LABYRINTH

// W.A.R.N.I.N.G: There's mention of a death and blood, if that bothers you skip reading this. It's a simple synopsis of how Arish is on a usual basis. I may delete this later.
____________________________________________ ♡



⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀“ Labyrinth of shadows & ocean

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Endless paths, mind churning.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Lost in the maze with no escape.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀In the dark, alone, I take shape.”




Arish woke up in the middle of the night, sweating profusely. Gasping for air as if he had been choked violently.

He had been dreaming again. Of the faceless people- That faceless man with wolfish grin and the blood covering his hands.

As if coming back to reality his gaze moved to his hands, trying to find any hint of blood urgently. But fortunately there was no trace of the crimson liquid.

A sigh of relief fell out of his moist lips before he let his feet hit the carpet.

This was something that always haunted his subconscious. He tried to shake off the feeling of unease that lingered even after waking up, but it was difficult.

After he walked to the bathroom, he splashed some cold water on his face. Letting coolness shock his skin. He looked at himself in the mirror and tried to find some semblance of calm.

There in those glowing blue orbs, he could only find the horror he was running away from.

The horror which he was born through.

The horror that screamed at him for the dreadful ocean.

The horror that had been the reason of his ruined life.

The eyes didn't blink, staring back at it's reflection with a blank expression. Arish could hear the screams of agony, crashing his inner peace. As if hypnosis, he couldn't look away from the mirror.

Until something was bumping around his legs. He blinked multiple times out of surprise before finally looking away from the mirror. Only to find Polar– his puppy jumping around his legs. A dull smile tugged on his lips as he bent, scoping the pup in his arms.

At least in these moments of loneliness and horror, he had someone who was willing to give the love to him back. Unlike the people who only took from him but gave nothing in return. Yet, he didn't mind at all.

It was after a few hours when he dressed himself and headed out to the university.

The weather was heavy with rain, and the boy had to fight his way through the downpour in the heavy traffic, it was nothing new at all.

When he arrived at the university, he felt drained, both physically and emotionally. The blue eyed boy trudged through the university campus, rain pounding against his soaked clothes.

His classmates' snickers echoed in his mind, but he ignored them as usual. He was way too used to it now. It wasn't like he couldnt fight back but he dared not to waste his time.

He tried to focus on his classes, but the words just seemed to blur together in his mind. His mind kept wandering off, back to the dream he had and the forgotten past that was now biting back at him.

Again and again.

He didn't want to escape anymore. He was tired to the bones.


Somehow the silent student finished his classes, scribbling down the words narrated by the professor, like a robot. He knew he wouldn't be looking at these taken notes, alas, he needed some distractions.

As soon as his classes were over. Arish quickly made his way out of the university and jumped on his motorcycle Speeding through the rainstorm, trying to get to the club where he worked as a part-time guitarist and an occasional stripper.

It was the only job that gave him enough money to survive in this expensive city. However, even this job had lost its charm, and he had lost touch with the passion he once had for music.

The club was a place of decadence and hedonism, with which once Arish felt the best at but nowadays he felt out of place here. But he did what he had to do to make ends meet.

The club was packed that night, and Arish had to put on a show, despite feeling empty inside. The people loved his fingers moving through the guitar strings, or his clothes. They loved whatever he offered, his charms and melody.

However, they failed to notice the marks of so many sleepless nights.

it was fine.


everything was fine.

Right?

He didn't want to know.


The customers kept demanding

More, and more.

Arish had to oblige. He danced, played melodies after melodies, and did everything they wanted. But all the while, he felt like a mere shell of his former self.


After the night was over, Arish headed back home on his motorcycle. It was already 4 am, and the city was shrouded in darkness and silence. The sound of the rain tapping against his helmet was the only sound that kept him company.

When he reached his apartment, he realized that he was drained, not by energy, but by the overwhelming feeling of numbness that had taken over him. Dropping the bags and helmet by the couch in living room, he unbuttoned his drenched shirt and threw it somewhere behind the laundry basket.

A few droplets of earlier pitter patter, rolled down his chest to his abs. As his eyes observed the trails mindlessly.

He didn't need to feed polar, thankfully the food and water supply would be automatically filled. This is the only reason he had ever used his origins' help. The powers that overwhelmed him. He didn't mind, though. He had nothing to lose.

Soon the boy found his feet moving on it's own. He sat by the window, overlooking the city below.

He opened a bottle of whiskey and took long swigs, the burn in his throat providing some kind of relief. Sitting at the edge of his window, he looked out at the dark clouds, the same color as the night he lost someone close to him.

The memories of that day flooded back, and he couldn't stop them. He felt like he was drowning, like the rain outside would never stop. Arish couldn't shake off the numbness inside him, even as the whiskey dulled his senses.

He knew he had to keep going, had to keep fighting, but the weight of the past and the emptiness of the present threatened to swallow him whole. The silence of his apartment and the darkness outside only served to amplify his inner violence.

The rain kept pouring down, and the thunder echoed in the distance.

He kept drinking, trying to forget everything that was bothering him. But the more he drank, the more he thought about the past.

He remembered the day when he had tried to save someone's life, but it had all been in vain. He had watched helplessly as the life drained out of her body, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

That memory haunted him, even after all these years.

He took another swig from the bottle, hoping that the alcohol would numb the pain. But it only made things worse.

As he was drowning in his thoughts, he heard a shattering noise, and the bottle he had been holding broke into a million pieces.

The glass fragments pierced his skin, but he barely felt the pain. He left his bleeding hand as it was, not bothering to tend to it.

He was too lost in his own mine to care about anything else.

The rain kept pouring down...


....and Arish sat there.

Dull blue eyes staring out the window, lost in his own mind.