PITPAT

The sound of rain. It was mid October and the streets were drenched by the rain and painted by the coloured leaves that fell from the trees across the street of Berlin. The streets were loud thanks to the cars that filled it to the brim, yet the faint sound of rain was suppressing the rest of the surroundings like it dominated over all the other sounds. Tall buildings that made one look straight up to see the end were visible in this area. A neighbourhood with these buildings, creating an area that looked like it was meant for people with money. But the elite already had their fair shares of better houses and buildings, making this place filled with families that were in the upper-middle class.

And in one of these buildings , in a big apartment, was a boy in his room. 190 cm tall yet too skinny to call him strong. And that boy was me. With my brown eyes that were covered by my long dark brown hair, I looked at his guitar with focus. I strummed my guitar while recording it. All of my focus was purely on my hands and the guitar as I played with a smile on my face. I knew for a long time I’d create legends with my music, but never thought that I'd be so good at the moment!

After an hour of recording and editing the recording, I was tired. I fell back on my chair, relaxing my shoulders and leaving my glasses on my desk while my thoughts went to the music I just finished. I didn’t finish my work so I turned towards my computer screen again. No legend can shine with no effort.

Let’s edit this a bit before mom’s gonna…

“Laith! Dinner is ready!”

“Ugh… Does she have eyes and ears everywhere?”

Damn… I was about to start working again when mom called me from the dining room. It was a brisk , pleasant voice that made most people listen to that voice without question. I went out of my room with my brows slightly knitted. Why is her timing always so on point? Can’t I just work a bit more before eating? I entered the dining room where someone was already sitting at the table. He looked at me for a moment and smirked for a bit.

“What’s with that face? Heeh …Got problems with your girlfriend? "

“Oh, shut up. I was just about to finish my soundtrack, that’s all…” I was boxing the broad shoulder of my father. Though it was a hit, it didn’t hurt at all. Besides the face and hair colour, we didn’t look alike at all. I was skinny with some muscles that were neither defined nor much at all and my father , Aziz Arslan, had a well built body which didn’t make sense when he was someone that didn’t work out at all. This was one of the reasons why I believe that if there is a God, God never created us equal…

“Haha! you don’t say? Wasn’t your goal a software developer? Why invest so much in music?”

“Still the same and won’t change. Just need to do other hobbies as well or as a human, I’ll get bored."

“It’s scary how you can say that when you are only 18… who could have corrupted my son just like that!”

Spoiler Alert, Old man! It was you!

“Now now. Dinner is ready so eat first then you can talk” the voice of mom, Aylin Arslan, made the two of us like soldiers and we sat down immediately when the beautiful woman with black hair and green eyes said so. Feels weird to say it like that but she was definitely beautiful. Like i said, we were not created equal. Her voice made us listen to her without question. She is usually a very kind person but… when she gets angry… let’S just say we both don’t believe she is human but more of a demon. She put the lasagna onto the table and the smell floated around the room , pulling my attention to the food immediately.

“Alright!”

“Okay , dear!”

The food was great! And the conversation we rarely had because of their job was refreshing even if dad mostly teased me about a girlfriend. I’m 18 and still never had a girlfriend, which didn’t make sense to dad since he believed with his genes, i should be a magnet to the people. And whenever he says that, I can’t help but want to punch his ‘handsome face’ right away. I get it that you think I should get a girlfriend, but stop being narcissistic to the point of dragging your DNA into this!

“Laith. How is your school year going? Are you studying enough? You know this year is important for your life since the last year decided your university and thus your future.”

“It's good… don't worry, Mom! I already know half of the stuff they teach and you know that as well. So I can handle it alright!” I held my fist up to show my ‘strong’ side to mom who had worry written all over her face. But who can blame her? This year was very Important for all senior high schoolers since our grades this year determined our choice of university.

“Don’t worry, dear. He already surpassed highschool knowledge so he should be fine.”

“All thanks to your lectures, dad.” who am i kidding? All of us know that those were more of torture than lectures. Who would make their child learn Advanced Linear Algebra when they are in 9th grade?

Our conversation continued for a bit more before it was time to clean up and go to my room. I wanted to talk more but all of us had to go to bed and wake up early. The two of them had a pretty high status at their company so they also had a lot of responsibilities which took up most of their time. And i had school tomorrow… just regular school.

Let’s just go to bed and hope for the next weekend. And with that , I fell asleep. Into a slumber I will never forget.

ROOOAAARRR

Fires were raging where the eyes could see.

The wind blew the cinders that were the only thing remaining of the past.

A gigantic city, which was now only a shadow of its former prime state. The destruction that happened to it. Every building destroyed with force that makes a natural disaster look like a walk in the park, every street cracked wide open that embarrases even the strongest of earthquakes and any form of life devoid in this place was filled by flames, burning every part of this destruction to bits as if the already sorry state of this city wasn't enough.

BOOM

An explosion so loud that thunder was silent next to it. Anyone that would be near it could have first had their ears ruptured before getting blown to pieces by the force that came right after.

It was in the middle of this broken piece of land. Any sane person would think this was the work of nuclear bombs.

But it wasn’t.A fight. There were no explosives. Only a swing of an arm that had strength capable of toppling mountains. Yet this ‘light’ explosion happened. And that was because the attack was blocked by the opponent.

If someone was alive inside this battlefield, they’d be able to see two silhouettes. And these two would be the definition of an angel and a demon.

The demon was in the form of a gigantic monster on all fours with two pairs of wings and a tail , long enough to double the length of the demon. It looked with it’s disturbing eyes at the enemy while roaring out of the beak like mouth. The head looked like the abomination of an eagle but the rest of the body didn’t have the same characteristics as one. Grotesque scales that looked more like splinters of a rock than actual scales were all over the body. This made the monster only more menacing.

The being that looked like an angel was in the form of a human with a long sword in it’s right hand. The light that shone above it’s head like a Halo shone brighter than anything else around those two. But anything else would be unrecognisable. This wasn’t due to the light , the fire or the possible distance but because of an interference unknown to men.

The angel and the demon fought with powers that could impress any fictional story writer. This was out of this world that never saw that kind of supernatural phenomenon.

The Angel raised it’s sword as high as possible while jumping towards the demon with amazing vigour. And when the angel swung the sword downwards and more destruction followed the surroundings while the two were fighting with one thought in their mind.

To kill their opponent!

“What…the hell? WWWAAA!”

Where am I? Why am I in the middle of destroyed buildings? Wait… there was this acrid smell that only shows how much this place has been burning.

Okay so… I’m in the middle of this destruction, in an area of 5 metre diameter that was surrounded by debris. Everywhere I look, I can only see toppled buildings, flames and the dark sky that’s covered by the smoke coming from these flames. I looked around and saw the vaguely familiar streets.

My brain couldn’t process the smoke-covered sky , the destruction of a grand city nor the fight of god-like beings that was far enough to not involve me yet close enough to be seen.

PAT

Steps! But they weren’t like the ones of humans but more like dogs. The four feet , the slight difference in weight and skin of the feet, was what made the sound different from human ones. I turned around and my brain yet again had problems processing what my eyes saw.

Five beasts. The same disturbing head like the demon yet they had red fur and no wings. But this didn’t make them any less dangerous for an average human , not to mention for me who wasn’t even strong enough to defend against a teenage girl.

Shaken by fear, I couldn’t even move a single muscle as the five were coming closer and closer to me. I couldn’t move away from my position. The area was closed and I don’t have the agility to move around them and escape from the beasts at the same time. Shit!

I was now able to process his predicament when my life was in danger. But Panic only made me move desperately as I looked around for any way out of this situation.

I don’t know where the fuck I am or how I got here! But I won’t die! I CAN’T DIE!

I found a metal rod beside me and took it by instinct. With the rod in my hands, my body moved on its own , going into a kind of stance that would be seen in Kendō. But I only knew this because of my passion for anime but this didn’t matter as much as my life! I don’t have time to learn how to use this as a weapon properly. I don’t have time for anything besides trying to defend myself.

“SQUAAAAAK”

The beasts closed in and the pressure on my body grew with each step taken. When they were only about two metres away from me , one of them ran and jumped towards me, aiming for my neck.

‘I got to do something!’

I swung the rod like a baseball bat and threw the running beast off course while making it’s head bleed a bit. This is crazy! But I did it… I fend it off! I can do this! I turned around to face that one bastard that came at me just a moment ago and seeing it bleeding only made me more motivated.

“COME AT ME! I’LL KILL YO-UGH!”

SPLURT

Blood.

A lot of blood.

My face was covered by blood. But this blood didn’t belong to the beasts but me. This is one of the most stupid thing I could have ever done! Why did I turn around , showing my back towards the other four? And now one of them succeeded and bit me on my neck.

I couldn’t even cry before I got pushed down. They didn’t kill me. No… They held me down , my ‘weapon’ out of my hands that bled from gripping it too hard and now I'm feeling dizzy.

‘NO! FUCK OFF! I’LL KILL YOU SO GET OFF ME! I CAN’T DIE YET!’

The beasts were now biting on my body , tearing me apart with each bite. Flesh by flesh, organ by organ and bone by bone. It felt horrible. every part of my body, mind and soul screamed to end this. This is something I can’t endure anymore and even the thought of fighting back doesn’t cross my mind as well. It felt like I got tortured for days.. But I knew… It’s only been a couple of minutes. This piercing pain of their beak, the parts of my flesh pulled away slow, rough and painfully and the weight of their bodies pinning me on to the ground while my blood kept dripping from every part of my body. It's a wonder I didn't die of blood loss yet.

And finally , one of the beasts went for the head. It wasn’t clean at all. I screamed. Screamed and screamed, hoping that someone could come help me. I couldn't see… my eyes have been bitten out. I couldn’t hear as well… They ripped my ears away. And now… finally … it all ended when one of them bit my neck and tore my head off.

But no… I didn’t want it to end like this… Mom … Dad… Felix… Gina… Why… Let me at least… Say my last feelings…

Why… Why? Why?! WHY?!? Why was I such a coward, such a pain in the ass and never acted like I felt before? Why was I in this situation to only end with a body I can’t feel anymore and feelings that made me regret every part of my life.

But crying about spoiled milk won’t help. But it’s a shame.

Truly a shame.

“WHOA!!”

Heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. My body was drenched by cold sweat and my mind spinning after the last thing I remember. I…

‘…died… I died… Yes! I was dead! What happened? Was this a dream? Impossible… It was so realistic…’

The dream I had was way different than what I ever experienced. The experience of my death was so real that it felt like I was in a dream right now rather than in ‘that’ place. But the more time passed , the more the feeling faded, leaving the bad taste of my regrets in my mind alone. The pain and suffering was gone like it never happened even though I vividly remember every single part of it.

Taking a deep breath , I put my last thoughts aside and looked at my phone. But that was when I stopped sitting on my bed and got up as fast as I could. Shit! No time to think about a dream when it was already 7.20 AM and I had 20 minutes to get to school. And I didn’t even prepare my bag, shower, get dressed , eat breakfast and brush my teeth before leaving my house and running to school. I have to be fast!

School started at 8.00 AM but my habit of being 20 minutes early made me feel an awful itch every time I wasn’t 20 minutes early. On the dot , I’d be at school at 7.40 and there was no exception to that. Never!

I was now preparing a small sandwich when I noticed a note in the kitchen next to a paper bag. I knew the contents of the note already since this wasn’t the first time but I read it anyway.

[I’m sorry sweetie but your father and I will be coming home late. Here is something for your lunch and we got enough ingredients for you to cook something in the fridge. Love you]

MUNCH

I ate my sandwich, which was delicious if I say so myself, with my right hand while holding the note with the left before pushing the paper bag into my bag. Brushing my teeth after eating and putting on my shoes before going out. Now i had about 10 minutes to get to school and I didn’t have a bike nor were there any busses that went directly from our neighbourhood to my school, so walking it is.

Sprinting through the drenched streets of Berlin , I was running with speed that was physically impossible for me. I never noticed but I did run faster than ever because this was the first time I truly overslept so much.

Arriving at my high school after running for ten minutes, I finally arrived at my class at exact 7.40 AM. Good. I came just in time.

I was going to prepare for my history lesson like every Monday morning, but today I was slower than ever. And the reason was simple. I mean…

‘…that dream… felt TOO real. Especially that last moment… was that a lesson?’

I didn’t know how to feel about my situation exactly. For one , I was interested about how my dream felt too real. It was like I went to a different world entirely. But on the other hand, I do remember my last feelings and definitely am not fond of feeling the same way again. This regret was too heavy for me. I should start to deal with this feeling.

I again tried to focus on the present and didn’t even give my thoughts time to bloom. And while I was doing so , the classroom got filled with other students who already had their circle of friends. They were at least 6 years together so not having any groups in the classroom would be ridiculous. Looking around the classroom with melancholic eyes for a moment, I realised that besides Felix, I didn’t have anyone here I could count on… I knew no one likes me but at least I thought even the unpopular kids would feel… kinship?

From the view of an outsider, you could see that I was all alone. I was bullied for different reasons but this alienizations truly came when I was around my first and now best friend in high school, Felix. People call me leech, even though Felix was the one who approached me all the time. And when Felix tried to explain our friendship,no one listened and it got only worse. That’s why I wasn’t minding this any more and left it as it is. Humans like to believe what they think is true and are truly stubborn. This gives me a bitter taste…

But Felix should be already here... If I couldn’t stand it and had to be 20 minutes early, then Felix was the same with 10 minutes. Yet there were only 5 minutes left till the lessons started and there was nothing from Felix.

‘the hell? Where is he?’

I opened my phone and texted Felix.

[Yo where are you? You left me here alone in this chalice dungeon and it’s buggy]

I waited more than 5 minutes and when the lesson was about to start I finally got a message. Felix was someone who’d reply as fast as possible and never left me hanging not longer than 2 minutes. So Felix’s ‘late reply’ surprised me and worried that maybe something had happened to him.

[Sorry dude! Found a secret boss called the cold and I’m fighting it right now. See ya when the credits roll]

“Dammit! Stupid fucker leaves me all alone here… Well at least Gina is …” was what I was saying thinking about that angelic girl in our class that everyone accepted as a goddess. But now that I thought about it… my dream … maybe I should start to talk with her more if I get the chance and maybe then…

‘should I finally ask her out? I am quite handsome and tall even with no muscles. And even if she said no, I should be able to recover from something like just a rejection,right? Right?’ my thoughts were somewhat as conceited as dad’s but if he uses the same DNA excuse every time, then so should I for these thoughts.

I am handsome. I have a sharp jaw and my features were in the right places and if you’d only look at the face, I’d give me a definite 9 out of 10. But only if we rate my face.despite being tall, my body wasn’t something to look at with pleased eyes and there were only rumours of me being a leech, making my reputation even worse than it usually should be. If it weren’t for these hormones that must be the reason for my insanely huge crush, I’d not even think about confessing to her , not to mention thinking of dating her.

Resting my chin on my left hand and spinning my pen with the right hand, I was looking forward to seeing Gina but…

“Oh where is Gina? Still not here yet?”

“She apparently got the Cold.”

“Not possible! Wasn’t she the one who bragged about her health and always being healthy.”

“Well turns out she is still human under that goddess face.”

“I don’t know how to feel when you said that like a fact.”

I looked in the other direction with a sadder expression than before. My parents are away yet again , my best friend is sick and not able to come to school and now my crush is the same way.

“Huh…”

Good grief…

My last dream experience made these feelings of loneliness only worse and it was something I don’t like to repeat.

This is going to be a lonely Day , isn’t it?