The Madrasi and her Madman

CHAPTER 2 CONTINUED

The effect of the experimental antipsychotics wore out within a couple of hours. Ayaan would find himself locked inside his bathroom at the break of dawn. He would sit on the floor, his back rested against the wall with his head tucked in between his knees, tears rolling down his face as he begged for mercy.

He returned late that night, it started out as a peaceful sleep until their laughter was heard. He tried to drown them out, to neglect their act of existence but such monstrosity could never be contained. He first saw them on the walls, mother and daughter with their heels and palms attached firmly to the concrete as their bodies protruded. They whispered words, words of hatred and words of death.

After everything we've done, you choose to do this.

He heard a scream, as Judith leapt from the corner of the ceiling on to his chest, throwing him off the bed. Her eyes rose even further as she stared into his. Her laceration filled hand, gripped his throat and grew tighter as he struggled to fight free.

Kill her

He had gasped for breath, the world around him began to grew dizzy. He felt the narrowing of his airway and the rise of an unprecedented pain. He rolled his head back, to find Snow White on the ceiling. She descended with grace, floating in midair, landing just above his head.

I need blood.

Mustering every ounce of strength his body possessed, he snapped Judith's arm in half and kicked her. She flew against the wall, slamming her skull which shattered against the concrete wall. He heard her daughter screech, agonizing yet mute. She leaped on his back, her pale white arms once again constricting his neck.

Give us blood

He turned his back towards the wall, running towards it as the loud snaps of her broken bones interrupted her whispers. Finally, with one last thud, she screamed in agony, falling from her back, this time graceless, right beside her mother.

Ayaan felt his breath resurface, he dropped to one knee crawling his way to the bathroom.

Hand in hand, the mother taller than the daughter, the body bag around her back and the crown over her head, in rags and a pretty yellow dress, they rose together, at once. This time, they never laughed, their faces devoid of any expression that their very blatancy, ignited a wave of fear towards Ayaan. He crawled faster, as his knees bruised against the wooden floor and his back, aching almost as if it had been broken. He felt their cold, lifeless hands grasp him by his ankle but he was already there, his upper half inside the haven. He rolled around, all pressure on his back and pulled his legs closer.

He was finally free, with the wall as support, he stood up, he saw Judith with her hand entangled with the princess and a body bag that lay behind them. The thin partition that separated his room from the bathroom was all that stood in between.

He looked around at the shower that was mounted behind him, the oval shape marbled basin, the mirror in front of it and the closet beside him. He was relieved, for he knew even his madness had its rules.

He would spend hours looking through the keyhole just to see if they had disappeared, sometimes he would be able to see his bed, the drapes and the margins of his cupboard but it would suddenly vanish, replacing itself with a thin lusterless white that covered the keyhole. Other times, it would be nothing but the white. When the rays of sunlight penetrated through the bathroom window, he would acknowledge the time passed. And that was when he would beg 'Please, I can't take this anymore. I need to go to the hospital.' 'Please' 'Judith, don't do this.' It would all go in vain. His sweat soon began to drench his skin, he would imagine the bacteria devour it as his body odor gradually engulfed the room. He eventually opened the bathroom window, and would take in the fragrance of the outside world, the smoke from the chimneys, the dusk of the sunlight, the oregano of the restauruant down the street and the laughter of the children. When his ankles began to wither, he would seat himself against the wall. He would do it with great care, as the pain of his damaged bones would tether. The day would eventually pass, darkness taking up the air. 'Please' was all he could say, for it was all the strength he had left.