Twilight Echos

The calls

Loud shrieks grow and spread through a man's head each night. Voices of a young woman pleading and crying for help. He can still remember those awful memories like yesterday. Sometimes he blames himself for the incident. Every time he remembered what had happened long ago, he would always have this slight guilt in his stomach. But every time that does happen, he would just reassure himself. Saying things like 'I had to do it', 'there was no option', or 'it was either me or her'.

Before he would live his life to the fullest with her. And now he just sulks in his usual seat at the bar with 3-4 empty glasses near him. Never really wanted to escape the madness anymore or try to live his life again. Cassandra, his wife, was the only woman he ever talked to throughout his whole life. Even if it was forced, he still doesn't dare to continue with life like nothing happened.

"Another moody day mats?" Zeke nudged him on the shoulder and slid to a seat next to him. Matin didn't respond back and instead just looked over at his empty glass with an empty look of misery. "Y'know", Zeke continued while moving over the shot glasses, "It's never too late to fix your life. Get a better job you like for once, fix that alcoholic dread face of yours, and maybe even get yourself a girl. Who knows." Matin raised his head at the last comment and glared at him.

"Don't continue."

"What? What's with the face?"

"You know what. I'm still here processing from that psycho chick and you're over here not helping me whatsoever and instead pushing me to find some other women like that incident never happened!"

"Well excuse me for trying to color that black and white mood of yours. And don't give me that psycho-wife excuse again. If I hear that one more time, I might just want you to pipe down."

"Have you ever had a woman stalking your life and was obsessed with you to the point of killing people?"

"...firstly no. Second, don't even know why she was obsessed with you with an attitude like that. And third, she's been dead for 10 years mats! Longer than you and I were even talking! Get over it already before you stay stuck like this till the day you die!"

"Now don't you tell me what I can or can't sulk about? You will never know the things that women put me through for my whole life! I never even got to have my childhood without her being in it!"

Matin stood up from his stool but got halted from leaving by Zeke gripping his arm one last time. "I know... I know I don't. But I'm worrying about you, mats. Please just find something to do rather than living in this bar your whole life. I know that women changed you into this crummy man but drinking and not being around anyone is just making you worse. Please... do anything but be here will ya?" He pleaded to Matin with a weak smile at the end before letting go of him to watch his friend leave the bar for the last time.

The sun rises and Matin sits in his office chair getting ready for his shift. He clicks on the button on one of the phones and puts on the headset.

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"Hello, you've dialed S.O.H. How may I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Suzanne. I've been seeing burrows all over my house lately and now it has weird eggs inside of them every morning. The burrows were usually small, but they just keep on growing larger and larger."

"Well Suzanne, it seems like you got yourself a sinkhole worm. They are usually up to sink your whole house by making small burrows and enlarging them occasionally.

Unfortunately, there is not really a solution to get the worm out of your home, so I suggest you leave and never go back."
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"Hello, you've dialed S.O.H. How may I help you?"