Totem

A story based on real event.

It was a stormy night, strong wind was blowing and you could hear the rain water peacefully rush in to the sewer just under the balcony, which was on the second floor. Bob had a really nice evening with the boys, they had gone to a village nearby and done a promotion of an upcoming carnival which was going to happen in a week or two. After they came back, the guys visited the local bar and drank some more, Bob felt just a little drunk and in general - relaxed and pleased. He wished everybody goodnight and went home. The clock was showing somewhere around 23:50, Bob brushed his teeth and went to bed. Normally he would have needed at least an hour before falling asleep, but tonight was not the case.

Gradually, Bob woke up, he did not open his eyes, he wanted to sleep and felt like there wasn’t a thing that could get him out of the cozy blankets.

The sensation that woke him up was a mix, somewhat electric, both painful and pleasant at the same time. He felt it in his left part of the chest, in particular his left lung. Bob had suffered from untreated tuberculosis as a teen, which had left its mark by destroying a small part of his breathing tissue. He did mind it though, he was an active sport and his body had adjusted a long time ago. Bob felt calm; this was not the first time that something like that happened to him, most of the times the sensation would have been in his head.

By now, Bob was awake for about five minutes, he couldn’t move �"“Yet another episode of apnea” he thought. For some reason he decided to stop whatever was going on by waking up. He opened his eyes and saw a figure of a man standing with his back about one meter diagonal to his bed. He tried to curse at it, but he was able only to mumble as he couldn’t move his jaw. The figure slowly turned and gazed upon him, it appeared as the figure was wearing a mask. It had hollow perfectly circular rings for eyes, they were pitch black inside and there were no eyes, just rings with darkness. Its mouth was rectangularly shaped and curved down at the ends, as it was frowning. Bob was not scared but he felt uneasy, almost startled. The figure continued to stare, although it looked as it was sad, the figure radiated humbleness. Bob was now scared, It seemed as almost the figure understood that. In a split second it was gone without moving a single spark of dust. Just as his adrenalin rush kicked in, Bob woke up. This was the first time that he had a hallucination, Bob had apnea for as long as he could remember.

Bob sat in his bed wondering why.

For some reason the mask of the figure reminded him of a Native American totem. He goggled some, but there wasn’t anything close, most of them were curved and with a lot of details.

Bob glanced at the clock, it was 4.45, he called it a night.

Author's Note

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