The Hunger

The Silhouette

"Are you okay?", a voice broke Michael's chain of thoughts. Michael unknowingly dived into the memories of Rosie and Kaya in front of Anna. 

"Yes, I'm okay. Thank you for the food.", Michael said with a faint smile. 

"It is my duty, sir.", the gratitude was quickly turned down.

"I better get going. Just call on the number mentioned in the notepad if you need anything. It will directly connect you to the manager.", Anna said and left the room. Michael wanted to resist her but it was useless. By then, Michael was alone in the room.

Anna was a stout-looking woman with beautiful eyes. Her hair was partially black with streaks of burgundy which enhanced its beauty.  She seemed confident but Michael felt an unusual amount of hesitation in her poise. It seemed as if she was guilty of something and every conversation reminded her of that guilt. In a way, she resembled Rosie.

"Notepad?", Michael suddenly found himself delivering a soliloquy, drenched in introspection.

Michael did not notice the telephone and the notepad beside his pillow. The notepad bore the seal of the famous Lotus Hotel; an inverted lotus. The seal looked like blades hanging from a single support. It seemed as if the support was unable to bear the weight of the blades and they hanged waiting to be released. Michael suddenly felt an unsurmountable amount of anxiety passing through him.

"Take deep breaths. Relax. You are overthinking. There is nothing to panic about", Michael murmured to himself. His mind was turning against Michael. It was either his past traumas or Joseph's torment that triggered this anxiety.

With all these going on in Michael's head, he started feeling nauseous. The more he tried to console himself, the more fear started gripping his mind. In a couple of minutes, Michael's surroundings started turning pitch black. It felt as if he was diving through a cavern and a force was pushing him through the hollow. In all this chaos, he got a glimpse of a silhouette. There was someone standing right in front of him.

"How could it be?", Michael said to himself.

"She can't be here." Michael was now gasping for breath.

Once again Michael was assured that his mind was playing games with him. Everything seemed to be a delusion. He was content but there was a blend of sorrow in it. He was witnessing something that he always wished for.

"Is that you, Rosie?", Michael said breathlessly with tears flowing down his cheek. He extended his hands towards her with bare control. It was useless.

With that, darkness took its toll over Michael and he lost consciousness.