A young man was sitting at his desk, staring at the empty page in front of him. His pen was resting between his fingers, occasionally flicking it restlessly around.
Deep in thought, his vision blurred. The life be knew was the one in his head. He wouldn't believe what his eyes showed him. It was too real. Too frightening. In this head, he felt like he could control it. Like he was God.
The phone next to the empty notepad lit up and started vibrating. He didn't react. It didn't feel real. The phone wasn't ringing on the desk. It was from another world. Another universe. Another truth.
He dropped his pen and sighed and picked up the phone.
"Yeah..." he answered in a monotone voice.
The person on the other side was quiet. All he heard was the static.
Irked, he asked "Who's there?"
Still nothing.
Frustrated, he hung up and tossed the phone over on the Chesterfield sofa across the small, poorly lit room that was his study. What irritated him most was that the caller had thrown him off balance. His self-induced haze seemed far away, lingering somewhere else.
He sighed again and stretched.
Famished, he headed for the small kitchen in the next room.
A flash appeared from nowhere.
He blinked.
Another flash.
Confusion.
A third flash blinded him.
He covered his eyes.
The forth and final flash went off.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in his chair. The notepad and his phone was still on the table. His pen, between his fingers. His eyes were still somewhat blinded from the flashes.
What was different was the first line on the page of the notepad.
In big, blue letters, the words "Picture it" were spelled out. Next to them were an arrow pointing to the right.
Tentatively, he turned the page.
Polaroid pictures were glued onto to page, each of them displaying himself just a few moments ago. His confused face seemed out of place.
He looked closer.
The pictures seemed to differ from each other in that they all had words displayed in various places of his arms.
The first picture: coward
Second: liar
Third: ungrateful
The last: Who's there?
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