Short Stories that I found Online

"Mummy!! Mummy!!"

Sudha entered the room, "What is it, honey?"

The child was kneeling on the bed looking at her wide-eyed. She has obviously not slept for long, her big red eyes speaking of a horror that Sudha's adult mind could never comprehend. She had not slept a wink for the last two days. The child was keeping her up all night. Shifting to a new house coupled with forced insomnia was not a good restraint for her temper.

"There is something under my bed" the child screamed.

Not again, Sudha thought. When she heard the child, she rolled on her bed to wake her husband, but he wasn't there. He must have gone to the bathroom, she thought. Wearily, she got out of the bed to go to the child's bedroom.

"There is nothing under the bed, sweetheart, you just had a bad dream."

"Nooo, I know there is something there." with the conviction that comes with being a child.

Sudha sighed. This is going to be a long night. I am going to end this tonight, she thought.

"Ok, if I check under the bed and find nothing, will you go back to sleep?" she asked the child.

"Maybe…"

"Ok, let me get the flashlight…" she said.

She walked out of the room and called her husband. There was no answer.

"Mummy!!"

Sudha walked back into the room.

"Daddy went under the bed with the flashlight…"

"What?"

"Daddy went under the bed with the light… it must be lying there."

Mildly surprised, Sudha bent down to peer under the bed. She can see something shiny under the bed. She reaches out for it and touches it, but it rolls further away. She feels something sticky on the floor. She pulls back her hand and checks it under the lamp on the bedside table. It is something dark and sticky. She looks at the child.

"Did you drop something under the bed?"

"A chocolate…" the child murmured in a guilt-ridden voice.

"Where is Daddy?"

"He is still under the bed…"

Surprised, Sudha bent down again. The flashlight has rolled towards the other end of the bed against the wall. She crawled under the bed and reached it. Before she could turn it on, she felt something or someone grip her hand. She let out a small scream, but the grip only tightened. She shouted and thrashed, but something clutched her throat and her voice was cut off. In another five seconds, her body stopped moving.

The child peered over the edge of the bed and saw the edge of a small dark puddle of liquid. The child smiled.

"Are you still hungry?"

__END__

She cut a piece from my heart and picked it by inserting the tip of the blade of a long knife. Very delicately she straightened the knife to carry the blood sprinkling meat piece in to her mouth. A red stream of blood, emanating from the tip and travelling on the shining sharp steel blade, filled the groove of the five corners star sign marked on the blade just before the wooden handle of the knife. Few blood drops spilled from her lips' joint at the right side as soon as she started chewing the piece. She smiled as she gulped the meat.

I felt a sharp cut on my chest and found it too heavy to breathe. I opened my eyes. Oh my god… it was dream – a nightmare. After realizing that it was a dream, I became more tensed and restless. Digital watch on the side table showed 5:30 AM, Wednesday, 13th February 2013. I started sweating profusely. It was my thirteenth dream. I had maximum eighteen and half hours to live if this dream would also come true as did my last twelve dreams, which I dreamed on the thirteenth day of every month since I met her on Friday the 13th, January 2012.

I completely forgot her head lying on my chest making difficult for my lungs to restore the normal breathing. My still alive heart was pulsating very fast. I was almost drowning in flood of the fresh sweat on my chest. All the last twelve dreams flashed in the sequence in my mind.

Exactly thirteen months back I first met her when I was returning from my mother's funeral. A mesmerizing beauty, wrapped in a black suit, got down from an old model but neatly maintained car. Her beauty magnetized my full consciousness to be focused on her. I wasn't a lecher and moreover was just coming out of a funeral, more over, that of my mother, but my eyes disallowed to look somewhere else. She turned to me; and there I was, totally unaware of being caught red handed brazenly staring at a beautiful stranger at the gate of the burial ground. My sight and mind both were caught in the depth of her illusive green eyes. Within no time, I found my body was lifted in the air and sucked through her eyes to a new world. I kept flying, higher and higher. Sun was getting dim and turning in a star as I left the solar system behind. The sky was full of stars – few twinkling, few flaming and few exploding. Soon I saw a green planet. Everything was green there – green sun, green moon, green cloud, green water, green restaurant… and there she was waiting for me on a table, in a cosy restaurant. There were two candles – smaller one was burning the body of the bigger one. Two glasses filled with the champagne were lying beside a vase with a rose bud. I picked the bud and touched her glass gently with the tip of the rosy petal.

She laughed, "… but you just said I had most beautiful eyes".

Alarm broke my dream. It was first time in my life that the alarm broke my sleep. I didn't remember dreaming anytime in my past or sleeping so long to allow the buzzing of the alarm. Since my childhood, I had been treated for insomnia and schizophrenia (lack of sleep and inability to distinguish between reality and imagination). I saw the digital watch on the side table.

It read, "5:30 AM, Friday, 13th January 2012".

Same day in evening, I found her sitting in a cosy restaurant.

I asked, "Would you mind if I join you?"

She smiled with sparkles in her green eyes and said, "You are welcome."

First time I dreamed and it came true. She became my dream girl – literally. My chronic disease wasn't so easy to be cured by medicines. However her love was taking over the abnormality, at least once in a month… just one night in a month. Before I realized that I had started waiting for the thirteenth day of every month, she had already entered in my life, as my wife, as my love, as my dream girl.

In my second dream, I saw having sex with her in my living room. That day she moved in my apartment to live with me. That evening, we celebrated Valentine's Day a day earlier in my living room same as we did in my dream.

Two months later, we registered our marriage in the municipal office.

Registrar, after pronouncing her and me as wife and husband, praised her beauty, "You have the most beautiful eyes and very sexy figure…"

Bang.

I was unable to control my fist breaking his soft nasal bone. Blood was falling from his nose to the white marble floor of the municipal office; and I could see my dream girl surprisingly but interestingly watching the blood. I had already seen this scene vividly six hours ago when I was awaken by the alarm at 5:30 AM, Friday, 13th April 2012.

Autumn was on peak. Maple leaves were covering the pathways. Few were yellow, few brown… I was watching the leaves swinging in the air before it touched my lawn. She came from the behind and rested her head on my shoulder as she gently kissed my neck, below my right ear.

"Do you like the free fall?" she asked, her kissing uncontrollable.

"Yes… I mean…" I couldn't complete my statement.

Very soon her lips locked mine and we started peeling our clothes one by one like the maple leaves were leaving the tree. By now I had already realized presence of the psychic power in me, and was eagerly waiting for that night to see what would come next as fortune for us.

I was falling through clouds, not like maple leaves but straight getting accelerated by the gravity. I yelled for the help. Slowly her hand came forward, at the back of my head pulling me closer to her face. I saw her green eyes… a deep green lake and immersed in it. She locked my trembling lips by her's and started feeding me powerful sedative of our love. It was an unparalleled experience. We were flying in the air. Very soon we were floating in the spongy clouds like the maple leaves…

Even this dream came true within ten hours on Friday, 13th July 2012. That day she took me for the parachute jumping.

Last month when the alarm broke my dream at 5:30 AM, Sunday, 13th January 2013, I had smile at my face. It wouldn't going to be happened, at any cost. All odds were against it.

"I am a normal man with no psychic power…. anyway such power doesn't exist." I was already relaxed when she offered me a cup of coffee. "Should I tell her what have been happening with me? Yes I should… she is my wife, my love", I decided firmly.

I was about to tell her my unusual experiences when the door bell rang. She opened the door to welcome a pale face old man in the snow covered old black overcoat and hat.

He offered a packet to her, "I must go back before it turns too bad. It took me a while to find you Signori… sorry Signora" His Italian accent broke as he looked at her wedding ring. He continued, "You may not know her… but she left a fortune for you, Signora. I settled everything and finally here it is… her entire property in a note from her bank… it is total three hundred grand more than 1 million" and he left us.

I almost fainted when she took out the banker's cheque which read $1,313,000. I had seen this number in my dream few hours ago.

Next one month we had our second honeymoon in the beautiful Europe.

We returned yesterday. We both were very tired. I was eager to go in the bed as soon as possible, anticipating new gift from my dream but it turned to be nightmare. I realized her presence very near to me. Her head was on my chest.

"Does she own paranormal power? Is she aware of my dreams? Why did I get psychic power only after meeting her? Is she an enchantress or a witch? Why do I see dream only on thirteenth day of the month?"

Another wave of sweat was sprayed by the millions of pores of my skin. Something thicker was flowing on my chest. She opened her eyes and looked at me. Feeling of sharp cut at my chest was getting intense. Her hair pin was cutting through my skin just on top of my heart. A very thin stream of the blood through her right cheek was stopped at the joint of her upper and lower lips. She further raised her face. Few blood drops spilled from her lips' joint at the right side.

There was a smile on her face that faded very soon when she saw the blood. In a jiffy she ran to the kitchen and brought the first-aid box to dress the wound. When she finished she came closer and planted a kiss on my forehead. I could see my blood stain on her chin. She was looking the most beautiful woman on this earth… my wife, my love, my dream girl. Seeing the realization of my thirteenth dream, I took a sigh of the relief but started feeling guilty of doubting her. There was nothing abnormal in her; it was me who wasn't normal, and who had developed something strange. I couldn't control myself and cried while hugging her tightly.

"Honey, my love… my dream girl… I can't wait for tomorrow. We shall celebrate our second Valentine's Day today itself. Last Valentine's Day, you showered your love at me… today I am going to serve my heart to you."

Her smile widened.Knife with star mark on long blade - Dream Girl – Psychological Thriller Short Story

We went to the supermarket to purchase required stuffs for our private celebration. She was busy in buying grocery and other kitchen items while I was looking for a cake recipe book and the needed ingredients. I wanted to surprise her by my love.

"I am the luckiest man on the earth. Since she entered in my life, my life has turned in a dream, a real dream. Everything is so magical, full of enjoyment… that I have nothing more to ask from my life. My dream girl and I… I can do anything for her…"

I was baking a heart shape cake.

I read the next line from the recipe book, "…decorate it with cherries."

"Oh No!!! I forgot the cherries"

But there was a pack of red cherries on the oven. I grabbed the packet without much thinking, and took out the cherries to decorate the cake. I kept the cake on the dining table. Tens of scented candles were lighting our living room.

"Honey I am ready please join me to cut cake… could you also bring a knife please" I called my dream girl.

And there she was… smiling in a red becoming gown… standing at the opening between the kitchen and the living room. A knife with a long blade was there in her hand. My eyes got fixed on the shining sharp steel blade on which a five corners star sign was marked just before the wooden handle of the knife.

I fainted.

__END__

He sits by the side walk, head low and drooping shoulders with certainly a remorseful look on the face that emerged from of a moment of weakness transforming a well evolved relationship into a meaningless and strange entity in an illusionary world…

The sweaty summer of 1978 in Mumbai wreaks unpleasantness and engulfs the sweet innocence of the teenage congregation at the college canteen with a mercurial high of 38 degrees in the month of May. Cold drinks are being passed around by the canteen boy, Chotu who doubles up as an entertainer; he sings popular Hindi songs and breaks into a jig once in a while. The applause he receives resonates in the small, dimly lit room that can house no more than twenty people but now holding fifty people; some sitting on the window ledges and some on the floor.

The 'heart' of the college is this canteen where inventions are created by the 'Nobel Laureate' types and hearts are broken and mended by the 'Love Sick' types. There is also room for the ones who don't belong to either ends of the spectrum and struggle with all their might to stay neutral to stay in tandem with their rational minds.

"Hello, so do you want to go for a movie after Economics Class?" asks Ravi, a lanky lad who sports cheap imitation clothes emulating film actors. All of 19, he exhibits an attitude of an aspiring movie star though his parents struggle through the month to keep their heads above water.

"Not today. I promised that I would pay the electricity bill on the way back home from college," replies Ashok whose attitude is defined by middle class values which seldom gets messed owing to lack of exposure and an in built animosity to anything remotely against it.

Still the two pals get along like a house on fire with Ravi doing most of the talking and planning and Ashok tagging along with few mumbles and smiles.

"Come on Ashok, do that tomorrow," says Ravi urging Ashok.

"No, I can't do that; the electricity at home will be cut," says Ashok in a convincing manner.

"Always doing things for home," says Ravi and together they walk toward two chairs around a table that had just been cleared.

"So what's today's number?" asks Ashok excitedly.

"Wait till I open the chocolate wrapper," replies Ravi unwrapping the outer plastic cover of the chocolate to reveal a white paper wrap underneath. The number '5' is cited on the white paper and he announces, "It's 5."

"Let me see the number on my coupon," says Ashok very excitedly and searches his wallet and brings out a blue folded piece of lottery ticket. "The first number is 5 on my ticket as well!" he says excitedly.

Ravi, the boisterous of the two jumps and does a cart wheeling jig to display his thrill.

"Let's not be happy so soon. I still have more four numbers to go," warns Ashok.

But Ravi didn't listen to any of what Ashok is saying and continues his histrionics.

The following day as is the usual norm they meet during the lunch break at the canteen. There is an ambient noise coming from the radio and seems a bit muffled to decipher what it was actually playing. Surprisingly, they find a table close to the window which overlooks the ladies' common room and Ravi is happy eyeing the new entrants of the year.

"Look at the one with the purple dress; she's so cute!" says Ravi without even taking his eyes off her.

"I'm sure she is! Did you buy the chocolate?" asks Ashok somewhat irritated.

"What chocolate?" replies Ravi still ogling at the many 'colourful wonders' as he would call them.

"Ravi!" screams Ashok and makes sure his tone gets Ravi into the present state.

"Huh? Sorry, yes and you were saying? Ah, yes, the chocolate!" says Ravi sporting an impish grin on his face.

Knowing the ways of his friend, Ashok breaks into a giggle and takes out the coupon from his pocket. Their understanding was that Ravi would buy the chocolate from the money that Ashok had given him by saving on the bus fares back home; he had been walking back from the bus stop everyday for the past few weeks to awaken Lady Luck and make her shine on him. And he held the coupon which came as a part of a jam bottle. The shopkeeper had commented that Ashok had a face which has the capability to invite Lady Luck to be by his side. The coupon that he was currently holding was valid for another week and he needed four numbers tallying with the numbers on the white wrappers of 'Snow White' chocolates to claim the prize money of Rs. 20,000.

"The number is 7," says Ravi excitedly as he reveals the white wrapper to Ashok.

"It's 7 here as well! But can you not make such a big deal by advertising the chocolate here? What will the girls think when they know that I'm digging into 'Snow White' chocolates every day?" asks Ashok.

"When you win the prize money, they will make up your fan following," says Ravi with a twinkle in his eye. He continues, "What are you going to do with the money?"

"I'm three numbers away, Ravi," says Ashok in a cautious tone.

"Yes, but still tell me," urges Ravi.

"I can use it to study further to become a lawyer and fulfil the dreams of my parents," says Ashok with a forlorn look in his eyes.

"That's the plan?" asks Ravi in a dismissive manner.

"It may not seem important to you, but I want to see my parents happy," stresses Ashok looking at Ravi who is now busy devouring the chocolate oblivious to the emotional state of mind that his friend is in.

"Excellent chocolate!" says Ravi licking the wrapper.

"Can you be a little discreet?" asks Ashok nodding his head in disapproval.

Ravi lets out a little giggle and says, "Yes, Mr. Lawyer!" and they walk out of the canteen.

The afternoon heat the next day is excruciating as most of the students at the canteen are holding bottles of cold drinks and sipping away at a rate fast enough for the canteen owner to order Chotu to pull out another crate from the attic to be able to cool it in the fridge.

"Mother is ill, so I must go home early today," says Ashok.

"Chotu, get a bottle of Thums Up for our lawyer saab here," says Ravi summoning the canteen boy who hurries to obey the orders.

"I have no time to sit down and gossip, so what's the number?" asks Ashok stomping his feet in impatience.

"Lawyers have to learn patience, my friend. Cases can drag on for years," giggles Ravi. "Sit down and we'll share the surprise together and he starts to unwrap their hopes; the chocolate.

"Number 9 for you," says Ravi and puts the white wrapper on the table.

The tea arrives and between sips Ashok brings his lottery ticket close to his eyes and says, "Yes, its 9 here as well!"

The pact was that Ashok would reveal the coupon to his friend only on the last day as his superstition had it that lady Luck does not like to reveal herself in the fear of being doubted at; so he might just displease her.

"I'll have to rush home, see you tomorrow here at lunch time. I will be taking mother to the doctor in the morning. Don't forget to bring the chocolate!" says Ashok rushing out of the canteen.

Now Ravi is left by himself to munch on the chocolate in the manner he deems fit without being commented upon. The canteen slowly starts overflowing with the girls rehearsing for the college play to be held the following week. With no one to reprimand his childish behaviour, Ravi asks for another Thums Up and lets his eyes pan the entire canteen; from the entrance to the dark corner facing him and from the payment counter to the girls sitting in the middle of the canteen and giggling loudly. Ravi pulls up his collar aping his favourite movie star and starts walking towards the girls' tables to make an impression.

The next day brings Ashok to the canteen with the wrinkles on his forehead manifesting the muddle in his head.

"How's aunty?" asks Ravi sitting at their usual place at the canteen.

"The doctor says it could be hypertension. She is worried about getting didi married," replies Ashok sounding concerned.

"Don't worry, let's see if Lady Luck is on your side today as well," urges Ravi and starts unwrapping the chocolate.

"Number 8 for you!" says Ravi excitedly.

"Wow! 8 here as well," says Ashok unable to contain his excitement.

"Just one number to go. Why don't you tell me what it is? I'm curious and can't wait till tomorrow," tells Ravi trying to get a peek at the lottery ticket.

"Don't its inauspicious," says Ashok scolding Ravi who is already laughing loudly.

But his mind is set on knowing what Ashok's fate reveals. And when the mind is faced with stubbornness, it turns into a resolve to defeat the purpose it is against. "Look who's there? Hello Prof. Sharma!" says Ravi and stands up from his chair to mark his respect for the oldest Professor of Economics in the college who also was revered by Ashok. The moment Ashok hears the Professor's name; he stands and looks behind him with his hands crossed behind his back. Ravi jumps at this opportunity and gets closer to the coupon in Ashok's hand and gets a glance at the last number and then sits back calmly in his chair.

"Where is Prof. Sharma?" he turns around and asks Ravi asks rather irritated.

"He was here a moment back. Sorry you didn't see him! But don't worry, we will be in his class shortly," says Ravi with a straight face like nothing happened in last few seconds.

"Hmmm…." mutters Ashok, his mind still on his mother's health.

They leave letting Lady Luck decide the course of action for the next day. Ashok is convinced that it will be his moment of glory as he has entrusted his hopes on his destiny that he is sure of and spends the night sleeping like a baby. Ravi on the other hand is restless with knowing he tricked Ashok and peeked at his destiny. Will Lady Luck be angry with them? Will she shine on Ashok?

The bright morning seems different to Ravi as Ashok is one number away from the truth and he knows that he is looking at the last chocolate he would buy for Ashok. Temptations sweep him as he is fiddling with the chocolate in his hands. "Should I get a peek?" he mutters and then decides to ignore the impulsive side of his mind. He heads to college and sits through the lectures with his mind only on the outcome of their adventure which is to shape their destiny. "His destiny!" Ravi corrects his mind. He scans the classroom scouting for Ashok who is nowhere in sight.

The hours go by and Ravi gets impatient and pulls out the chocolate from his pocket. He heads towards the canteen and his surroundings seem different to him. Maybe it's his mind playing tricks on him; the ambient noise seems to dull around him. It falls silent and his mind seems to be talking to him. He hears it carefully and his hand again fiddles with the chocolate. "Should I or shouldn't I?" he asks silently. He could and pretend like nothing happened. He was an aspiring actor anyway, so Ashok wouldn't suspect him. Slowly the crowd at the canteen starts to thin down as the lunch hour is almost over. "Where are you?" he mutters and taps his fingers on the table with his eyes fixed on the chocolate.

And then after a good contemplation of an hour or so, he sees Ashok enter the canteen with a sombre look on his face and Ravi doesn't say anything. He hands him the white wrapper of luck and truth. Ashok's face falls. "6? And I wanted a 0. Is that all my luck?" says Ashok and gives the coupon to Ravi. "Now you can see it! Lady Luck can't be angry with me anymore."

Weeks roll by and Ashok's appearance at college becomes a rarity; not that Ravi misses him.

The tubes that are running back and forth from his mother paint a gory picture of the situation. The nurses are running in and out of the room and the doctor is putting down his observations on his writing pad.

"Well, I got here as soon as I could. How's aunty?" asks Ravi.

"She's going to need an operation to remove the clot from her brain. I needed the money, Ravi. I needed that money," cries Ashok.

Ravi comes out of the hospital and sits by the side walk with his head low and shoulders drooping. He searches his pocket and finds the keys to his guilt; the keys to his new, red car deflecting sunlight off its roof top, standing proudly next to him. He drops the keys on the hard cobbled pavement and along with it, two white wrappers with the number 6 which he had deceived Ashok with and the other one with his lucky number 0 on it which blinded him into an illusionary world.

END

The room was lit brightly. Blinding lights focused on a shiny white stage. A gleaming black desk stood right in the middle of it all. Everything shined obscenely. Everything seemed to be waiting with bated breath for something.

A man walked in wearing a dark blue suit, a suit sharply cut. He had a folder tucked under his left arm and had a shiny candy wrapper in his hands which he was struggling with to eat. It was quite a long walk from the end of the room to the table right in the middle. The man struggled all the way even as the cameras followed his progress. He finally was at the desk, the candy in his mouth as he flicked the empty wrapper away from him and set the folder down. His mouth moved a few times as he swallowed the large piece of toffee he just ate.

"Hello!" he smiled for the camera. A row of pearly white teeth shone in the glaring lights. "I am your host for tonight so just let me look up the agenda!"

He opened the folder and sifted through the pages. "Well apparently the Earth is coming to an end just like it has been coming to for the last 100 days!" he let out a piercing laugh after that. "And on the agenda is the same god damned thing that's been there for the last 100 days!"

"WE ARE THE CHOSEN ONES! And by that I mean we are the ones who are left behind while the important people moved away from the disaster zone-EARTH! Yes folks, we are going to be dead soon. and the governments have decided that WE are going to die in comfort. So get your drugs from the nearest shop around you. Get stoned, get drunk, get weird! It's an exciting time in our lives. Do ANYTHING! Just don't despair. We have no hope left! But HEY! At least it ENDS TONIGHT!" Another shrill laugh. The transmission cut.

A new ad appeared. "Do you feel down? Do you feel the end of the world is getting is overwhelming you? If yes then you're a loser! Just go get your drugs and forget. Get high, get drunk, get stoned! It's all free. We are the chosen ones! Death and destruction and chaos chose us! We are gonna have a fuc-"

ME

"I can't listen to this anymore." I said to no one. Actually I did say to a few, they were just too stoned to hear me anymore. I looked around the room. People sat around like zombies. A 100 days of celebration and it showed. A 100 days of free drugs and free booze and free what not. They were all locked in their own small world.

I snatched my overcoat from the make shift bed and picked up my book. Navigating my way through the mass of stacked and stoned bodes was easy enough. I just trod on them. No one noticed.

The streets were dead quiet. A few men and women moved around like zombies, most probably headed to a shop to get their next hit. I navigated my way through the ever growing crowd. The sun was barely out but the people were on a different schedule. A hit schedule. A schedule that was now completely warped by their addictions. A few people were lying around on the few streets near the shops. And when I say a few I mean dozens. Hundreds. Thousands. The earth stank. The stench was too powerful but I had gotten used to it. It was hard now to approach any shop since every store was authorized by the government to carry free stuff, free booze, free drugs. Drugs now mostly but groceries too. I pushed my way through the zoned out junkies and found my way to the few tinned edible items. I filled my pockets with as much food as I could. The over coat with it's deep and plentiful pockets came in handy. I now had candy bars and tinned cans of fruits, pickles, condensed milk with me plus a few loaves of bread.

I didn't need the drugs, I didn't use them. I had decided early on that I liked my mind too much to let it go waste so quickly. Plus I wanted to see and feel the moment before I died. That moment of…whatever. I wanted to feel it. I will not be stoned out of my mind to not feel a thing. I looked at the counter where the drugs were piled up. The store clerks were there but they were zoned out. Or dead. Two of them were resting with their backs to the wall just behind the counter. I couldn't see their chests moving. Dead then.

I walked out and again had to push my way past the clamoring idiots, the rotten apples, the dregs of society. Except they all were like this now. They had all succumbed. At the end they had decided to die a pitiful death.

I walked away from the shop. The bodies moaned and gesticulated. They thrashed and turned. I don't know how many of them are dead already. Or how many of them are dying. At this point it didn't matter. The streets had become a mass graveyard.

I found myself walking the same path I have been walking since the first day of this madness struck. The first day the news came in that the world was going to end soon I walked into the library and headed straight to the fiction section. I did that today too. I picked up a few books and headed out. It was quiet in here. The signs "Please keep quiet" and "Silence is golden!" stared back at me all too depressingly. I think even the signs missed the shuffling of feet and the whispered chats shared by the libraries patrons. The library had become unnaturally quiet. There was no need for signs anymore.

I had decided on my previous journeys out that there was no need for me to look up . The area I was headed to didn't have as many bodies since there weren't as many shops around. The people had decided to leave for the shops permanently and now this part had essentially become a ghost town. I buried my nose in one of the books I had picked up. Sifting through it's musty old pages was a relief. A relief I had needed more and more since the day the world started degenerating into a madhouse. A perverse colony.

My foot struck something and I fell hard. I barely stopped my fall as the ground came rushing up towards me. In the end I had to fling the book away and use my hands to stop my fall. I was on my knees with whatever that made me stumble lying near my feet. I got up and looked once. It was a bundle of clothes, or so I thought at first. There was some hair on top so I decided to stop my investigation right there. Whatever it was, was dead. I gathered my book from where it lay and walked on. Nose buried in one of the chapters, completely oblivious to the outside world. I had to be.

I stopped at the rusted old gate and pushed. It was always hard to get this opened. I was always worried I would get a cut but not anymore. It was the last day. The very last. Nothing mattered anymore. Nothing mattered but the fear.

I walked in and closed the gate behind me. I didn't want anyone to stumble in. I kept on walking then, past the small guards cabin to the graves behind it. And there they were, the people. The alive and healthy ones, waiting for me. The graveyard had become the last resort of the living. Or the ones still left with the will to live. As I walked in a few of those who were reading looked up at me and smiled. I fished in my pockets and started handing out tins and books. I was the supplies guy here, the "scrounger", a term I fondly remembered from the movie "The Great Escape".

I chose an empty corner, my usual corner, and sat down next to the grave of someone whose name was now not visible but apparently he had been " A great friend, a great husband and a great man." I always looked at that inscription and I couldn't help but wonder, I will have no tombstone, no grave, no one to grieve after me. It was harder to swallow in the early days but now I have come to terms with it.

One of the children came running towards me and sat down to hear a story. It was a routine now, everyday I read the children a story and in return they got candy bars.

"It's just you today?" I asked her, tickling her under the chin. She giggled at that but replied nonetheless. "Their parents didn't want them to come today."

I nodded at that. The attendance was poor enough. Still, she was here, so I read her a story. "Do you remember Harry Potter?"

"The boy who lived?" she said with a smile.

"Yes that's the one. And do you remember the villain?" I smiled back.

"It's you-know-who!" she squealed out, a squeal of both fear and excitement. She is 6.

"Oh you need not worry. You can say his name!" I said. She just crossed her arms in front of her and said nothing.

"Hey I'll keep you safe. You know I will." I said fondly.

"I don't like him, no nosey. What do you fear? I don't like men with no nosey."

I sighed inwardly, what would I tell her?

"Ok I'll continue with the story then!" So I read her the last part of Harry Potter till lunch. To her credit she did try to stay awake till the very end but by lunch she was fast asleep. I smoothed her hair a bit and then walked over to where the others were sitting.

"So what are you guys planning to do?" I asked. It was the last day, it meant nothing now to almost the whole world but to us few, the ones who had resisted the drugs, it meant a lot. We muttered among ourselves for a while. We all said our farewells. Some of the more religious ones sat down and prayed. We shared lunch. I got up then and went back to my own corner. The girl was still asleep. I knew she'd wake up soon and she would be hungry so I kept two candy bars handy.

I read one of my own books, I had used the 100 days to catch up on my reading. I was an analyst when the world was sane. Now I was a guy who read as many books he could before he died. I thought, if I have to die soon then why not live as many lives as I can? So I read books and the people with children who had decided not to go crazy with the others followed me to my graveyard. Followed me and sat with me and all of us gave each other a little comfort. It was all we could have done. It was all anybody could do.

I know that mankind will survive the day. The 100 day warning had come only when the REAL chosen ones had been shipped out of the planet in tiny spaceships. One night the sky was set ablaze as many spacecrafts took off at once. The next day we got the news. So the CHOSEN ONES had all departed. All of them already gone. We were left stranded, unable to survive. That was why of course they gave away all the free drugs. They had been stockpiling them for months, years even. Who knew? All I know is there will be no tomorrow.

I fondly stroked the book in my hand. Foundation by Isaac Asimov. I want to see the future so bad. It's probably why I had been reading so much sci-fi lately. A world which I could never see, which I could only yearn for but one which these writers made possible for me. I kept reading for a while but I really wanted to walk. I gave the girl the candies, put them right in her tiny hands and then walked away. I waved goodbye to the others and just headed out.

I found one of the taller buildings and walked straight to the roof. One last sunset.

It was a glorious sunset.

The last one.

A wonderful one.

A beautiful one.

THE END

He wrote down the last lines in his diary, something he had started maintaining since the world went mad and crumbled. He threw it away from him. It didn't do him any good. He found the remote and flicked on the TV. A few grumbles erupted from the sleeping slumped junkie hordes. He wanted to see what was happening. He couldn't sit still, he was feeling agitated.

"HELLO FOLKS! IT'S ME! Your host! And I AM STONED! It's the end of the world PARTY! And it's INSANE! We are all gonna die in one glorious spurt of power! A billion voices crying in anguish! Oh what a brilliant chorus it will be! Oh what lovely sound! Oh what music!"

The host weeped a little but then the drugs kicked in. "I wish you all!" now his eyes shined with madness, with lunacy, "I wish you all a merry merry death! I wish you all to be so stoned you don't feel a thing!"

The transmission didn't cut this time. The host had gone mad it seemed. He was jumping around and celebrating. A bizarre end to life. The earth rumbled then, the sky screamed. IT was beginning, IT was happening. The host could feel it too and was laughing his high pitched laughter, no, he was screaming. Shutting off the TV he glanced out of the window. The world was changing, he could feel it. He could see it was affecting the junkies too, some of them were standing up and gazing at the stars while some of them stood up to see what was happening. He could see their confusion even through the high window. He could see they were tense, tense and terrified. But strangely enough he wasn't, he was calm. Calmer than he had been before.

Something about the hosts madness had calmed him down. Somehow he knew that if he let go of his sanity now it would be worse than the drugs. He would loose his mind, his one precious commodity. He wanted it to be with him till the very end. So he sat down and waited, closed his eyes as the world went mad around him all over again. HE could now hear the people around him howling, screaming. More sounds came from the open window. But he just smiled, it was the end and he was the only human left who could rationalize, who could still think clearly. In the end, as he felt the searing heat and the flesh burning of his skin, as the building he was in began to crumble, he just smiled. He had no fear anymore, he was at peace.

__END__

Just sharing dem stories.