Portrait of a Life Unraveling

Marcus blinked rapidly several times. The rain was falling steadily, beads of water running down his forehead and into his eyes. The flashing lights blinded him, making concentrating difficult.

"Alright son, get down from there." A magnified voice ordered, painfully loud. Marcus could just make out a tall officer standing behind a cruiser, yelling at him with a megaphone.

"I'll show you." Marcus shouted, feeling weak and small. "I'm not insane, and I'm not hallucinating."

A figure Marcus didn't recognize approached the officer. They discussed something briefly, and the officer reluctantly handed the old man the megaphone.

"Marcus? Marcus come down from that building." The old man said. Marcus recognized him now.

"Listen Dr. Hendrix, I don't know if you are cutting a deal with them or what, but I'm telling you I really saw them." Marcus yelled angrily at the old man. "And one more thing. Take your stupid pills back. They're worthless." Marcus spat, throwing a bottle full of pills at him.

The rickety, two-story building shook. Marcus was standing on its roof, next to a shed. He had chased one of them all the way up the building, locking him in the shed. He had looked like a fool, chasing something no one else could see down the streets, pushing and jerking people out of his way. He would not look like a fool now. He would show all of them, once he opened the shed door.

"Your name's Marcus, huh? Okay Marcus, what do you want to show us?" The tall officer said, having regained the megaphone. The man had seen enough men plummet to their death to know that sometimes it was better to play along.

"I got one of them here." Marcus said, relieved that someone was finally taking him seriously. "People think that they don't exist, but I'm telling you I see them all the time. They live in the forests. You can't see them cause you're not focusing. They're sly, so you gotta focus, aright?"

A large crowd had formed now, ready to see something happen soon. Times were bad and people took whatever entertainment they could out of things. Marcus could hear the people whispering, the bold ones yelling things at himmost of them rude.

The roof was slippery as Marcus made his way towards the shed. It was useless wasting any more time, he had decided. The people could see for themselves once he opened the shed door. "They look sort of like us, but they're taller and paler." Marcus said, though too quietly for anyone to hear. "Also their ears are different, all screwed up." He was whispering feverishly now. "I'll show you, wait until you see it. Just wait."

Marcus' hand slipped on the knob several time. He told himself it was the rain, not his sweaty palms and rickety nerves. Finally, he took firm grasp of the knob. He breathed deeply. This is it, Marcus told himself. The moment of truth. Marcus opened the shed door grandly, only to reveal an empty room.

Tears streamed down Marcus' eyes. He fell down, sobbing uncontrollably. "It's all over now, pal." Marcus heard the tall officer say, pity filling his voice. "Get down here now."

Marcus stood up, mustering as much pride as he could. He sauntered his way to the edge of the building. Everyone was silent, waiting for something to happen. "I'm telling you, there was a human in there!" The young man said before leaping to his death.

Learn more about this author, Augusto Na.
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