The Comer

I ran for my life!

Under different circumstances, the rich colors of the tropical setting would have taken my breath away. The natural habitat was humongous in size and that made me feel so little and uneasy. My dread-filled gaze grazed big plants, big trees, big flowers and big... I screamed as I fell on the grass-clad ground; a sudden, overwhelming ache spreading from my left foot. The huge tree root that caused the fall was darkened and slightly dampened with the dew. Wherever I was, it was possibly the early hours of the day.

Oh I had to get out of here. That thing... That...

Leaving behind a faint scent of sweat, hurrying footsteps began to pass me one by one, while I tried to pull myself together and get on my feet again. The footsteps belonged to oddly dressed, punk-like youngsters carrying guns on their belts and swords or knives on their backs. Two of them shouted from afar in a language I didn't comprehend. Those passing me by replied in a scream.

I gulped and wiped a long, dark, wet hair lock off my forehead before managing to get up on my feet. A deafening screech rose from behind the thick trunks as earth rumbled and shook. I almost fell back on the ground but managed not to loose my balance. I started hobbling as I tried my best not to lose track of the youngsters ahead.

Damn! They were moving fast!

I pressed my lips together. The earth shook one more time. The group almost disappeared in the forest path clad in shadows. My heavy panting kept ringing in my ears.

I felt a hissing movement behind me.

For God's sake!

-20 minutes earlier-

My pale reflection stared back at me as I watched the cars down the streets below from the ajar window of my living room with a half empty glass of coke in my hands. From the 8th floor of the grotesque apartments located at the corner of Bell Street, traffic jammed with the evening horde hurrying back to their destinations seemed so peacefully distant from me. I was cherishing the bliss of not being a part of the artificial rhythm that man created to exploit man.

This was my home and home felt so unhomely.

Just like everything else in this apartment, these high ceilings, these long, expensive curtains that swished with the evening wind also seemed like a material set up of the evil that continuously sang the sirens' song about the power of currency.

I seemed not to fit in a world where you were your business card. Don't get me wrong, I am reduced to a small, rectangular piece of card stock, myself, thank you. I am a professional, a Bachelor of Arts and graphic designer.

This luxurious apartment belonged to my parents who had "kindly" bought it for me for my graduation from the famous University of Sardoni located on the outskirts of Attica City. If I leaned out from the window a bit, I could see its rising rooftops like a gothic castle under the dawning moonlight.

I didn't want to study graphic design. I wanted to be a performer. Obviously, I had wished upon the wrong star as a kid. Thus, I ended up working for one of my dad's advertisement companies in a transmogrified city where everything seemed surreal and blandly mechanical at the same time. People woke up, went to work, got out of work, went home and that started all over again with little to no spontaneity. I highly doubted that each light that poured out of countless windows carried a different story.

Mine was a story of confinement; a story of living somebody else's life. It was my parents' dream, not mine; I was the ideal daughter, the ideal sister-in-law, the perfect candidate for academia and the loving pet owner.

Enter my lovely Bombay cat Carbonel! He was the only one who understood me with those huge, yellow eyes of his. His panther-like appearance was a shudder for some guests and that was like our little secret game. I was a loner and Carbonel knew it through that special bond between a cat and their owner. He acted strange in the company of such guests. He stared at them for prolonged, eerie periods or hissed out of the blue towards some invisible company or made strange noises in the bedroom.

Soon, I would end up excusing our guests out the door and he would reclaim his place on my lap.

Together, we lied on the sofa across the plasma set and began watching the latest episode of our favorite anime or went over the oldies that I downloaded occasionally. Carbonel's favorites were "Attack of the 50 Feet Woman" (the original) and "Let's Scare Jessica to Death" (I think he had a fancy for the protagonist).

I always thought (wanted, actually) how amazing it would be if life turned upside down and into a movie or anime. How exciting it would be if I had flowing purple hair and could battle against the forces of evil with a laser gun... or if I could have the chance to be evil, myself.

I jumped as a few crows passed by the window, cawing. After that moment of blankness full of pounding heartbeat passed me by, I took a deep breath and leaned my forehead on the window pane. My breath condensed on the window and I got carried away by a dark train of thoughts.

I was loosing faith as the hands of fate turned all humanity into the slaves of man-made layouts. Those who fit in survived; those who didn't were either idealized as celebrities or mocked as outcasts. The dilemma lingered as hope deteriorated... Thus, being a part of the flock felt unbelievably blasé to me and the only times I felt at piece were those hours I spent in front of the TV with Carbonel by my side.

During those times, it felt as if the TV leaked into the living room; the high ceiling quickly turned azure, the walls ended up different shades of green while the floor became tile red and, soon, I could almost float in the air while jumping from one roof to another after my companions to fight the big bad of the story arch. It was a relief to move against the laws of gravity. The thought, the possibility of having such an ability showered me in euphoria.

A faint pat on my left ankle pulled me back to reality and I blinked at my reflection before turning my stare downwards only to be welcomed with two piercing yellow eyes. I smiled at the main guy in my life and found respite in his presence as usual.

"Hey there handsome", I kneeled and continued on a soft tone, "Looks like it's going to be one of those nights." With my free hand, I stroked him from head to tail, a favorite gesture of his. He looked at me for a brief moment and started licking his paw to which I smirked. He had his way of telling me "I don't buy it lady. Let's get moving to the sofa and only then will I react merrily to your puny attempts of affection."

Or so I thought. Maybe he was just licking his paw. With a cat, you never knew...

I got up with knees crackling and proceeded towards the open kitchen. Disposing the remaining coke into the sink, I started getting rid of the remains of the dinner and set the plate, the salad bowl and the glass into the dishwasher.

Life turning into an anime... What a relief it would be to wear the same clothes over and over again. I was too busy killing the world of fashion to notice the ruffled curtains over the single-hung tilt windows billowing for a brief moment.

I started the countertop dishwasher, set the coffee machine to 10 minutes and glided towards the bedroom while pulling my jumper over my head. The flat was small but the ceilings were high enough to make one feel devoured by its Victorian angle. There were even carvings on the ceilings, patterns on the corners of the walls and I won't even go to the gargoyles on the edges of the buildings. Tall windows and high arcs complimented its style but this was what Attica City was famous for; reflecting its legacy by preserving the old buildings and keeping that touch alive in the new buildings erected.

The city breathed history while it consumed technology.

I sat on my crimson bed and touched a few times on the digital panel above its head to program a light cradle during my sleep. I didn't like this type of luxury but since I had it, it would feel dumb not to make use of it. Getting up, I proceeded towards the transparent, semicircular shower cabin that protruded from one of the bedroom walls and made the necessary adjustments on the wall panel next to it for a warm shower that will last 5 minutes 15 seconds, precisely. The cabin door glided into the wall as I stepped in and closed back behind me.

With that, it fell so quiet. The plastic feel of the cabin floor under my feet, the narrow, tubular space and the fact that I hadn't turned on the lights and ended up in the dark all added up to the coffin effect.

Then, the water poured and tore the silence apart.

In 10 minutes, I was in my velour, thigh-length robe with cute ruffles around its wrists and hem. It was a present from... Anyway, I let my hair dry on its own as I got out of the bedroom. Carbonel, who had been lying curled on the bed and eyeing me ever since I got out of the shower, jumped down and followed me with a purr. It was our quality time and tonight was the anime night. We were about to watch the last episode of the anime series named Naruto Shippuuden. As I reached for the coffee mug, he jumped on the comfy sofa and stared at me with erect ears.

With my black coffee sugar at hand, I turned the lights off and paced towards the sofa under the pale blue light of the night. Sliding under the cashmere blanket that my cat and I both came to love, I found myself instantly embraced in soothing warmth. The episode was ready. I picked the flat remote. The blinking red light on the corner first turned green, then disappeared as Carbonel settled himself comfortably on my thighs.

The plasma screen turned on and the episode began. This was a rather emotional one since it was going to be Naruto's first encounter with his best friend Sasuke after years.

Carbonel twitched as an on-screen explosion boomed through the speakers. The enormous damage the characters were giving to the natural habitat while fighting was simply unbelievable. I was expecting significant flora extinction by the time the series would be over.

Talking about flora, I swear I could smell wet grass or the smell of earth after the rainfall. I took a deep breath while Naruto started running towards the light at the end of the tunnel. The tunnel seemed to burst out of the screen and into the room and I swear I could hear Naruto's footsteps right next to me.

Funny! The balmy wind that blew into the tunnel licked my face, the walls blended into the light and the sights mixed with sounds...

... I blinked my eyes rapidly. The grass beneath my legs felt cold and moist to the touch.

The... Grass?

I could feel a mild headache as if I'd bumped my forehead into something but obviously I had more serious problems. Was I experiencing a lucid dream? I had to be because this... this engulfing jungle looked far from my living room.

The earth shook and the loudest grumble I had ever heard almost hit me like a blast. From behind a group of trees, countless snakes rose up in the air with a human-like figure grasped tightly among their bodies.

I... I couldn't move and just stared in complete terror as the snakes released the figure and a humongous, reptilian-like mouth ascended from behind the tree tops and tore it apart in his jaws. Fear and adrenaline rushed in my veins. I took a step back while the earth continued to shake and the creature went on emitting that blood chilling sound. Just as I turned around and started running, I saw from the corner of my eyes, indistinguishable shadows jumping and running out from behind the huge tree trunks and rushing towards me.

I had neither time nor the intention to figure out what they were.

I ran for my life!

-Now-

The hissing grew louder and the only other sound I could hear was my own panting. I could also smell my own urine as it dribbled down my legs and blended into the knee-length grass. I could not turn around, nor could I move forward because of the numbness of reality that weighed heavy on me.

It was too late!

It all had happened in the blink of an eye and I couldn't find an explanation to any of this except that I had fallen asleep while watching TV and into the grasp of a nightmare. If that was so, I was going to have one hell of a story to tell by the camp fire when I woke up.

I trembled as a foul breath enveloped me before a scream escaped my lips as sharp, penetrating teeth sank into my shoulder blades, wrists, knees, ankles, waistline. They pierced through my flesh and nailed me in place. My eyes opened wide, I choked on my own blood and writhed in panic due to the graphicness of taste in my mouth. This felt too real to be a dream and even if it were a dream, I wanted to wake up from it right here right now. I never imagined that my subconscious could play such a foul joke on me.

My daydreams or fantasies about living in an anime world never involved this much pain... I longed to wake up any minute.

I...

I hurt so much that it left me unconscious for a split second before I managed to shout again, rather in vain and solely out of fear, with the last breath left in my lungs. Blood poured down from where the snakes had grabbed me. Tiny streams of my life started dripping from above to the ground while the snaes lifted me up in the air. Further teeth grabbed me by the cheeks and teeth plunged into my cheekbones. My own blood blurred my vision and my hearing was replaced with a ringing as the grumble rose from beneath.

The light of the dawn above me, gave way to darkness as millions of razors cut through my skin, my flesh, my insides and finally...

... my soul...

-Later-

Crunching of grass beneath boots could be heard approaching the crimson stained forest path. Indiscriminable skin tissues were scattered all around, some hanging on the dark red branches. The footsteps stopped abruptly. A female voice mumbled something in an alien language:

-- translation --

female: ...that?

male: I do not know. A rare comer, perhaps.

female: Huh... So much blood for a single victim. Sad...

male: Sad? Why, we were lucky to escape that deva, ourselves.

female: True. *brief silence* Ours is a cruel world.

Then, footsteps disappeared beneath the trees as the suns rose in the sky...

... and the the pale moonlight sneaked in from one of the tall windows, its faint light illuminating the empty room. Curtains waved with the evening breeze while Carbonel kept licking his tummy lazily on the sofa.

Lying crampled on the floor was a cashmere blanket.

Completing the sleep timer countdown on its huge screen, the plasma set turned itself off.