Dead Dreams

         This city is titanic; it is monstrous. If it was smaller and less threatening, perhaps it would be possible to leave. I once loved this city. Well, love is far too strong a word. I once claimed this city as my home, but I am aware now that it was never my home, because I would have travelled away from this city. I would have left it and gone on to do great things. But this city isn’t a home; it is a creature; it is alive, and it is evil. It is quite literally keeping me here against my will. It is fattening me up and planning on digesting me.
         No one will believe me. I try to tell everyone I can but they will not listen. At night, sometimes the fear of this city becomes too much, and I decide to drive out of this place, to drive as far as I can without worrying about my destination. I have tried to drive away, but it seems all of the roads and highways end up back inside the city, either by witchcraft or by design. I have decided to gather the people I love the most and save them from this place, whether they wish it or not. When they realize that they have been its prey, they will thank me.

         In highschool I had a friend. Today, I went to retrieve him and convince him of this evil that lurks inside the city. He was a good friend of mine; he needed to be freed. I remembered where he lived so I drove there in the night, when it is harder for the city to watch me. When I got there, his lights were off. So I knocked on the door very hard. I knew he would not believe me at first. I knew I would have to take him by force. So I hid in the rose bushes and readied my knife for when he opened the door. I would not hurt him with the knife; I would only threaten him. I heard footsteps coming down the stairs inside. The roses smelled foul, and their thorns cut me and made me bleed.
         The door creaked open, and I clutched my knife and prepared to detain him. I expected a face my age, the one that I knew and remembered, but an unfamiliar face appeared, the face of an old man. The wretched city had swallowed my friend and replaced him with a demon! Luckily the old man did not notice me in the bushes. So I decided I would avenge my friend’s death, and kill the demon. I would sneak into his room when he was asleep and slit his throat. But then I lost my footing in the bushes, and almost fell. I caught myself, but the leaves rustled, and the old man heard. He turned his head toward the bushes with the speed of a frightened deer. It was dark, and the old man’s eyes were no doubt worn and blurry, so he could not tell if his eyes were playing tricks on him. He walked down the stairs of his porch, and slowly peered at the rose bushes from a few feet away. I decided I wouldn’t wait for him to sleep. If he came any closer I would slit his throat.
         He stood there for a while looking intently at the bushes. I stayed silent and unmoving. It felt like this lasted an hour. I wanted to slit his throat. I wanted to kill this part of the city which destroyed my friend. But although he looked for a long time, he did not move any closer, and he walked inside. I decided it was best to leave him alone.
         My mother will surely believe me. I will find her tomorrow. We hadn’t talked in a long time, but if my life is in danger she will surely listen.

         My mother hates me as much as she always did. When I went to see her, I told her of what is happening. And do you know what she did? She ignored me! She would not speak to me at all! I banged my hand on the table next to her and that got her attention. She jumped, but she did not turn around. She did not even acknowledge my existence! I was sad and I went to hug her and say I loved her. She was always mad at me for not making anything of myself. She was mad at me for not leaving this city and going to college and becoming the great person I knew I could be. I knew I could be a great writer. But she would never believe in me, and she won’t believe that it is not my fault. It is this wretched city! It has taken everyone from me! And when I went to hug her, she finally turned around and acknowledged my existence. But she screamed and pushed me away. She ran away! I don’t know why she will not love me.
         However, she did not look well. We haven’t talked in a long time, so maybe she is sick. She looked as if she was almost 100 years old. Perhaps this city is taking its toll on her too. It crossed my mind to slit her throat. I thought that maybe she was an imposter and that the city had swallowed her too. But I mustn’t believe that. Regardless of how much she hates me, I must save her. I must save her from this city. I did some research and I found a new lead. There is a rumor about this city that I found online. Some people believe this city is being possessed by a ghost, the ghost of a 25 year old who overdosed on heroin 40 years ago. He slits people’s throats in the night.