John slapped the alarm clock off his nightstand cursing under his breath. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm continued to screech jolting him out of his restful sleep. He fiddled with the accursed machine trying to find the snooze button as the device continued to drag him away from his blissful dreams. A world of perfection, a world in which he had control. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

“Fuck!” he shouted. Five minutes had flown by far too quickly. It wasn’t enough time, he needed to go back. As John rubbed the grime out of his eyes, the pain returned. A dull throbbing pulsed through his head. He shouldn’t have been sleep deprived. “Why am I so damn tired again?” he thought. Eventually, he managed to roll himself out of bed and jumped in the shower. The hot jets of steam and water jolting him out of his fatigue. Quickly toweling off, he threw on a t-shirt and headed to work.

John sped through the empty roads of Kansas. The symmetrical rows of cornfield flying by his window in a blurry haze. The thirty-minute commute led him to a rundown laboratory that he worked at. Though it was a stretch calling what John did work. He wasn’t an employ of the laboratory but rather a test subject. A role he had accepted five years prior after being laid of during the great recession in 2007. The research was intensive, requiring a 10-hour daily commitment but paid nearly $4000 a month. He was expected to show up at 7 every morning and departed at 5 in the afternoon. It was a large time commitment, but his role was easy.

The building came into view as John pulled into the parking lot. The laboratory was a long white concrete structure with a battered exterior. Years of neglect and weathering had created shallow fissures that ran along the walls of the building. Surrounding the structure like a fence were endless fields of thick uncut prairie grass. The overgrowth giving the place a sense of abandonment. Contrasting the vibrant colors of grass was a mass of spiny black vines that draped around the building, encasing it like a python constricting its prey. Internally the building was equally neglected. Dust caked the windowsills. Cobwebs were woven into every nook and cranny. And the paint on the wall was chipped, peeling off in an attempt to escape. Paired nicely with its disastrous appearance was a horrendously confusing design. The building was a labyrinth of spanning corridors. Each one leading to another without any discernable pattern or reason. Nearly every room looked identical and there were no distinct features or maps to determine one’s location. It was as though the architect wanted you to get lost. The place was a lab but it better suited to be a prison.

Back outside the laboratory, the air had an eerie quality to it. It was thick, viscous, almost like syrup. It surrounded the area like a barrier, but not a barrier to entry but a barrier from escape. As John got out of his car and walked towards the building, the air clung to him slowing his movements down as though he were walking through a swimming pool. As he slowly made his way towards the building, the temperature of the air around him began to rise and fall simultaneously. As he grabbed the door handle, a shiver ran up his spine and a sense of dread filled his body. In a swift motion he yanked the door open. Its unoiled hinges shrieking loudly in warning as he stepped into the deteriorating building.

As John walked through the building, he looked through the windows of the adjacent rooms. He wasn’t the only participant in the research study and occasionally he would get a glimpse of the other patients in session. He would stare uncomfortably as he watched the wires and monitors wrapped around their still bodies like an electrical casket. John knew this was standard procedure but something about it made him feel uneasy. It made him realize just how vulnerable he was. But he pushed this thought to the back of his mind and pressed forward. As long as he was getting paid, who was he to complain? He knew better than to ask too many questions. ‘Show up, Shut Up, and Get Paid,’ that’s how he saw things.

Shuffling through the hallways, John made a sharp left turn and found himself at room A201. He never knew how exactly he reached his room but always seemed to manage. He had never been given a map and the only instructions he had received from the receptionist was to follow the left most wall. It didn’t really make any sense, but it always seemed to work so he didn’t question it. Why should he? He sulked into the room plopping himself onto the bed. Then he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and opened it up. In the frontmost compartment was a picture of a little girl in a tiny blue dress and joyous smile. For a moment, John’s face lit up. She was the reason he was doing all of this for. He smiled and for the first time since he had stepped into the laboratory, he felt a spark of hope. A knock at the door jolted John of his thoughts.

“Good morning Mr. Lennox” said Harry, the burly nurse who had been assigned to him.

“It’s been 5 years and you still can’t just call me John, huh” John replied chuckling uncomfortably.

“Absolutely not Mr. Lennox, this is a professional institution and I must conduct myself in such a manner. Now, you know the routine. I’m going to ask you a series of questions, please answer them to the best of your ability”

When they had finished, Harry’s questionnaire was marked as such.

Patient Name: Johnathan Lennox

Age: 35

Birthdate: 1/4/1977

What is the quality of the patients sleep during the study?

Sleeps restfully but doesn’t feel rejuvenated upon waking

What is the quality of the patients sleep outside of the study, if at all?

Can’t fall asleep until late in the morning. Sleeps for around 3 hours between 4 AM – 7 AM before returning to the lab

On a scale of 1 to 10, how vivid are the patients dreams during the study?

Score 1

Barely dreams and passes out immediately after given sedative. States that the sleep feels lifeless

On a scale of 1 to 10 how does the patient feel physically when they are awake?

Score 3

Feels fatigued all the time, continuous ongoing headaches, tendency to get ill easily, feels feeble

On a scale of 1 to 10, how vivid are the patients dreams outside the study?

Score 10

Shockingly Vibrant, exciting with occasional nightmares

Still ripe

“Alright, thank you Mr. Lennox. The doctor will be in to see you shortly” Harry said leaving the room. John took a second to breathe as he relaxed his shoulders. Harry’s stuffy personality always seemed to make him uncomfortable. But it was different than the discomfort John felt around the doctor.

As John waited patiently, he thought about how easy his work was. The research study was a simple operation. Patients vitals were monitored in their sleep over the course of several years. The claimed goal of the research was to determine the benefits of sleep and what the optimal amount of sleep is.

There was a knock on the door and then Dr. Ivan Lucius entered the room moments later.

“Hello John” he said slowly. “How are you today? It’s been so long”

“You saw me yesterday!?” John replied confused.

“Ah yes, time is something isn’t it. It flies by so quickly” he said eerily looking out of the window, into hallway. He turned around facing John. His bright translucent eyes gleamed like fragmented crystals. Looking into them felt like staring into eternity itself. A point in which time and space intersected like the X and Y axes of a coordinate grid intersecting at a singular location on an infinite plane. When he looked at you his gaze was piercing, ripping past the flesh of your face and body staring directly into your soul. Then he would sit there gazing at you, watching your life play out in front of his eyes, so flippantly as if it were an insignificant movie. He had seen it before, it was nothing new to him. When he spoke, he spoke softly. Just one octave above a whisper. Not in a way that he couldn’t be heard but in a way that forced you to listen. His presence was that of a cloud. Existing between states of structured matter and vapor simultaneously. He was both there and not there. Operating in reality and his own world, both of which seemed equally real.

Dr. Ivan terrified John. It wasn’t the kind of fear that one experiences when being chased by a bear or facing treacherous heights. It was not a fight or flight reaction. It was the kind of fear a child feels walking alone in the dark. A subtle nagging feeling and an intuitive awareness that potential danger lurked near.

Dr. Ivan stared at John, his bright glossy eyes filled with an unquenchable thirst. A silence hung in the room for several seconds, each second escalating the tension. John tried to avert his eyes but something about Ivan’s gaze forced him to comply like electrons drawn to a magnet. Nearly 15 seconds passed by. John could no longer handle the tension.

“So are you gonna administer the sedative now?” John asked.

“Huh? Oh yes, of course. That slipped my mind. I was just thinking about… ohhh never mind actually” Dr. Ivan replied slowly as if he had just been awoken from a deep slumber. He pressed a button on his monitor and a red liquid pulsed through a tube attached to John’s arm. As he drifted off into sleep, A wry smile spread across Dr. Ivan’s face.

John awoke to the sound of Harry’s overly polite voice. “Good morning, Mr. Lennox. I’ve left your payment for this month on the counter. I’ll see you again tomorrow, have a good rest of your evening” he said before walking out of the room. John rubbed the grime out of his eyes, the pain returned. A dull throbbing pulsed through his head. “Ughh not again” he thought. John knew he was well rested, but his body told him differently. His eyes unwilling to open, fighting to keep out the painful industrial lighting that beamed down from the ceiling. His body felt fatigued as though he had spent the day working in a sweat shop. He let out a loud yawn, “all right time to go home” he thought. John grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys; check, check, check and headed out the door. He was in a rush. After all every minute spent in the lab was a minute he wasn’t spending with his daughter, Estella.

Estella was seven years old and the best mistake that John had ever made. Three years before he had lost his job in the recession, John was out on the town with his coworkers. He was drinking, dancing, and chatting with some girls. The night went as many alcohol fueled nights went and John ended taking home a girl whose name he would later find out was Katy. He learned it when she called him a month later to tell him that she was pregnant.

John didn’t want a child, but he didn’t dare ask Katy to get an abortion. Katy wanted an abortion, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell John she wanted one. 8 months later, they had a beautiful baby girl. When she was born, they both cherished her despite their initial reservations. They named the girl Estella after the stars they had seen the night they met.

When John wasn’t working, he was with Estella. He wasn’t married to nor lived with Katy, but they had an amicable relationship. Katy let him see their daughter whenever he wanted, and he contributed both financially and emotionally to Estella’s upbringing. John would always bring Estella a treat when he visited her every evening, whether it was a small toy or a chocolate chips cookie. He showered her with love and affection. Every afternoon, they would sit in front of the fireplace solving puzzles, playing board games, and drinking hot cocoa. Whenever they played checkers he always seemed to lose in winning positions and when they played snakes and ladder, John coincidentally seemed to land on every snake. Estella won every time and each time she did, she jumped up onto her short pudgy legs, raised her hands in the air victoriously, and would shout with joy, “I WIN!! YAYYYY!!” as she danced in circles around John only stopping when he would scoop her in a big warm hug and lift her into the air smiling. At night, when she was all tuckered out, John would read her a bedtime story and gently tuck her into bed. As she closed her eyes, he gave her a warm kiss on the forehead, and turn the lights out. “I love you” he would whisper as he gently closed the door behind him.

As of lately though, John found himself visiting less and less frequently. What had once been an everyday event, had now become a once a week event over the past two years. A strange fatigue had set in since he had started visiting the lab and it had only compounded as the experiment wore on. But today, he was planning on surprising her. It was the start of the new month and he wanted a fresh start.

With that thought in mind, he rushed out of the laboratory, the image of Estella in his mind bringing a smile to his face. As he reached his car, emerging from the thick syrupy air that surrounded the building, he took a deep breath in. The cold crisp air shocking his system awake. “God damn it!” John thought, “I forgot this month’s money inside”. Normally he would’ve waited until the next day to pickup it up, but tonight he was planning on taking Estella out to her favorite restaurant, the Cheesecake Factory, and he was running low on cash.

John hustled back into the ghostly building making his way back towards his room. He dashed through the empty corridors passing by vacant rooms and navigating the symmetrical hallways by instinct. It had been nearly 20 minutes before John realized he was completely lost. But he was in no position to give up so he convinced himself that he had hadn’t been walking that long and that the room would just be up ahead. That was until he hit a dead end. “What the hell!?” he exclaimed in a puzzled tone. He should’ve definitely passed by his room at this point but now there was nowhere to go. John just stared at the wall. It seemed as though the nature of the building itself had shifted. He turned around and tried to backtrack. Perhaps he had accidently skipped past his room. He kept walking until he heard a sound that made him stop dead in his tracks.

A piercing shriek echoed through the halls. The sound tearing into his eardrums like a carving knife mangling the soft flesh of a turkey. The screech grew louder and louder and soon the whole building began to shake violently, writhing in pain at the sound of the hideous wail. The pitch of the shrieks increased, and the light fixtures began to vibrate, glowing disorientingly. They flickered on and off, rattling hazardously. CRASSHHH!!! The lights all broke simultaneously, their bulbs raining down from the ceiling shattering into fragmented glass. The jagged pieces eviscerating John’s skin. As this occurred, the whole corridor began to glow a dangerous shade of blue. A bright electric blue that resembled the flames of the stove top that lingered near the burner. As the warm light illuminated hallway, John watched as blood trickled down his arm onto the shuddering ground beneath him. As he tried to regroup his thoughts, the piercing shrieks continued to grow louder, and the blue light glowed with increasing intensity. The walls seemed to react to the energy, melting away like a wax candle. When they had been stripped away John found himself in a completely new but familiar location. He once again found himself in front of his room, A201 but this time the blinds were drawn.

John’s clothes were torn from the glass and freshly stained with blood. Sweat poured down his forehead profusely, and his body was pumping with adrenaline. He knew he shouldn’t go into the room. The room whose blinds had never been closed once in the 5 years had been there were now shut tight. Something was wrong but it was too late. He was too far into this mess already. There was no point and nowhere to turn back now. ‘Get the money and get out’ he thought himself before entering the room.

Dr. Ivan stood over a young woman. His spiny finger wrapped delicately around her temples. Blue waves of light similar to an aurora borealis cascaded around the room, the pulsing energy originating from the women’s head. Dr. Ivan’s eyes were an empty white, his irises rolled into the back of his head. He stood there with a look of orgasmic bliss rippling across his face. As he did so, the woman would intermittently let out a shriek. The same shriek that had torn through the hallways. Dr. Ivan didn’t seem to notice it. Nor did he seem to notice John’s presence. John stood there, paralyzed by fear, watching the doctor in horror. Suddenly, Dr. Ivan began hovering over the woman, his feet inches above the ground he had been standing on just moments before. The electrical energy that filled the room flowing from the woman’s head, now coated Ivan’s body like an aura. Second by second, the intensity of the energy grew pulsating faster and brighter. Visibly struggling to contain the energy, John watched as the crackling energy ran up and down Dr. Ivan’s body like lightning bolts, ripping off the doctor’s skin piece by piece. When no more skin remained, the energy tore through his muscles, and then finally his internal organs. Piece by piece, his body was dismantled until all that remained was the dense white bone of his skeleton and the white of his eyes.

Dr. Ivan remained motionless in the air, his skeletal frame soaking in the energy, basking in its immense power. Suddenly, his head snapped towards John with precision, his eye’s rolling back to their normal position. He looked at John with intent.

There was a long pause.

“You know, you’re not supposed to enter a room without knocking John. Very impolite of you. Did you learn nothing from Harry’s manners?” Dr. Ivan chided in eerily calm tone. John’s heart skipped a beat and time slowed down to a standstill.

Another excruciating halt as the two stared at one another.

“I.. I.. I.., ju.., just want.. wanted.. my .. payment” John whimpered. There was a lull in room as Dr. Ivan stared at him silently. The calm before the storm. The stillness of a tiger before it pounced. Dr. Ivan let go of the woman’s temple landing squarely on the balls of his feet. As he did so, the blue energy dissipated, and his body began to rematerialize onto his skeleton. John watched as the doctor’s body began to regenerate. Blood soaked the floor as it gushed out of Ivan’s new beating heart. His muscles be to rematerialize, wrapping themselves around his bones, stretching and yanking in a gruesome fashion. As his body reconstructed, his chest cavity remained open, and his vital organs were still beating and visible. He took a deep breath in. John watched in gruesome awe as the lungs expanded, filling with air only to then shrivel as Dr. Ivan spoke.

“John, John, John. You know, you always been such a good patient. You always show up on time, you do your best to hide your fear of me, and you have some of the most delicious dreams out of all my patients. What a shame it is that you had to witness this”. The doctor paused and for a moment looked genuinely sad. “I’m going to miss you John, I really am” he said before lunging at him.

John ran. John ran like he had never ran before in his life. The fatigue, the dull throbbing, his age; everything disappeared. There was only one thing that existed, one thing that was actually real; and that was terror. His instincts took over and his fight or flight response was automatic. His legs burned from lactic acid, his lungs gasped and sputtered for air. But none of that mattered. He had a dinner planned for his daughter and his death was not on the menu. He sprinted down the hallway without a single of notion where he was going except for that it was away from what he had just witnessed. He looked behind to see if he was being followed. Empty. He had managed to temporarily escape Dr. Ivan somewhere in the maze of a building. John slowed down to catch his breath. It didn’t matter how fast he ran he could not find an exit. Stealthily now, John made his way through the corridors until he came across a bright sunlit room. It was the first time he had ever encountered this area of the building but then again, he had encountered a lot of things he didn’t normally see today. It was his first pleasant surprise as he actually got a glimpse of the outside world as this was the only room in the building that seemed to have windows. This was his only chance of escape because he knew he was not going to find the main entrance and if he did there was a good chance Dr. Ivan would be waiting to ambush him there. John closed his eyes and charged, flinging himself at one of the windows. The glass shattered behind him, lacerating his already bloodied body. John landed with a soft thud into the overgrown prairie grass. Quickly, he rose to his feet and raced around the building scanning for his car. There it was. His black Camry sat in the parking lot, awaiting his arrival. As he approached the vehicle, he noticed something was wrong. Perched on the hood of the car Dr. Ivan lay calmly looking up at the sky. His blue fragmented eyes glowing eerily.

John stopped dead in his tracks 10 yards away from the Doctor. They stared at each other. This time John didn’t look away. In that instant, John charged straight towards Dr. Ivan like a bull trying to slay its matador. Despite his lackadaisical demeanor, Ivan was surprisingly present. He moved swiftly to the side dodging the attack positioning himself directly behind John. Quick as bullet, Pop! Pop! Ivan smacked John across the cheek with a jab and a straight right. Momentarily dazed, John swung wildly to keep the Doctor at bay. But the tactic was ineffective. The doctor waited patiently easily avoiding John’s reckless barrage of punches. A faint smile twisted across his face as he toyed with his prey. As John quickly tired himself out, his punches came slower and his reflexes less sharp. He was already exhausted from having sprinted through the building and was slowly bleeding out from all the glass cuts. It was only a matter of time before Ivan would beat him. As this realization crossed John’s mind, he lost focus. Precisely at that moment Ivan slipped underneath a right hook. Striking with the ferocity of a viper, Ivan stepped in close, unleashing a vicious uppercut. The blow struck John in the chin and knocked him to the ground. CRAAAASH!!! John fell to the floor with a thud. Like a predator ready to slaughter its prey, Ivan pounced anticipating the kill. But the fight was not over yet. John fought with ferocity of a cornered animal. Impossible to pin down, he writhed and struggled shaking Ivan off of him and eventually clambering back up. As they rose to their feet, Ivan clasped the back of John’s neck placing him in a clinch. He threw a knee, driving it deep into John’s stomach. The blow drove deep into the soft flesh of John’s stomach causing him to stagger backwards, gasping for air. John keeled over, clutching his stomach, barely able to stand. Ivan stepped in for the finishing blow. He dropped his hands low, tensing for the knockout blow. BOOM!!! That was when John caught him. The bluff had worked.

Knowing that he was outmatched and that his stamina was fading, he needed to find a way to get Dr. Ivan to drop his guard. Allowing himself to get hit and then feigning injury, he had tricked Ivan into lowering his guard for an instance and that was when John had retaliated. BOOM! He dropped Ivan with a looping right hand.

As Ivan fell to the floor, John thought of escape. He had the opportunity to get to his car, but he knew he would never be safe as long as Dr. Ivan was alive. Who would protect him from the doctor? The police wouldn’t believe him if he told them what he had witnessed. In fact, they would most likely send him to a mental institution. Hell, after what he had been through today, maybe he belonged there regardless. But no, there was only one option. He had to finish him here and now.

John jumped on top of Ivan, mounting him with his weight over Ivan’s stomach and wrapping his hands around the doctor’s throat. Ivan fought to remove the hands, but the savage unrelenting look in John’s eyes told him that it was an effort in futility. As his circulation was cut off, Ivan began to slowly lose consciousness. In a final desperate attempt, Ivan threw his arms up, clawing at John’s head managing to grip his ears. With malice, he pulled Johns head down by the ears and then drove two thumbs directly into John’s eyes forcefully. Blood poured out of the cavity, soaking the doctor’s hands. John shrieked letting go off the choke clawing to pry away the doctor’s hands, but it was too late. John had spent all his energy and the massive amount of blood loss had sapped his strength. Ivan would not relent and drove his thumbs deeper into John’s eyes. John’s trump card had been played and he was now blind. Caving into exhaustion, John’s body went limp and he passed out. His bloodied body draping over the Doctor. He would not survive. His body had eclipsed fatigue too many times over. He had sustained too much damage. Ivan kept his finger dug deeply into John’s eye sockets and stared at him with a fierce intensity. John did not look back. Dr. Ivan rolled over, reversing the position now laying on top of John’s dying body; fingers still pressed into the eyes. “Have a taste you bastard”, Dr. Ivan roared expressing true emotion for the first time. Blue light streamed down Ivan’s arms, through his fingers, flooding into John’s mangled eyes, spreading through the rest of his body.

John’s body convulsed in ecstasy. John now saw what Ivan saw. Every dream and every desire he could ever imagine manifested itself around him. John’s was transported away. A warm cloud enveloped him like a blanket, healing his blood-soaked wounds, carrying him high into the bright orange-pink skies of sunset. The velvety cloud felt like silk and fresh laundry. Below him lay the ocean, vast and expansive. He watched as volcanoes erupted from the depths of the seabed, their lava colliding with the waves forming majestic mountains that towered over the great expanse. Time felt endless here. Years felts like seconds, centuries like minutes. As he stared down at the sea below him, the sound of music and laughter erupted around him. He glanced up only to see people flocking into him in the skies. They danced naked across the clouds, leaping from one to the other like adult cupids on trampolines. As they danced, the sang cheerful melodies and hummed sweet uplifting tunes. Above him the stars had gathered twinkling in delight, no longer afraid of the sun. On each star sat a musician, serenading him from the heavens with symphony of sounds, filling his body with warmth. In the background, the smell of lavender and cherry blossoms swirled in the air with a scent so lovely it that it could’ve made the grinches heart grow not three but four sizes. As he took it all in, he saw a figure in the distant approaching him. A little girl in bright yellow dress twirled across the sky. Her tiny shoes glided across the air like a skater on ice. “Estella!” he cried, tears forming at the corner of his eyes.

“Hi daddy!” she exclaimed with delight as she ran towards him. As they met, he lifted her off her feet spinning her in the air and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Estella squealed with joy and gave John a big hug.

“I love you daddy!” she said to him, joy radiating from her face, excited to see him.

“I love you too sweetie!” he said.

There once was a fish trader who didn’t trade fish

From his cart he sold melons that none could resist

His melons were so plump, ripe, and juicy

you would’ve thought they were Kim Kardashians booty

BUT NO THESE WERE REAL, to everyone’s disbelief

So they flocked to his cart to indulge in sweet treats

But the fish trader was adamant. He wouldn’t oblige

He scoffed at their money and said not for I

In shrill voice that protruded from his throat

he let the folks know, that his melons were JUST for show

Not for squeezing and touching or other nasty things of that sort

For these were his melons, not balls for sport

So, he set a price that was too high to bare

They begged for just 1 melon which he would not spare

Money and Gold is not what he wanted

And in a loud voice the fish trader taunted

“What I want is vengeance and vengeance I shall get

On the man who killed my cousin when we were swimming and wet

What I want is his head, mounted on my wall

and he who shall bring me this will get my melons this fall”

So the villagers went out in search for this random man

They knew not what he looked like, whether he was strong, tall, or tan

So they slaughtered every father, boy, and child in sight

Anything for those melons that were so juicy and ripe

They brought back the fish trader the heads on a plank

But in a single glance, he knew they were rank

“You fools!” he cried out in disbelief

“What have you brought me, what a monstrous deed”

“I’m tired of your antics. Let me show you, you’ll see”

He pulled out a pen and drew a shark crudely

This is who I want and bring him quick

His name is Mark the Shark, his motives are sick

And so the bounty was set on the big sharks head

And if you had seen the melons, you would’ve wanted him dead

But Mark was a bastard who would not be caught

He killed every one of whom that he had fought

He laughed in delight and flashed an evil grin

For Mark was monster who would always win

But Mark was greedy like the fish trader himself

“What’s so special of these melons”, he thought to himself

So what he did next, people couldn’t believe

He stoles a man’s lungs in order to breathe

And then he climbed out the ocean and biked his way north

To find the fish trader and take his melons of course

So Mark the Shark biked day and night

Though tired and beaten he put up a fight

Eventually making his way to the village you see

That’s when he saw the fish trader sipping his tea

The sun had just risen, it was the crack of dawn

The shark was tired and let out a yawn

But in front of him now stood the fish trader who didn’t trade fish

He howled, he growled, the melons looked so delish

“You time has come” he told fish trader.

Give me your melons and I’ll see you later.

The fish trader smiled, with his mouth so toothless and dark

“You have fallen for my trap Mark the Shark

Kill you I will, like you killed my cousin”

And with that rolled his melons, not one but a dozen

The big melons bounced up and down delightful

Crushing the Shark ever so spitefully

And then it was over. The deed had been done.

Mark had been killed and the fish trader won

Atop the melons he danced with happiness not spite

He had defeated the tyrant in just a single fight

Then fish trader searched through the dead shark’s corpse

and from it he pulled out his cousin of course

His cousin wasn’t breathing and would be deemed dead

but the fish trader stayed vigil performing CPR instead

And to his delight things worked out well

His cousin came alive, resuscitated from hell

And thus, was the tale of the fish trader who didn’t trade fish

from his cart he sold melons

that none

could resist

The End

I never expected to fall for Corona when we first met online. But things escalated quickly, and we began talking a lot. I learned about her goals, her dreams, her ambitions. She was from a poor region of China, Wuhan, but aspired to travel the world. I told her to go for it. She did (my boo got ambition <3). Her first trip was to Europe (she especially liked Italy). Then she came to the United States. That’s where we met. And from that point onward, we were inseparable. Her energy was just so infectious. I know it’s only been a week but honestly, I’d die for this girl. Corona just gets me. It’s almost like she’s inside me, reading my thoughts. I can’t help but think of her with every breath I take.

But our relationship is not perfect. The gossip is overwhelming. People always talk about us behind our back. I try not to get mad. I try not to get jealous, but it’s difficult. I guess that’s just part of dating a celebrity. I want this relationship to last but I don’t know if can cope with the stress. Corona has a bad reputation and it’s starting to rub off on me. Now people go out of their way to avoid me. They ignore me when I’m present and shun me when I speak. They seem to think I’m trouble. I feel like a criminal. But if love is a sin, then lock me up baby. The truth is, that people are just intimidated by a power couple like us (they hate us cuz they ain’t us). Nevertheless, coping with the isolation is still difficult. But I’ll manage. I’m never truly alone. Corona will always be with me. In spirit, in heart, in my lungs, or in person; it doesn’t matter. It’s nice knowing that someone will always be there for me (just like my mistress herpes, shhh don’t tell her). The isolation, the branding, the worry; It’s difficult to handle. But I know it’s worth it because when I see her face, she just takes my breath away.

I would like to end this piece with a song (heavy metal if you were wondering) dedicated to my beautiful girlfriend, “Corona Baby!”

Corona and Me

The others can’t see

That I got you

And you got me

We might be banned

But life is still grand

Let’s practice some

Social distancing

To keep us away

From the haters that’ll say

That you’re a threat

To society

H1N1 and Swine Flu

Ain’t got nothing on you

Cuz I got you

And you got me

Corona Baby

xoxoxo

We are tried from Birth

For all the sins we have not committed

And praised

For all the things we have not earned

We are tried for our appearance, our height, our weight, our success or lack there of

Found Guilty on Each and Every Account

We are tried for our heritage, our culture, our gender, our family

The Jury’s verdict remains the same

We build our character, our integrity, our intelligence, our impact

For which we are also found guilty for

Not because we lack those qualities that are touted

But because we embody them

We embody the values that are preached but not believed

We embody the bodies they don’t wish to see

We are judged, mocked, bullied, and ridiculed

Then worst yet, are forgotten and ignored

Left with the scars of the past

And loneliness of the present

The apathy more corrosive than the hatred

We Are The Eternally Condemned

This is a message from the disenfranchised

A message from the marginalized

A message from the condemned for the world to open their eyes

and see us for who we really are

In my early and late teens, I was bullied extensively for being anorexic and quite ugly. Later on in college, after I started working out and dressing well, I noticed a massive difference in both how I was perceived and treated. I was respected more, treated better and given more opportunities simply because of my appearance. All the while, I was still the same person internally. This experience revealed to me how shallow society is. Despite its consistent portrayal of valuing things like personality, integrity, and character, I found that materialistic values like looks, money, and status are what truly seem to motivate peoples’ decisions and behavior. Though this is obviously a simplified rendering of my experience, I hope that this resonates with you. I hope even more so that it doesn’t.

The green oasis lay tucked away in the corner of the city, unknown and unappreciated. It sat soaking in the sunlight, a small ecosystem surviving in the desolate Wisconsin landscape. The greenhouse conservatory was about the size of a small lecture hall, its ceiling rising up 20 feet into the air encasing the area in a structural dome. Littered throughout the conservatory were a variety tropical trees shooting up out of the ground, rising into the sky. Their light grey bark clasped tightly to the tree’s interior with little tufts of grass sprouting intermittently along the trunk. The trees shot up from the red stone laden ground pressing up against the ceiling, creating a miniature canopy within which no creatures lived. The perimeter of the greenhouse was lined with topsoil from which odd shrubbery and small flowering plants emerged. It gave the place a garden like feel despite the thick spiny vines that clambered down the wood paneling of the walls and the density of jungle trees. A small fountain lay in the middle of the area, its water trickling down into a tiny pool below creating a relaxing splash of sounds. Small swarms of ants raced up and down the three wooden benches gathering crumbs of food left by the occasional visitor. The walls of the greenhouse were made of a thick transparent glass glued together between wood frames forming a consistent checkered pattern. Every wall was a window, but a thick layer of water vapor draped over the panes shielding those inside from witnessing the cold barren wasteland that lay less than 10 feet away. Outside the greenhouse sanctuary, winds howled savagely, bringing with them a pelting of frozen white bullets that assaulted anyone who dared to venture outside of their homes. And if that wasn’t enough, the frigid air bombarded the senses making it painful to breathe and threatening to freeze one’s extremities. Occasionally the sun would peak out of the sky refracting off the snow, deceptively brightening the landscape. People tried to make the best of it. They took advantage of the frictionless powder that draped the land engaging in “fun” activities like sledding, snowboarding, and skiing. Enzo was not one of those people. Though frequently traversing the hostile environment, he had one goal and one goal only. To reach his sanctuary, the greenhouse.

Enzo was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin Madison studying Communication Arts. Despite this, he had no interest in working in that field. In fact, he had no idea in what interested him at all. He wasn’t particularly intelligent, nor was he particularly stupid. Enzo was a simple young man. He was blunt, honest, and just trying to find his place in life. Enzo lived a life with a nonchalance that angered those who couldn’t unshackle themselves from others’ expectations and repulsed those who were driven and passionate. Enzo didn’t believe in god. He didn’t believe in the goodness of people. He didn’t even love his family. When he saw a rabbit next to the sidewalk, his instinct wasn’t to go over and pet it, instead all he could think of was how far he could punt it. It wasn’t a malicious act as much as an act of curiosity, wondering how far he could send the poor creature flying.

Enzo was a well-spoken individual and had a charisma that only someone who was completely unrestricted could possess. When he spoke, it was clear there was no manipulation or deception behind his words. He spoke frankly and genuinely. In a way that was both uncommon yet comforting.

Enzo was headstrong. He did what he wanted, when he wanted, and how he wanted to do it. Most of the time his decisions were well informed, but that wasn’t the issue. The issue was that there was no compromise and no cooperation. Enzo didn’t believe in traditional societal values. He didn’t intentionally go against them, instead he chose to do what he deemed fit. His perception was his only moral compass and he took what others thought with a grain of salt.

Enzo walked into the greenhouse and was greeted by a warm blast of humid air that gave him a gentle hug. “Welcome back”, it said. Enzo smiled. Water vapor condensed on his glasses blocking the beautiful greenery that lay before him. But he had seen it all before; after all, he had been coming here daily since August of last year. He took a deep breath in as the rich earthy air circulated through his lungs invigorating his entire body. It made him feel as if he were part of the earth itself, alive and thriving. He looked around staring at the big leafy trees, listening to gentle trickle of water, and smelling the flowers whose aromas were so bright and fragrant that he felt the instantaneous urge to rise up and burst into song and dance.

After appreciating the beauty that surrounded him. Enzo sat down on a bench and pulled out his to do list. The greenhouse was his personal sanctuary, but it also served as his miniature library. Its’ resources were not books and computers, but rather a bright uplifting energy that flowed through the place. It helped him concentrate on his schoolwork and was a critical part of his wellness routine. During his time at the Greenhouse, Enzo would meditate, read, journal, and complete his homework. He worked for hours as the sun traversed the sky slowly melting away into the horizon. The sunlight faded and was soon replaced by the gentle glow of the moon. Enzo worked as the shadows grew and the greenhouse was submerged in darkness. The only remaining light sources were the streetlamps whose beams streamed down through the glass panes making sight possible but extremely difficult. As dinner time approached, Enzo wrapped up the assignment he was working on and headed back to his apartment to enjoy a steamy bowl of ramen noodles. As he made his way out of the dark building, he tripped over a fallen branch. Thump! As he fell, Enzo’s head slammed into a banana tree that lay a few feet in front of him.

“Hey!!” he heard a high pitched angsty teenage voice squeal. “I’m trynna to sleep here!”

“Huh?!”, Enzo said in a puzzled tone but there was no response. “Did I get a concussion or am I just way too hungry?” Enzo wondered as he made his way back to his apartment.

The next morning, Enzo awoke to a dull throbbing in his right temple. A dark purple bruise had formed around the area and his skin had puffed out from the swelling. “Ughh” Enzo groaned as he rolled out of bed. Nevertheless, his daily routine continued on uninterrupted. He ate breakfast, hit the gym, showered, went to class, and finally returned to his sanctum, the Greenhouse. Upon arrival, he was greeted by the familiar sights and sensations. After taking a second to admire the tranquil beauty that flowed through the space, he got straight to work. It was Friday and Enzo needed to complete a 15-page Films and Communication paper before the weekend was over. He sat on a bench typing up a storm of words watching them rally down the page with precision and intent. Enzo turned the water fountain off. The only sound that could be heard in the greenhouse was the continuous stream of clicking that bounced off of Enzo’s keyboard echoing throughout the conservatory.

“Watchu working on?” A voice chirped in the background. Enzo spun around looking for the source of the voice but there was no one there. Perhaps his imagination had got the better of him, so he returned back to his work.

“You know ignoring people is rude, mister.” the voice piped up again.

“What the!?” Enzo looked around trying to see who was pranking him, but no one was there. “Alright, I’ve heard of these hidden camera pranks. Very funny you guys. You got me” he announced loudly.

“No cameras here, silly.” the voice squeaked. Enzo tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from, but it seemed to be emerging from all angles; the walls, the trees, the plants, even the soil. Perplexed, Enzo remained silent.

“Hellloooo, you still haven’t answered my question mister. So rude!”

Enzo decided to play along with the pranksters,

“I’m writing a critique on fight club that analyzes the message it spreads and its impact on society.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Maybe to you. I’m focusing on an iconic scene when Tyler states ‘Know not fear but know that someday, you’re going to die’. It’s basically the version of YOLO that hasn’t been appropriated by Frat bros and party girls. It’s a actually a very profound statement.”

“Well I’m not going to die so… sounds pretty stupid to me dude.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Everything that is alive must at some point die”

“Not meeee, I’m what you hairless monkeys call a spirit… BOO!”

“A spirit? What are you talking about??”

“See all this lush life, beauty, and energy. All of that culminated into something. That something is me. I am the energetic reality, a conscious manifestation of the life that surrounds you.”

Enzo had had enough of this nonsense.

“Alright, very funny guys. You pranksters think you’re going to get me to talk to a tree on camera. Not gonna happen! Now leave me alone, I got work to do.”

“If this were a prank, would I be able to do this” and at that moment a ripe yellow banana fell out the tree landing perfectly into Enzo’s lap. “Or this!” and in that instance a vibrant orange Lily sprouted out of the ground next to Enzo’s leg. “Convinced, I’m not a prankster yet?”

Baffled, Enzo didn’t know how to respond. Either this was the most elaborate prank he had ever witnessed, or he was talking to a spirit. Enzo, clearly rattled by what was going on didn’t know how to respond.

“Ummm… surrree but why are you talking to me? Why now?”

“You woke me up, you knucklehead”

“What do you mean I woke you up?”

“Remember yesterday when you ever so graciously headbutted me?”

“I tripped.”

“Same difference. You woke me up from my slumber. And now I can’t go back to sleep! Do you know how much fun sleeping is!? I could do whatever I wanted in my dreams. I was tanning in the hot Jamaican sun. I shared soil with coconut trees. I had as much fertilizer as I wanted. INFINITE FERTILIZER MAN! Do you know how good fertilizer feels?”

“Can’t say that I do”.

“Well it feels great! And now look at me. Now that I’m awake, what can I do? I’m so bored. All I do is watch ants gather crumbs, trees shed leaves, and water splash into a pool. You can only do that for so long. And the worst part is, I can’t even leave this place. My life force is attached to it”

“Is there any way I can help you fall back asleep? You need some melatonin or something? That stuff knocks me right out.”

“I don’t need any melatonin, dummy! Do I look like I need melatonin? When have you ever seen a tree and thought ‘man this tree could sure use some melatonin, look at those circles under its bark!’”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it? I didn’t wake you up on purpose!”

“Well you did, and now you gotta help me figure out either how to fall back asleep or get me out of this stinking place!” There was a brief pause.

“Rigghtt. I’ll um try to figure something out. Thanks for the banana by the way” he muttered before hastily darting out of the Greenhouse. By the time he made it back to his apartment he was famished. “What a day! I’m definitely not going to back there again”, he thought before wolfing down the gifted banana thoughtlessly.

Two weeks went by and Enzo had not set foot in the greenhouse. Like a normal student, he began studying in the libraries. He pretended like nothing had happened and avoided discussing the matter with anyone altogether, including his peers. On the exterior, he seemed perfectly fine, but internally he was rattled. Not only had the experience spooked him but it also made him question the reality in which he lived. What else didn’t he know about!? How many supernatural beings were out there? Is god real? It was driving him crazy keeping this knowledge to himself. One day after class, he went to discuss the matter with Brent, a close friend of his. He explained all that had happened to him in the greenhouse. He told him about the voice, then Terra, and finally about the banana and sprouting lily. As Enzo explained, the concern on Brent’s face grew. Finally, after listening to the whole story Brent replied,

“Listen man, I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I think your concussion might be more severe than you thought. I think you should go see a doctor”

“No, I swear. This is real. This is not a hallucination. The Terra spirit was real. It had its own voice, personality, and everything. It was even a bit sassy”

“Who you calling Sassy, Dingus!?” shouted a voice in the back of his head.

“What the??” Enzo stammered in confusion.

“That’s right, you thought you could escape me. Well you caaaannnnn’t”, sang the voice.

“Get out of my head!”, Enzo shouted.

“Nah, I kind of like it in here. I think I’ll stay for a while.”

“No, No, No, No, No! Why are you in my brain? You said you couldn’t escape from the Greenhouse!”

“Technically yes, but more accurately I hadn’t been able to escape the greenhouse at that point yet.”

“How didd you…?”

“Banana”, Terra replied as the terrible realization dawned on Enzo.

Brent who could not hear Terra’s voice but could here Enzo’s strange conversation with himself became very concerned. “Has Enzo lost his marbles?”, he thought. Not knowing what to do, Brent stood there trying to calm his friend down.

“Hey Enzo chill, chill, chill. Relax. Take a deep breath. Remember your meditation techniques.”

“How can I relax! It’s inside my head, Brent, there’s no escape!”, he shouted grabbing Brent by the shoulders shaking him vigorously.

“Get a grip!”, Brent cried out gipping Enzo’s arm.

“You don’t understand. It’s in my head, it’s in my head!” Enzo cried out before pushing Brent away and sprinting out into the icy streets of Madison.

Another few weeks went by and the second round of midterms were just around the corner. Bright lights adorned the roofs of building twinkling through the cold night. The aroma of peppermint, snow, and hot cocoa filled the homes of delighted children. Through the windows of those houses you could see the beautiful trees that dazzled inside. Enzo’s house on the other hand, was in complete disarray. A former minimalist haven, Enzo’s room was now littered with an assortment of mismatched plants. Cacti lined the wall like a barbed wire fence. Spiny weeds and dandelions danced across the countertops in red clay pots bringing an ugly liveliness to the room. A miniature terrace had been constructed along the walls of the room from which long thick vines hung from forming a living curtain to the house’s windows. The only thing that seemed fitting was the large Christmas tree that stood at the center of the living room of his apartment; unadorned, magnificent in its simplicity. Terra’s hold had grown substantially.

As the weather grew colder and finals approached, Enzo had come to understand Terra but still had yet to accept its presence in his mind. Not only did Enzo hate sharing head space with another entity, Terra was like an immature child who didn’t know when to quit talking. It had just awoken with the mind of a teenager but the education of an infant. It didn’t understand empathy, morals, or societal norms. All it understood, was that it wanted to explore, have fun, and live a liberated life. Enzo was in the way of this goal. Enzo was his obstacle. Terra had no higher purpose. It had one simple goal, freedom. And it would do whatever it took to achieve this goal. For once in his life, Enzo had met his match. He faced a being that saw no compromise, that saw no grey, just black and white; win or lose. Terra did what it wanted, when it wanted to do it. But Enzo would not submit. He was still in control of his body and had no intention of backing down. So the feud continued, Terra slowly sowing the seeds of destruction into the cracks of Enzo’s mind. Slowly chiseling away and infecting his thoughts. Not through any means of supernatural control but through verbal manipulation and abuse.

Terra would pester him incessantly. Causing Enzo constant stress and anxiety that began to impact his life. Enzo’s grades had dropped sharply, and his health was noticeably deteriorating due to his newfound diet. He had developed a particular appetite for banana-based products including raw bananas, banana bread, banana cream pie, and occasionally, even banana peels. He even had begun to return to the greenhouse, spending a feverish number of hours there. Why not? It’s not like he could escape Terra any longer. It would speak to him in private occasionally, but the moment they were out in public it would barrage him with a slew of questions and cheeky comments. At first, Enzo tried to mask his conversations with Terra in public, but Terra’s persistent nagging soon got to him. It began with him muttering to Terra in a hushed tone while walking between classes. This quickly deteriorated into full blown conversations and arguments, anytime and anywhere. A previously unknown student, Enzo had developed a reputation of being the crazy kid, with a short temper, who talked to himself. He tried his best to avoid it while he was in class but on several occasions, he found himself forced to dismiss himself in the middle of lecture in order to either calm Terra down or bicker with it. He couldn’t escape Terra. No matter what he tried, it was always there.

Enzo tried ingesting plant toxins, slamming his head against a wall repeatedly, and force vomiting the contents of his stomach. He even tried taking melatonin. All of which were to no avail. Terra was here to stay, and it liked its new home.

One day while in class, Terra was being particularly annoying. Spouting on and on, telling him about the Alaskan Wilderness, the farms in East Asia, and the rainforests of Brazil.

“Look at this horrible concrete structure, the piss colored cement sidewalks, the tiny box you call an apartment. You like living in there you stupid monkey? Is this what life amounts to you? Big monkey like shiny shiny and big building.” Terra chided. His obnoxious ramblings continuing to jab at Enzo’s sanity. Terra didn’t seem malicious in intent, nevertheless, he needed to be entertained even if it came at the cost of Enzo’s mind.

Enzo had had enough. The last straw had fallen. The camel’s back crumbled beneath the weight. The frayed seams of Enzo’s mind burst open unleashing a torrent of madness. In that moment, all the repressed thoughts and feelings that had been pent up over the course of his life came flooding through to the forefront of his mind.

“SHUT UP!”, screamed Enzo in the middle of class. Silence fell over the entire classroom as the eyes looked up from the notebooks, the gazes piercing his now thin skin. The professor stared at him in disbelief, the students staring with equal shock.

Enzo failed that class and was dropped from the University’s master’s program a week later. The fracture in Enzo’s mind only grew wider under the continual pressure of Terra’s blabber and his termination from the college program was just the cherry on top of the mental break down flavored ice cream sunday. The time for thought, for chatter, for discussion, for rationality was long gone. Now, it was time for action. He knew what he needed to do.

“Where are we going”, Terra asked Enzo as they walked into the local convenience store, but Enzo did not reply. Terra’s voice peppered him with taunts, ideas, and thoughts but he ignored them. It was like Terra was playing a ping pong match, but Enzo was refusing to even serve. He was tuned out. He himself didn’t know what he was doing. It was impulsive and thoughtless, a reactionary instinct. His breaking point had long been surpassed. He didn’t know what he was doing but he knew what needed to be done.

Enzo sat placidly in the greenhouse. He waited for hours as the sun traversed the sky slowly melting away into the horizon. The sunlight faded and was soon replaced by the gentle glow of the moon. Enzo waited as the shadows grew and the greenhouse was completely submerged in darkness. The only remaining light source were the streetlamps whose beams streamed down through the glass panes making sight possible but extremely difficult. He wore a hood pulled up over his face and a puffy winter coat that hid the rest of his body. By the time he had finished, the whole conservatory wreaked of fumes. The fumes of Kerosene. The ground was now slippery, like a fryer soaked in grease. Terra was saying something, frantically banging against Enzo’s mind begging him to stop. But there was nothing conscious in Enzo’s actions.

A gunshot rang through the empty streets of the university. No one knew where it came from. No one could hear it because no one cared to listen. A glass pane of the greenhouse shattered, and the conservatory went up in flames, engulfed by red talons of destruction that consumed, charred, and burned everything in its path.

“That won’t kill me!” screamed Terra “I’m part of you now you idiot. What are you doing, you fool!?” There was no reply.

Enzo watched the destruction reclining in the front seat of his car. When he was satisfied with the carnage, he placed the key in the ignition turning it gently listening to the engine roar to life. Enzo knew exactly where to go as he sped off into the streets of Wisconsin never to be seen in that cold desolate wasteland again.

Somewhere in the Northern Deserts of Mexico

The floor of the plantation was littered with foliage. The once bright puffy green leaves lay on the ground, now dead, dehydrated, and decomposing. As Enzo walked forward, the ground crackled shrilly as banana leaves snapped beneath his feet. Each footstep was placed with absolute precision, the muscles in his legs tensing as he traversed the uneven terrain. A mouse scurried away quickly as the menacing footsteps approached, darting off into the beautiful maze of trees. Enzo walked through the man-made jungle, outstretching his arms feeling the smooth brown-green exteriors of the tree trunks. Emerging into a clearing, he reached out and plucked a ripe piece of fruit. Sitting down, he slowly chomped down on it, dissecting it piece by piece. Its bright yellow outside complemented by its soft white interior. Out of the cover of the trees, he soaked in the rays of the bright sun that peeled away at his already burnt skin. Suddenly, Terra’s voice popped into his head breaking his calm,

“The visitors have arrived” it announced excitedly.

A small group of tourists awaited outside the farm. They gazed out at the vast plantation of stout banana trees that thrived in the rich untapped soils of Mexico. A previously ungrowable land which miraculously had become fertile 5 years prior upon Enzo’s arrival. Slowly, Enzo rose to his feet, his knees cracking violently, his sunburnt skin dry and ashy.

He strode out to meet the 6 bright eyed tourists that had ventured out to the remote part of the country. “Welcome to Terra’s Banana Plantation, the newest and fastest growing farm in all of Mexico. My name is Enzo, I’m the founder, farmer, and today’s tour guide of Terra farms”, he announced. Enzo showed the tourists around the farm as the nature loving travelers snapped pictures, picked fruit, and chatted amongst each other. He watched as they jumped up plucking at the sickly-sweet bananas. Tearing into them with delight and vigor.

“Delicious” cried one.

“Outstanding” announced another.

“Man, I wish I could have fruit like this every day” announced the third. Enzo smirked. He looked out at the plantation watching his ‘employees’ slave away in the field, picking fruit, fertilizing the soil, and irrigating the plants. None of them looked like laborers. That was because none of them were. Enzo’s attention returned to the tourists as he watched them munching down on the succulent fruit. He let out a laugh. It was the kind of laugh that almost sounded genuine. It was so close to a joyous laugh that it could’ve deceived the most observant listeners. It wasn’t malevolent in intent but had a dark mischievous undertone. Its subtlety making it all the more sinister.

“More Toys!” Terra thought giggling to himself “More Toys”. Enzo looked out at the group of the tourists.

“Welcome to the family!”, he announced. “Welcome to Terra farms!”.