I woke up to find myself in a corroded jail cell. The odor of moist concrete and rust filled my nostrils, and I did not understand why I was there. Just as panic began to set in, a faceless police officer appeared and let me out of the cell. Without saying a single word, he guided me out of the prison, making it obvious that I was free to go about my business.
Confused, I wandered the streets alone, and the world was gloomy and cold and lifeless.
As I came to a familiar intersection, it began to snow heavily, and my dad showed up in an old rusty pickup truck. I got in, and he explained to me that I had been asleep in jail for 5 years, and that I now had 55 children with 11 "baby mamas."
Wow. Apparently, I had been a busy boy prior to my imprisonment, and I was horrified at the idea that I even had children. The world was now a dystopia, full of malice and chaos, and I knew they would grow up miserable.
My dad drove me to my house, where my ex-girlfriend was now living. There was now several inches of snow, and the house was a cracked and crumbling concrete bungalow.
When I stepped inside my crumbling home, I found that it's interior was made of all turquoise ceramic tile, and even most of the furniture and decor was mostly turquoise, aside from some oak trim.
My ex was cuddled up on the couch with some random faceless man I had never met. I smelled like jail, so the first thing I wanted was a shower. The house had two full bathrooms, one of which was clearly used by my ex. So I used the other bathroom, but I found that the shower was filthy with bacteria and hadn't been used in years.
As I was cleaning the shower, I could hear my ex moaning in the other room, as well as some unusually loud clapping. Cool. My ex and her lover were fucking hard under my own roof. As I rinsed the slime and grime from the dirty shower, the drain clogged up.
I decided to go to the store to get some drain clog remover, but as I left, I noticed my ex peering out from her bedroom to see if I had been provoked into an envious rage. Unbothered, I left. I couldn't care less.
After I returned from the store, I found that the entire shower unit had been removed. I asked my ex if she knew what was going on, and she said her "new and improved" lover had taken it to remodel his house.
Unbothered, I minded my own business and casually went down into the basement, where I had a replacement shower unit. I installed the unit and had a refreshingly hot shower.
Exhausted, I lay awake staring at the turquoise ceiling, and I could once again hear my ex and her "clapping" away in the other room. She had been getting her needs met for these past several years - in my own home - while I had been in jail, isolated from the world. As thoughts of despair and misery raced through my mind, I drifted off into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~
I woke up to find that I was in a strange gothic chamber with all turquoise tile. The bed I was in was in the center of the room. There were gothic windows, but it was a pitch black void outside. I immediately heard disembodied whispering, and I immediately felt like I was already losing my mind.
There was no other furniture or anything else in the empty room, apart from the bed. I found an arched door that led into a great hall. It, too, had gothic style architecture with vaulted ceilings, and everything seemed to be made of turquoise tile and oak wood trim.
As I wandered the empty halls, the deathly silent atmosphere of the place unsettled me. The energy felt wrong, and I felt as if every move I made was being closely monitored by unseen eyes.
The halls had ornate wooden doors, most of which were locked. Some of the doors were open, and I peered into shadowy rooms that contained round pools at their center. Some pools were empty and dry, while others were filled with either regular pool water... or blood.
The place seemed to be a temple or religious complex of some sort. I wanted to get out, but I could find no exit, and the place was a labyrinth. It was hopeless.
After what felt like hours of pointless wandering, I suddenly came across a vast ball room adorned with golden, ornate decor and turquoise walls and floor made of turquoise tile. The ballroom was filled with faceless people, chattering and gossiping about superficial and petty things. I felt like the outsider, as no one tried to engage with me. I didn't want to be there, anyway, as I felt overwhelmed from the judgmental gazes as I weaved my way through the crowd.
I sat on a bench against the wall, and watched my watchers. Suddenly, the woman of my deepest desires appeared and sat beside me. It was Kat, the woman I had once believed to be my "soulmate" in another life.
We talked for hours, and the more we engaged with each other, the more I began to feel hopeful about a future that I, deep down, knew would never truly happen. I began to feel that something was off, like I was being strung along in some way.
The crowd had their eyes fixed on us, and I grew tired and exhausted. I told Kat that I needed to use the restroom, and so I began to make my way across the room through the dense crowd. As I squirmed my way through, random faceless people jabbed me and insulted me for literally no reason. Confused, I was unbothered as I grew ever more exhausted.
I found a vast, strange bathroom that had light blue tiles all over everything, and the floor was a shallow wading pool, so I ended up getting my feet wet as I splashed my way to the bathroom stalls, which were on an island. I began feeling sick for some unknown reason, and my mind grew tired and anxious, and I became confused as to whether or not I had to poop.
After I relieved myself, I went back into the ballroom to find Kat. In a daze, I eventually found her embracing a tall faceless man. She shot me a look as she kissed him, as if the action was intended to provoke jealousy and to get a reaction from me.
Unbothered, I had expected this. Of course my crush was with someone else, and of course they were playing these shallow and petty games.
Exhausted, I made my way through crowd to exit the ballroom. I was done. All I had wanted was genuine connection, but I knew that would never come.
Limping along, I made my way to one of the open doors and entered a room. This turquoise tile room had a round pool filled with plain water, so I got in and spaced out, alone in my thoughts.
I remembered how I used to actually feel emotion, but I had long-since come to expect disappointment and pain. No could be trusted, as no one seemed to have pure intentions anymore. Everyone either wants something from me, or they have unrealistic expectations. No one wants a genuine connection. If they do, I'm not seeing it.
Even those who are coerced by the Enemy in order to provoke reactions are not to be trusted. I cannot trust anyone, anywhere, at all. I'm exhausted and tired of the pettiness and the endless false hope. My existence is a fallacy, and it was now time to give them the proper reaction that they had wanted to provoke. My blood would be on their hands.
A small sword manifested next to the pool. I took it and jabbed myself with it in several places. As I bled out into the pool, the water all turned to blood. I sank down and drowned in my own blood. As I faded away, I felt a deep sense of relief.
THE END.