Inkling_2026_Digital - Flipbook - Page 21
Content Warning: self-harm
Rain poured down from above onto my
black umbrella. The streets normally 昀椀lled
with children playing soccer, with laughter,
were now deserted. I stared at all the
buildings I walked by. Beaten, bruised, and
tethered. I knew they’d never go back to
the colourful buildings and homes 昀椀lled
with cookies, or books, or the music that
erupted from inside them. I stepped on an
old newspaper, sighing and averting my
gaze. I didn’t pick it up, because I knew if I
did, whatever I found would send me into
a spiral. Again.
I glanced into the old building, water
droplets sliding down the old windows.
I could vaguely see books and cash
registers. I used to go there a lot. I kept
walking.
Used to. That’s a phrase I said a lot. Mainly
to the people who tried to “help” me. They
could never understand what I’ve gone
through. The anger I held seeped into my
veins. I lashed out when they said they
were only trying to help. I hated myself for
that. Sometimes I tried to think back to
when I was a kid. Before everything that
happened. What would my mother think
of me now? Pity? Disgust? I didn’t ponder
on it too long. I didn’t need to.
The rain came down heavier. My heart
ached for memories I knew I shouldn’t
have kept with me all these years, still I
couldn’t help it. I couldn’t surrender the
only thing I was ever sure about. This
town…
This town…?
I looked around. What town was this?
Where was I?! I almost dropped my
umbrella when I suddenly realized I didn’t
know where I was. I looked at the street
sign, but all the letters were jumbled
up. Frantically, I started running, but the
roads seemed endless. The buildings I
thought kept my childhood memories just
repeated down the never-ending road. As
I looked at the stores, I didn’t recognize
them. I’d never even seen any of the
books advertised in a small library.
Disoriented, I stopped running and
dropped my umbrella. The rain stopped.
Once I looked down, I wasn’t in my
clothes—I was in a hospital gown. I
suddenly became agitated, scratching at
my head. I couldn’t remember anything!
“Help!” I screamed, but my voice just
seemed to drift away into nothingness.
Suddenly, in the distance, I heard voices
echoing. Hushed, frantic, as if they were
murmuring to each other. I clenched my
昀椀st, my eyebrows furrowing. Get me out of
here! I thought to myself. I looked behind
me, rushing to 昀椀nd a way out of this
hellhole.
I rubbed my eyes. It looked as if the world
around me was fading into light. A ringing
entered my ears. It was all I could hear.
It consumed me. I covered my ears but
the sound prevailed, it wouldn’t stop nor
would it dim down no matter how hard I
clawed and pleaded silently. The fading
world around me spun, colours 昀氀ashed
brightly, a stark contrast to the dim street I
was just walking on.
I woke in a hospital room, the 昀氀uorescent
white lights shone in my eyes. There
were nurses and doctors hooking me up.
Was I admitted, or always here? I tried to
speak, but it hurt too much. My throat was
clawed and scratched up, so.. it wasn’t a
dream? The only person who could have
done this to me was, in fact, me.
The doctors and nurses stepped out, but I
still didn’t truly feel alone. I glanced at the
昀椀le on the desk labeled with a name Who
is that? I grabbed it. It was a woman in her
mid-thirties. It seemed and she’d been
diagnosed with “early onset Alzheimers
INKLING 2026 | 21
