NO MORE STREAM

Part 23- Back to the g-game!

Mike with his Dad get back to home.

Mike was acting normal.

His Dad felt like everything have become normal.

And everything was normal.

Mike started waking up early, stopped watching series, everything was going good.

One day,

Mike went to Dad and said...

Mike: Dad! Where are my clothes and other stuff?

Dad: check it properly, it'll be there.

Mike: I checked my room, there's nothing, it's so empty.

Dad: oh right! How there can be, you have taken it with you, when you moved out.

Mike: I moved out? When?

Dad: at my another flat.

Mike: why I can't remember...

Dad: Don't pressure in your head, I'll go tonight and get you'll stuff...

Mike: I'll manage.

Dad: ok.

After some times

Mike takes the keys and start walking to another flat.

Where he'd stayed before...

He opened the door with a key.

Started putting things in bags.
Clothes and headphones and others.

Later, his eyes get on, one room.
That was halfway opened.
He gets in there.
Switched on the light.
There was a dust everywhere,
few portraits on wall and gets closer to it.
He touched one portrait, take a closer look.
It was about hospital, boy sat on bed, women over him.

He looked at another portrait, boy fall down through ball.

Then looked at second last one, a bag was drowning on the beach...

And later on, he looked at every portrait.

There were 5-6 portrait.

He started getting familiar with them...

He looked at the portrait and said...

Mike: is it mine?
But I'd never drawn them,
Who drew them?

He picked one of portrait and sat on bed

He was pressuring on the head.

Furthermore, he started visualizing...

He gets a throwback to his past life.
Like doctor came at home, saw the portrait.
Alex incident...
Strange things happened to him after a dream, in the room.
Strange things at hospital.
Forget about tournament...
He used to watch lotta web shows.
He'd lost in the stories and plots.
In the Goa trip, with dad and neighbors.
Asking everyone about a fictional character,
What happened to the girl, mini?
He starts loosing his shit.

He falls back and started regretting about it.
Life was going good, I was so close to get that.
Tournament shit..
I fucked up.

Starts crying...

Someone call

His phone rings

He threw the phone away...

Mike: where I was all the time, when last time I lost to match, I ain't lost to match, I lose to myself.
I can't believe, what I've become.
I'd never let someone in, but it was me who was out.
I shouldn't have to watch, any of it.
First he hooked me and then fucked me over and over again.
Shouldn't meet Alex or shouldn't go out that day with Zack.
I don't know her, but I still care about and wanna know what happened to that girl?
Still.

Shit!

Phone rings...

Mike looked here and there on bed...

Follow the ring, picked up the phone...

Therapist: Hello Mike!

At the therapist...

Therapist: How are you?

Mike: um...fine...

Therapist: I called you today. I found something that can help you.

Mike: yeah now I really need that. Help.

Both at the same time...

Therapist: it...it's a web-series addiction!

Mike: web-series addiction!

Therapist: I googled about this, it's not happening to you only...there are many more like you...and they've found their way.
After watching the first episode, they too couldn't stop till the end.
And another day,
start watching next and then next and so on.

First, you need to get out from "A river of lie"
emotions, and divert your mind somewhere else.

Mike: Okay.

Therapist: like no means no, you should watch only one episode. One episode means one.

Mike: I can give a try.

Therapist: Start talking to everyone.

Mike: I can't do this.

Therapist: that's how your brain will start functioning again, Mike.

Mike: um-mm.

Mike leaves from there and made a call to Ciri.

Mike: Hey, meet me.

They met at a beach, was near, at Ciri's home.

Ciri: will you say something, Mike?

Mike: I'm feeling worse day by day.

Ciri: what happened?

Mike: tournament.

Ciri: it's gone now, gone for good, maybe god want this.

Mike: I don't know what God want, but it's feeling like my karma phase is rolling...

Ciri: why so?

Mike: for all the sins I've done.

Ciri: loot at me. It's nothing like that.
You're a great person, I know.
Stop overthinking...
Jus...just start anew. Move on...

Mike: it's easy to say and hard to feel, Ciri.

Ciri: I can't feel your pain is right, but I can take away your pain for a while.

Mike: Let there be pain. More than life, it's pain that makes sense.

Ciri: I want to go back, Mike. Where everything was going good.

Mike: who don't?

Mike: you know, I'd planned everything so well, I was too close to get it.

Ciri: it's ok, not everything goes according to plan, sometime we've to go with the flow.

Mike: it's so fucked up now!

Ciri: I missed talking with you, every day.

Mike: I know.

Ciri: hmm.

Mike: mm.

They both started looking at the view of the beach.
At night, everything start looking beautiful.
And even so peaceful.
Nothing can beat the sun shine, but night got our attention.

Ciri: let's get back, I'm getting late.

Mike dropped her home.

And he run back at another flat.

Knocks his neighbor's door, Shaun.

Shaun opened the door.

Mike: I want to join in.