January 16

Ghost

 

 


 

I want to take you on a journey in which you will feel yourself drown; you will lose yourself, I promise you. Close your eyes slowly, and let your mind be peaceful.

This is a story of a city – an abandoned one where the shattered glass pollutes the streets. Silence drifts through the city, it aids death strangle hope. Where decay welcomes you into its arms, holding you tighter than your love.

There is loneliness in the sky, broken pieces of clouds cover the sky like splattered paint on a black canvas. It is a dark night, the kind of night when the unspeakable happens. If you go on a walk this night, goose bumps will be your best friend, the invisible will follow you, and your skin will tingle. You will want to melt into the darkness.

If you crave for a thrill – this is your night, let your eager character lead you out. The skyscrapers cry as you walk in the deserted streets, freezing air seeps in your olive skin. Something creeps down your neck making you twitch with every step you take. Delicate chain around your neck burns, your shoes step on the moist yet concrete ground. Street lights flicker as you go down deep into devastation.

For a moment you will stop to admire the sky. The sky is different now, clouds have the throne, they’ve ordered rain to soak the vacant streets. It starts light, but gradually, it increases. The droplets fall on your amber hair, slowly soaking your whole body. They roll down your face like melting ice, turning your cheeks rosy. Your body shivers from the cold, you look around trying to find shelter. You finally find an open door which looks like an opened decaying mouth. Your mind stops you, but your body carries you inside.

You try to breathe, but the air warm and thick, oozes inside your nose into the lungs. Ageing concrete surrounds you, takes you into another realm. Eyes widen as you walk in further, a long ago polished floor shows encroaching mud and leaf detritus. A staircase stands alone in the murkiness, you slowly walk towards it. Without thinking you step on the softwood leading up the staircase, unsure of what it might bring. Your hand on your heart, eyes closed, you let the senses guide you.

After hours of climbing up the never-ending stairs, you finally find yourself in front a moldering door. Your hand finds its way on the rusty doorknob trying to open it. As it opens with a jerk, a wild gust of wind catches you off guard hitting so hard, you stumble, but manage to hold yourself up. Sky looks clearer than before, rain gone, but the gloom persists.

Now, you are on the rooftop walking towards the ledge of the building. Eye-balling the surroundings, you feel like you’re trapped in a jungle of steel and glass growing out of a concrete metropolis. On the ledge, you gracefully balance yourself like a ballerina, letting the adrenaline take over, just so you can feel something. Studying the sky, your throat parched, your dead brown eyes search for the moon. Digging in your pocket, you take out a stale cigarette and a lighter. It feels hot when the smoke finds its way into your lungs, then gradually the nicotine rush envelopes you. Hazy pleasant feeling wraps you in its arms, making you sway on the edge. Without thinking you flick the cigarette away, and watch as it falls down. Your arm crosses to touch the other arm; you finally feel something.
You open your mouth to scream, “I’m scared! Help me!!” Silence answers your call.

Bones start to become feeble as your mind races back to where you came from. Vehement emotions charge towards you as your heart tries to break free of the chains. Hands to the sides, you gaze ahead at the forsaken road. Chills dart down your spine, buildings around you abandoned long ago by shattered dreams and promises. Eyes shut, your mind replays what you’ve been missing. Eyes dry, hungry for emotions, but it’s okay.

Ghosts don’t cry.