. His mind racing, he starts frantically knocking on people’s doors. There is no answer. Terrified he may be completely alone, he begins knocking on the doors harder, yelling out to no one, hoping for a response. Being auto-phobic, his breaths become shorter, his chest begins pounding. Convincing himself this must be local, he makes way to his car and goes into town looking for others, pleading to his god that he is not alone.

He approached the center of town to find everything seemingly normal. He parked his car and began to call out, praying he would get a response. Searching every building on the street to find it empty, his fear begins to deepen. Trying to stay level headed, he heads back to his car and turns on the radio. Perhaps he can pick up an emergency broadcast. He flips through every station, all is silent. His mind racing, he springs anxiously out of his car and decides to keep searching. Just as he starts to succumb to his anxiety, he hears a distant scream, he is sure of it. Both alarmed and relieved by this, he gets back in his car and follows the direction from which it came. As the scream becomes louder, his foot becomes heavier on the gas pedal. “Finally!”, he thinks to himself as he stares fixated on the road ahead.

The scream leads him to a wood trail, just on the edge of town. He can hear the scream coming from within the dense trees. Sprinting down the trail, overjoyed he has found another living being, he approaches the bend to find a person standing in the middle of the trail. Flooded with relief, he starts crying, yelling out in joy to this person he so desperately needed to find. In an all-out dash, he approaches this person only to stop abruptly. To his dismay, he finds not a person, but rather a disfigured creature, short and pale with long and motionless black hair, contorted like a defective mannequin. He stares cautiously, frozen with dread. In an instant, the forest fades to black, only able to see the creature, it’s eyes now large and red gazing at him, predator vs prey. Feeling like a wounded animal trying to run, he starts to slowly back up, the creature still not moving. Just as he begins to turn around, he steps on branch, snapping it in half.

The creature lets out an ungodly scream. He is brought to his knees, screaming back at the creature to stop. Completely Powerless, he curls up on the ground motionless. With tears running down his face, he prays for it to end. Moments later there is silence.

He opens his eyes to find he is lying in his bed. Still panicking, he leaps out of his bed and runs for the door, unsure of where he is going. After a few minutes of pacing, he comes to his senses. He can hear traffic, people yammering, birds chirping. Reality slowly sinking in, he starts to gather his thoughts, wondering what the hell just happened. After splashing some water on his face, he goes outside and looks over to his neighbor's yard. She greets him with a smile and wave, and gestures for him to come over. Having a new appreciation for life, he finally asks her out. She happily agrees to go on a date with him. With a slight pep he heads back home to get ready. As he stands at the kitchen sink drinking a glass of water, he looks out the window to see clear skies and all the beautiful birds.........he drops his glass of water, shattering it on the ground. Slightly shaking, he is certain the bird chirped oddly. He begins to panic. Making his way to the front door, he rushes outside to find his neighbor standing in her yard screaming, moments later collapsing to dust.

© 2021 Kevin

Author's Note

I am just getting into writing. I'm currently going to undergrad school for general studies and taking Creative non fiction and writing electives. Hoping to advance to grad school for either English or Creative non-fiction. With that said, heavy critiquing would be most appreciated.