The Chase

A Story by Srikaran Anand

The sound of his sneakers gripping the slosh resonated as he darted through the alleyways, with a huge shadow hot on his heels. He seemed to know the area very well, as he slyly bolted through unknown roads, which were oblivious to the scary, relentless shadow behind him. He knew very well that he would not be caught, but just to be cautious, he made sure he used the proper alleyways not to get caught. It was early morning, and the sun had just started to rise.
“We’re here to live, not to live long,” were the words that echoes through the alleyways, but only in his mind. He had not had enough sleep, and his eyes were telling him to stop seeing the world for a while. But if he stopped, he would have to stop seeing the world forever. He was forced to run through his locality, chased by a mysterious shadow. He was used to being chased, and saw it as an opportunity to escape his mundane life. That was a gamble, as survival was not guaranteed. Nevertheless, he carried on, just like his father who died a few weeks ago.
He found a small opening between two buildings and was quick enough to push himself inside, to get away from the chasing business. He just wanted peace and non-violence, in spite of how cliché that sounded. The opening was dark, and nothing could be seen. He wanted to light a cigarette badly, but he already had trouble catching hold of his breath. He heard a thud, and did not want to go out. He was already done with the dark world and just wanted to cut off contact with people everywhere. His words were, “Live to see what is there, and not what you put there.” No one really understood what he implied by those words, including his mom. And he would never explain to anyone what it really meant. He sought truth, and truth was not in plenty. Lies, there was excess supply everywhere. He was always confused by those two words, demand and supply, when it came to life.
He had stopped sweating by now, and had put his turtleneck shirt into his rucksack and decided to get out. It was 12 in the noon. He got out, and no one was chasing him. He lent out a huge sigh and wiped his forehead by grapping his shirt by the wrist. What a tiring chase, but fun. He happily trotted home, with no worries about being chased. He reached home, splashed ice-cold water on his face, and took out his laptop before throwing the rucksack into his tiny room.
Before he even knew it, it was 5:30, and he eased into the recliner thinking of taking a walk, in spite of the risks involved. He courageously got up, slipped his blue coat on, and departed out the door. He put up a braver face than before, and ran down his stairs.
As soon as he was on the street, he noticed the same shadow behind him, and he was speechless. He could not go back to his house, as that would only make it easier for him to get into trouble. With all his energy bottled up by sitting on the recliner, he felt a sudden urge to make it alive. He decided to get to the main road instead of running through endless corridors. “Live to see what is there, and not what you put there.”
After running through the main corridors, where he reached a busy street. Complete silence and drowning colours.
His own shadow stopped chasing him because the shrooms had worn out.