The Horizons Series - Prologue

The Sound Of My World

August 28, 2019 - 3:00 PM
[HOWIN DRACO HUANG]

["Howin wake up!"]

There it was again. That annoying, grating voice.

[The school's on fire!]

Who cares about school at this point? Even if all the children were going up in flames, I wouldn't bat an eye. After all, I haven't been to school in twenty years.

[Howin Draco Huang! Stop...]

My wife's beautiful voice accompanied her entrance into the room.

Martha was as enchanting as the day I met her, hips swaying as she came to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Is everything all right, honey?"

"When you're here, how could it not be?" I still couldn't believe this—a woman like her with a guy like me. My entire life, I hoped the universe wouldn't notice this mistake.

"Ok. I have something to tell you!" Excitement saturated her expression, and she pulled something from her back pocket.

A simple device was showing a life-changing result.

"You're..."

"Yup!"

We had been trying for years, but mentally, I accepted that it just wasn't meant to be. "Is that..."

As if she was proud of herself, she smiled widely and patiently waited for it to register in my mind. "Yup!"

I was freaking out. "I'm gonna be a-"

Suddenly, the entire room shook—a great rumbling under our feet.

[Howin! Wake the fuck up!]

No. Not now, the voice in my head! I am awake! This is the actual reality! This is the way it's supposed to be!

Martha fell, hitting her head on the kitchen table. "Martha!"

But the rumbling continued, only becoming more vigorous as time passed. Soon, neither of us could stand, but I crawled.

I crawled to my unconscious wife, holding her as I lost everything. With tears streaming down my face, I reached out to-.

[Howin-]

"-wake up!"

I jolted awake with wide eyes as the remnants of my perfect life were crushed between his fingers.

Without my glasses, the ceiling lights burned into my eyes. I wiped my cheek and lips, marked from my slumber on the wooden desk, then placed the thick lenses on my face where they belonged.

With renewed vision, I could see them—thirty sets of eyes, all judging Howin for his very existence.

I took off my glasses and placed them on the table again as ridiculing laughter rang out. But at least I couldn't see them.

I whispered to the guy beside me, "David, why are they laughing?"

Without a trace of empathy, he responded, "I don't know. Maybe you should ask Martha."

"How do you know about that?!"

"You were sleep-talking. We heard everything."

"Wha-" I stuttered, "Well, why didn't you wake me up sooner?"

David wiped his face with a hand, "I tried, Howin. And you thought I was Martha. You grabbed my face and tried to kiss me."

No way. There was no way I did that in front of everyone. Well, my parents did say I used to sleepwalk. Maybe I was a sleep kisser, too.