Unraveling

Fumbling through the abyss— Unable to breathe, Unable to think. In a violent jolt, life starts fleeing. When he reaches out for an escape from disorder, when he gasps for a scream, the abyss overtakes him. Is there a way out of this hell? Is there an escape? The current of the water is too strong. In one desperate final attempt, Gabriel fights the current. He kicks, he thrashes, he sinks and fumbles. Through the pathetic struggle, Gabriel tries to break the water's surface. "Please… please… I don't want to die!—not like this…"

Gabriel jerked up from his bed. His heart hammered out of his chest. "It was just a dream, calm down…calm down… everything's okay." Gabriel clutched his chest, gasping for air. After managing to calm himself and slow his breathing, he got out of bed. It was an early morning on a disgustingly wet and rainy Monday. The rain annoyed Gabriel, and he hated it. He hated how it made the days dull, how it dragged out old memories, and most importantly, he hated the sound of it. In fact, the sound of it infuriated him. But still, he rolled out of bed, "Maybe it'll stop." After fumbling around his apartment, tripping on clothes and wrappers around the room, he began to get ready for school by making himself some coffee.

He sat there in a daze, waiting with nothing but silence, rainfall, and his thoughts. As he stood there, listening to the rainfall, the hissing of the rain only grew louder. The rainfall now repulsed Gabriel. SHHH… SHHH… SHHH… SHHHHHHH The sound of the rain echoed in his head, like glass splintering inside his head; it rang louder with each passing second. "Please… please… just stop… I-I can't deal with it, JUST STOP!!" He dropped to his knees. At this point, the noise was so loud and disorienting that it began to sound like an ocean current crashing against rocks. He could feel the dampness of the water; he saw it spill from his ceiling, down his walls, and finally, he could feel it flooding his apartment, overwhelming him with the abyss. Frozen in a trance-like state, he could feel his breathing getting heavier and heavier. His chest started to burn. No matter how much he tried to move, tried to breathe, he couldn't; he was trapped, he was drowning, and he started to choke. "Is this the end? Will I finally get what I deserve? It was my fault… All my fault!! Gabriel began to cry. His world was sinking, and there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was sit there in hopelessness as it came crashing down.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Excuse me, Gabriel, are you home?" an older gentleman muttered from behind his door.

In a violent shock, Gabriel regained his composure. "Oh uh, Mr. Wilson, yeah, I'm here," Gabriel shouted as he stood up. His coffee was finally done and almost cold, so in one big gulp, he finished it before going to answer the door for Mr. Wilson, his landlord.