Day X

Prologue

It was a typical Friday morning. The alarm went off at 7AM and the excruciating mechanical sound echoed throughout the apartment. Mr. X opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His mind had not drifted into the kingdom of Morpheus even for a second over the course of the past night. Despite sudden insomnia, Mr. X’s thoughts were as clear as a day. The disturbing idea that had been forming in the back of his brain over the past couple of hours became material and there was no escaping this torturous captivity. Mr. X knew that tonight he is going to die.

9:00AM

Morning traffic was as bad as during any other day, but for some unknown reason all of the drivers around Mr. X were as courteous as they could have been. Over the course of Mr. X’s commute to the office not a single car cut in front of him and not a single driver flipped him off. It was as if life had given Mr. X a final opportunity to enjoy his monotone routine without any interruptions. A girl at the Coffee House messed up his order and offered him a complimentary drink. The lottery ticket that Mr. X had been buying at the local gas station for the past couple of months finally showed the winning numbers. If it was any other day, Mr. X would be blessing his guardian angel for doing an outstanding job. Given the preceding events, it was no wonder that by the time Mr. X made his way to the office parking lot there was a vacant space right by the building entrance. Our poor protagonist locked his car and let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps the earlier premonition was due to him not taking the prescribed sleeping pills for the past couple of weeks, the pills that were designed to help cope with the vigorous regime of corporate America. He has been taking them as long as he remembers and Mr. X blamed unpleasant experience on his organism adapting to new life. Trying to forget about earlier events, Mr. X put on a big smile and entered the building. Unfortunately for Mr. X and his guarding angel, who must have fallen asleep at work, this Friday proved to be anything but ordinary.

11:00AM

It was obvious that all of the good luck that had been Mr. X’s companion so far has disappeared as soon as he stepped into the office building. It all started with a broken elevator. A big red sign stating OUT OF ORDER has been plastered over the doors, as if it was making fun of people for having to use the stairs. This minor setback has not discouraged our protagonist from enthusiastically making his way to the fourth floor. It would take more than a malfunctioning equipment to break Mr. X’s spirits. First mishap of the day awaited Mr. X at his cubicle. To put it lightly, Mr. X did not have the most exciting job in the city. He was a phone marketer, a profession that was destined to become extinct with the rise of internet and social media. It was not the best of jobs, but it was an honest job that brought an honest dollar. Mr. X liked his job. The monotonous routine calmed him, cleared his mind, and arranged his thoughts in a straight line. Much to Mr. X’s surprise, when he made it to his desk, there was another man sitting at his chair, holding his work phone, staring into his computer. Mr. X stood at the desk silently, looking around, trying to make sense of what has happened. The man sitting in front of him acted as if he hasn’t noticed a thing. Much to Mr. X’s joy, his boss walked into the office and was moving in the direction of Mr. X and a silent intruder. “Morning!” yelled Mr. X trying to get his Boss’s attention. The Boss stopped and looked at them somewhat carelessly. His eyes widened, as the sudden realization got hold of his mind. “Morning…. uhm, X. How… is life?”. Stumbling speech did not throw off Mr. X as he began to explain the seating conundrum. The Boss stood there, with his hands in the pockets, carefully listening to every word that came out of Mr. X’s mouth. He remained silent for a minute after Mr. X stopped talking and finally broke silence. “I apologize for the inconvenience. It must be my mistake, X. Please take a seat in the waiting area near my office. Let me make a phone call and we will try to figure this out”.

1:00PM

As Mr. X was driving home from unexpected early release, he finally had time to play back the events that took place over the course of the past few hours. None of it made any sense to our protagonist. As he was sitting in the waiting area, he could see the puzzled expression of his Boss through the glass pane in the middle of the door. He was talking on the phone, rather hastily to say the least, and it was obvious to Mr. X that something was not right. The bizarre and peculiar morning has been progressing further into the abyss of abnormality and it was too much for Mr. X to handle. He got up and started walking around in circles trying to calm down his nerves. Curiosity was swallowing Mr. X whole and he could not resist it. He quietly opened the door to his Boss’s office in hopes of catching a glimpse of conversation. “It has been two weeks already. My condition was that you will monitor the situation, which clearly you have not.” Boss must have noticed door opening and interrupted a person on the other end of the line, “I will call you back” and he hung up. “Hey, X. Sorry for the miscommunication, I thought we have told you that today is your day off. I apologize that you had to drive all the way to the office, but I am afraid that there is nothing we can do at this point. Just go home and enjoy the rest of the day. You can take tomorrow off as well, since we are the ones who dropped the ball on this one.” Puzzled by sudden generosity, Mr. X murmured “Thank you” and made his way out of the office. The more he thought about this incident on his way to the orphanage the more it didn't make any sense. However Mr. X had to pause his thought process as he was already at the destination. Mr. X parked his car by the sign that read “Safe Harbor” and shut the engine.

4:00PM

Mr. X never had a dad. As long as he remembers, it was just him and his mom. When little Mr. X would ask his mother about the fate of his father, she would change the topic or make a joke. As Mr. X grew older he got used to the idea of not having a dominant male figure in the household. That is why it hurt that much more when he lost his mother at the age of 10. He barely remembered any of the events that followed this tragedy. He ended up in “Safe Haven”, an orphanage that brought him back to life and helped him cope with the aftermath. The death of his mom forever changed Mr. X. From that day forward he would always isolate himself from other people, looking for quiet corners of the orphanage where he could be left alone. The only person he would ever spend his time with was Charlie. The reason for the strong connection between the boys was the fact that Charlie himself was a shy and anti-social boy, who never wanted to hang out with other kids. This arrangement worked out perfectly for Mr. X. As years were going by and Mr. X was growing older, he was able to slowly recover from the disaster that ruined his life. Once he turned 16, Mr. X started seeing a local psychiatrist. It was that same doctor that Mr. X has been seeing for the past 10 years and it was that same man who prescribed Mr. X sleeping pills to help combat the nightmares that would leave Mr. X breathless, grasping for air in the middle of the nights. Not long after Mr. X 16th birthday, Charlie was released from orphanage to explore the big scary world and live life on his own. It would take Mr. X another two years of loneliness and solitude to earn the right of making his own decisions. On the day of his 18th birthday, director of the orphanage and Mr. X’s psychiatrist both shook his hand and proclaimed that Mr. X was now an adult. As a condition upon his release, Mr. X had to check in with the doctor to make sure that his “night incidents” don’t appear again.

Mr. X loved visiting “Safe Harbor”. It was a dark chapter of his life, yet every inch and every corner of this place contained some precious memories that were now fading with age. Mr. X would sometimes come here just to sit on the bench in the backyard or talk to the kids who were going through the same problems he had experienced earlier in his life. He wanted to give back to the place that breathed life into him and brought him back from the death’s grip.

Mr. X was now sitting in the doctor’s office, looking around and staring at the diplomas he has seen over hundred times. His doctor, who has noticeably aged since their first meeting, was sitting across the table from Mr. X, smiling as always. “So tell me,” the doctor continued the conversation. “Are you taking the pills?” Mr. X couldn’t find the courage to tell his doctor the truth, especially after everything he has done for him. The truth was that every now and then Mr. X would take a break from taking his pills, hoping that nightmares would not return. They always did. “Yeah, of course, Doc”. “Great! Then I assume everything is going well with your night sleep. How about work? You have been going to work every day?” “Yeah. Even though something interesting did happen at work today” and Mr. X briefly described the events that preceded his visit to the orphanage. After he finished telling the story, the Doctor took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “That’s interesting… Well, I am just as puzzled as you are. Tell you what. You mentioned that you have a day off tomorrow, so how about we grab lunch somewhere in the city? I would like to discuss this further with you.”

6:00PM

As Mr. X walked out of “Safe Harbor”, he paused and took a deep breath. Leaving this place always brought nostalgia. He loved his new life, his job, the ability to make his own decisions. Yet some part of him missed the orphanage and Charlie. Especially Charlie. With Mr. X’s new lifestyle, he could never find enough time to spend with his old friend. He hated himself for that, but at the same time he realized that he needs to move on with his life if he ever wanted to be successful. This time, however, sentimental feelings took over Mr. X’s and he invited Charlie over to his place.

8:00PM

Charlie was sitting on the kitchen counter in Mr. X’s apartment, devouring home made spaghetti with meatballs as if he hasn’t eaten in a month.

Calm down, Charlie. There is more, no one is telling you to go home just yet.

Charlie wiped his mouth with the sleeve and murmured “Don’t wanna take chances… I see you like once in forever.”

Well, you know how it is. Trying to be a responsible adult, go to wor…

Cry me a river, man. It’s always the same with you. Work this, sleeping pills that. Why don’t you go and marry your job.

Well, unlike you, I do have a job. I have to have one in order to survive. This is not orphanage anymore, we can’t play by the same rules. You gotta adjust in order to survive.

Pshhh, please. I liked you much more when we were kids.

Mr. X looked at Charlie and smiled. He loved hanging out with Charlie because he hasn't changed a bit since their orphanage years. But as much as he loved hanging out with his friend, these gatherings also highlighted the gap between Charlie and Mr. X that was getting wider with every passing year. Besides maturing physically, Charlie remained that same teenage boy Mr. X met 10 years ago. To Charlie’s surprise, and much to his own, Mr. X asked quietly “Do you mind spending the night? I don't want to be left alone. Not tonight.” After a brief pause, Charlie grinned “You are not alone, you have me!”

10:00PM

Charlie was already napping on the couch, as Mr. X was by the sink washing a plate covered in marinara sauce. He was glad his old friend stayed over. As the night grew deeper, fear has taken control over his body. Mr. X remembered his premonition and he could not think about anything else. He turned off the light in the living room and sat on the floor by the couch occupied by Charlie. The daunting silence in the apartment was making matters worse for Mr. X, so he turned on the TV. He didn’t pay attention to anything that has been happening on the screen. He was looking at the shadows dancing around him that were born by the glare of the screen in the dark room. All Mr. X could think of was how tired he became from worrying about work, paying rent, and buying groceries. Maybe Charlie was right. Maybe adult life isn’t for everybody. The shadows started to take shapes around Mr. X. He could see hands and faces running on the walls, ceiling, floor. They were laughing, they were mocking Mr. X. They were making fun of meaningless priorities that have overtaken Mr. X’s mind. The shadows grew wilder. The hands were not afraid to touch Mr. X as if they were inviting him to partake in the ritual that has taken place in this ordinary living room. Unable to move a muscle, Mr. X closed his eyes. Here he was, in complete darkness. He was finally free. Free from all of his obligations. Free from all of his commitments. The last thing Mr. X heard before drifting off into the abyss was Charlie’s voice: “You are not alone, you have me!”

Epilogue

When doctor and police found breathless, ice cold body the next morning, it was all but too late. Empty pill case on the kitchen counter made the police job easy enough. The death was ruled as a suicide by drug overdose. Even years later, the doctor would blame himself for understating the severity of his patient’s condition. Never in his wildest dreams, did he imagine the struggle Mr. X was going through. With many years of experience in this field, the doctor was sure the symptoms were in the recession cycle. Mr. X was buried next to his father, on the green hill behind small mental institution just south of the city. The tombstone was a simple gray brick about two feet high, that read “Here lies Charlie Grover”.