Interlude

  He was walking out for the first time in a while, just to shop for groceries as usual. He often did so late at night to avoid meeting people.

  "Don't forget the eggs," the familiar whisper returned.

  The voice in his head always reminded him he was lonely, but never alone. Everyone he ever loved either died, rejected him, or left him, but the voice in his head was always there with him.

  The voice in his head was a gift he got after almost drowning.

  The Physical and Health Education curriculum enforced all students to learn swimming by the end of year six. A skill he wasn't interested in.

  He always hated swimming pools. Swimming in all those germs wasn't something he was enthusiastic about, so he often stood at the edge of the pool and watched on.

  He stood on the edge of the pool as usual on that fateful day and watched the others swim on. Suddenly, he felt someone push him. He fell into the pool with a loud splash.

  He had never learned nor attempted to swim, so he started drowning immediately. He could see the son of the PE teacher and the school bully, Reynolds, laughing loudest among the others. The PE teacher also joined the merriment while he drowned on. He tried his best to survive, throwing his hands and legs however he could, but it was to no avail. Slowly, he felt life drain out of him as everything turned dark.

  He woke up to the face of the PE teacher among others trying to resuscitate him. The teacher said to him what would forever stain his memory.

  "You almost died because you were weak. And I saved you because I can't have you die on my watch."

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  He went home, scared, humiliated, and traumatized.

  "He spoke the truth. You are so weak and deserve to die for it."

  Those were the first set of words the voice in his head ever spoke to him.

  He checked to see who spoke, but there was nobody in sight. At first he thought he had ran mad, but after a few days of the voice speaking consistently to him. He came with terms of having a new friend living inside his head.

  His was friend was nameless. He was faceless. He was bodiless. He was nothing but a voice.

  He walked around the shop picking groceries he needed while he hummed under his breath. He kept checking the list to make sure he didn't miss anything.

  He walked to the counter after picking all the groceries and handed them to the cashier.

  He stared at her face. There was a look of disgust plastered on it as she scanned his groceries. He was a bit angry. What did he do to deserve a look of disgust?

  "Your bill is $30.99," she said, handing back the groceries.

  He handed her a wad of cash.

  Something caught his eye. There was something strangely familiar about the girl walking by. He went to the window to get a better look. He recognized her instantly. And she was walking hand in hand with an unknown man. He felt pure rage. It was the first time he was seeing her in a long time after she rejected him.

  "She's with someone better than you," the voice in his head said.

  He tried to go through the door to trail her.

  "The money is not complete. Short of four dollars to be precise," the cashier broke his thought.

  He counted four dollars more and handed it to the cashier. He hurried out of the shop and followed the couple from a distance. They seemed stuck in their thoughts and were quite oblivious to anyone being on their trail. He stopped at a distance and watched them bid each other goodnight.

  Is he the reason she rejected me? She never showed me this side of her.

  "She was never yours to begin with. You never had any hope of being with her," the voice said to him.

  He went to the nearest pay telephone booth. He still had her cell number. He punched her number into the pay phone and waited while it rang.

  "What are you doing? What if she recognizes your voice?" the voice said to him.

  It was one of the rare moments he appreciated the voice's opinion. He definitely didn't think this through. She would recognize his voice immediately. It was too late though. She already picked up.

  "Hello," he heard her voice.

  "Hello... who's there," she said again.

  He kept still till she hung up the phone.