As told by Mathias, a human
You know that weird, semi-conscious state when you realize you’re not asleep anymore, but you haven’t opened your eyes yet? I usually tried to make those dreadful seconds last as long as possible, with the feeble hope that sleep would return, allowing me to escape from reality for a couple more hours.
I found myself slowly regaining consciousness, and I realized I didn’t remember when I had fallen asleep, to begin with. I felt a heavy dampness in my clothes and skin. I always woke up drenched in sweat after a bad night.
I pressed my eyelids, refusing to give in. I dreaded waking up. I was confused. I questioned my memories. I mean, were they really memories? It would make so much more sense if it all were a dream. A nightmare, more so.
Yeah. That was it. A nightmare. I was no stranger to night terrors. The whole thing must have been one of the strangest, darkest oniric experiences in my account.
“It’s so damn dark in here, Bird. It’s freaking me out. I’m gonna open the curtains.”
“No, G, don’t. You’ll startle him.”
“And waking up to me crouching in the darkness is not gonna startle him?”
I froze. Voices. Voices in my room. No. No, no, no, no. I was still dreaming. I had to be.
“You can always… not crouch. Sit properly, for once.”
“I’m physically unable to sit properly. You know that.”
I was not dreaming. Two voices. One I recognized, it was definitely the loud shrieking of the guy from the bridge. The other, deep and mellow, was entirely foreign. How– why were they in my room?
I half-opened my eyes, trembling. I was freezing. My eyesight was blurry. I spotted two shadows sitting right in front of me. I blinked a couple of times, making an effort to keep my breathing steady.
My eyes adjusted to the dark and I was able to better see them. The man from the bridge– G, was it? And another fellow, much larger and white as a ghoul. They were bickering in whispers.
“I’m familiar with your habit of perching on surfaces like a cute, little monkey,” continued the pale man, with a smile. “And I find it endearing, but you must do your best to avoid upsetting him further, after…”
He interrupted himself abruptly and turned his head in my direction. I was so startled by the sudden reaction that I gasped and opened my eyes wide.
“Shit, he’s up,” whispered G under his breath.
“I’ll give you two some space,” muttered the stranger, walking to the furthest corner of the room.
I sat on my bed, back against the wall, putting as much distance between me and them as possible.
“You’re still here,” I managed to say. My voice sounded horribly hoarse. “It wasn’t a nightmare.”
“Well, I wouldn't say that, honestly,” grumbled G, crossing his thin arms against his chest.
“Be nice, G,” politely pleaded the stranger, from the back of the room.
I turned to him, bewildered. Did he really think I wouldn’t notice him if he just stood still in that damn corner?
“And now– there's– there's another one– who are you?”
They both flinched.
“He can see me?” whined the pale man.
“You sure you're seeing a dude and not– uhm… a– a hummingbird?” asked G, raising an accusatory eyebrow. He stared at me as if I was insane.
“A what? Of course I see a dude! Who is this?”
The aforementioned dude walked cautiously towards us. I crawled away, scared out of my mind, and he instantly stood still and raised both hands, smiling amicably. He seemed to be making a calculated effort to appear friendly.
G took a step forward and pointed at him dramatically.
“Who is this, you ask?” he asked, in a deep, ominous voice. “ Shiver in fear upon his gaze, for he is the Grim Reaper!”
I felt the blood freezing in my veins. The Grim Reaper. In my living room.
The man turned to G with a severe frown. He chuckled and patted Death’s chest apologetically.
“Just kidding, just kidding,” laughed G. “He’s Bird. He’s a friend. He’s here to help us.”
“Was that– was that a joke?” I snarled, gritting my teeth. G shrugged with the most exasperating smile.
“You must forgive them. G’s sense of humor is rather… peculiar,” Bird said, giving him a harsh look. “We're deeply sorry for all this. I can only imagine how you feel. We'll take you to see someone that can help us. A friend.”
“Another one?” I cried. “How many of you are there? No. What're you gonna do to me?”
G stomped toward me and sat on the bed. I cowered against the wall.
“Look, you and I made a deal. A deal you shouldn’t remember, by all means, but here we are. I can't get us out of it and neither can Bird here. We’re at a loss. We really need to see this guy,” he blabbed, impatiently. “Besides, you almost killed yourself yesterday. What d'ya have to lose anyway?”
“Jesus, G,” reprimanded Bird, grabbing his arm and gently pulling him away from my bed. “Give him a break.”
G had a point, though. I let his words sink in, and began recalling the previous day in excruciating detail.
“Right. It was not a nightmare. I almost… did that.”
I felt the usual despaired hollowness in my stomach, that poignant pain that whispered in my ear that it was pointless to try.
G had promised me a chance. A chance to make it better, to get my happiness back. To get Mia back.
I wouldn’t think about it anymore. My brain was not to be trusted. I wouldn’t think. I wouldn’t.
“Okay. Let's go. Let me just… I need dry clothes,” I said, defeated.
They both nodded, in silent surprise. I took the first things I found in my closet and locked myself in the bathroom to change.
They began bickering again as soon as I closed the door. My apartment’s walls were paper-thin, so despite my best efforts to tune them out, I still heard their conversation clearly.
“I wish you wouldn't call me Grim Reaper,” reproached Bird. “I'm not grim nor do I reap people. Did you see how scared he was? I hate that.”
“Aw, Bird, I was just joking!” answered G, laughing. “Look at that pout. I’m sorry, love, I really am. Don’t mind me. You know you are the cutest freak of us all. There’s no way anyone in their right mind could find you scary.”
“You mean that? Taking you seriously is usually not the wisest course of action,” added Bird, appeased.
“I always mean it when it comes to you, handsome.”
Were they really flirting in my living room? I opened the door, pissed.
“Ahem,” I scoffed, loudly enough to startle them. “Shall we get going, before this gets any weirder?”
They nodded, smiling with a hint of guilt, and followed me out of the room.
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