He drew back sharply as the noise hit him. Where was it coming from? He couldn't tell. All he had ever known was quickly seeping from his veins, his heartbeat pulsating faster with each gasp of air. Cold perspiration formed a film on him, his hair sticking to his face. It was too late, too late now to turn back.
With swift movement, he severed his artery, and the spray stained the ground a deep, dark red. Delirious but conscious, his eyes widened in wonder as the hallucinations began.
He saw her, at her second birthday when she sang loudly, obliviously out of tune. She sang out proudly at the bulky video camcorder, happily, blissfully. He saw the greenish tinge of her skin when she came to him after having been bitten by a snake. He felt his stomach twist as he rushed her to the hospital, the bagged snake in one hand and she, in the other. He held her as they injected the antidote in her chubby baby arm.
Too late now, she was long gone. All childhood memories had been wiped clean off the slate, in their place stood her teenage years and fervent hopes for the future. He made a last attempt at being rational and then, failing, collapsed to the floor. There he lay, surrounded by her music.
He had finally pinpointed the noise that had so frightened him. The waves waited patiently outside his ears until the final moment, when he allowed them to touch his soul.
With swift movement, he severed his artery, and the spray stained the ground a deep, dark red. Delirious but conscious, his eyes widened in wonder as the hallucinations began.
He saw her, at her second birthday when she sang loudly, obliviously out of tune. She sang out proudly at the bulky video camcorder, happily, blissfully. He saw the greenish tinge of her skin when she came to him after having been bitten by a snake. He felt his stomach twist as he rushed her to the hospital, the bagged snake in one hand and she, in the other. He held her as they injected the antidote in her chubby baby arm.
Too late now, she was long gone. All childhood memories had been wiped clean off the slate, in their place stood her teenage years and fervent hopes for the future. He made a last attempt at being rational and then, failing, collapsed to the floor. There he lay, surrounded by her music.
He had finally pinpointed the noise that had so frightened him. The waves waited patiently outside his ears until the final moment, when he allowed them to touch his soul.
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