EARLY IN THE MORNING: MARCH 21, 2015: MALIK'S 27th BIRTHDAY
• M A L I K •
Without any direction, I walked down the middle of the street. What the hell was I doing?
Where am I?
It was dark outside. I looked around me, hugging myself to create heat, aggressively rubbing my palms against my arms as I viewed my surroundings. I only had on a white T-shirt and some joggers.
It felt freezing outside.
I felt odd when I realized I was the only person.
No cars. No people.
Just me.
Why am I the only one here?
I continued walking without a goal in sight. My body just moved on its own, pushing further down the street.
The world got worse as I walked.
On both sides of it, houses were on fire. There were explosions and the sounds of guns going off. I even heard mild screaming from all the loud noises and chaos, yet...
I still never saw a face.
Where is ___?
I can't remember... Who am I looking for? I thought as I paused, looking around again. Maybe if I search, I can find them?
I kept moving in the same direction, hoping I would come across that familiar face that my body seemed to remember, but my mind didn't.
Where is ___?
I thought, but my brain couldn't form the rest of the sentence.
Who was I looking for?
Who am I?
I asked myself.
I didn't know. That scared me. I could feel the panic well up in me. My mind was starting to collapse in on itself.
Starting to grab my head to try and contain the panic, I looked down at my hands. I felt my heart increasing, seeing my hands were covered in blood.
My chest felt like it was caving in.
I look back up in front of me,
"MALIK!"
My hands dropped to both sides of my body, my mouth trembled—hell my whole body did as I locked eyes with a figure who was covered in blood too.
I was now paralyzed.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!"
I couldn't move. I could only sit there while he screamed.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!" he yelled again, pointing to his neck that was pouring out blood.
A lot of it too.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!" he repeated, and I just stood there shaking my head.
"No," I barely got out in a screech.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU DID!" he yelled again, and my eyes went wide as I watched his head fall off his body.
"No, no, no, no, no," I trembled, repeating it over and over. "No," I yelled, screaming in his face.
