Voices

Leah and Max were sitting on a bench in the burning sun. They were both staring at the sea, not looking at each other even once.

"So... What are you doing here?!" Max said

"I'm waiting for the sunset. It's supposed to be beautiful, isn't it?"

"Well... You don't know until you've seen it, do you?"

"Yeah... I guess... What are you doing here?"

"I'm always near you. You know that, right? I thought you were aware of that."

"I was, but still... You don't have to be around all the time."

"You know that I have no choice... But let's just watch the sunset and then go for a walk."

"Okay..."

So Leah and Max sat on the bench as the sun set. They watched in awe how the sun disappeared from the horizon.

"Come on, let's go."

"Okay. Where do you want to go to?" Leah asked Max.

"We could go to the forest. That would be fun."

"Isn't it scary in the forest? It's dark, the sun doesn't shine anymore."

"Come on, Leah. We'll have the light of the full moon to see."

"I don't want to go into that forest. There might be monsters hidden there."

"Just walk into the damn forest already!" Max said very irritated.

"You don't have to yell at me! Why do you always yell at me?! Why, Max?!"

"If you had just listened to me, I wouldn't have to yell. It's your own freaking fault."

That having said Max ordered Leah to go to the forest. Once there Leah shrunk into a little ball, her hands clinging onto her ears.

"What are those voices doing here? Max, make them go away!"

"No! I will not make them go away. Just listen to what they have to tell you and then we might leave the forest."

"Please send them away. I don't want to hear more voices!"

Max kept quiet and waited. He waited for Leah to take her hands off her ears so she could listen to those voices.

"Leah, please. Do it for your own good. The sooner you listen to them the sooner you'll be able to leave."

"Fine... I'll do it, but promise me that we'll leave immediately after the voices have spoken."

"I can't promise you anything. That's just up to you."

Leah, not wanting to go against Max anymore, took her hands off her ears. Then the voices began to speak all at once. Leah couldn't bare the sound of them and she put her hands back on her ears. But it didn't work. Leah could still hear those voices and they got even louder. Max screamed to her and told her to take her hands off her ears.

"Leah. Take those hands off your ears right now! You're only making it worse!"

She listened to Max and took her hands off her ears again. Max was right. The voices didn't seem so loud right now. Leah tried to understand what the voices were saying.

"Why are you listening to him? I mean look at you. You can't even stand up for yourself... You are so pathetic. You are horrible. Just useless. Why don't you leave you stupid little shit?! Now I know why you don't have any friends. Well... Except for that dude that told you to come here. But he isn't a real friend either." The voices said.

Then Leah snapped. It was getting too much for her to take.

"What do you want me to do, then?! You know I can't leave him. He doesn't have a choice and I don't have a choice. But you can leave. So just f*cking leave! I can't take it anymore."

"We can't leave. Once we are here we can't go back. It's just like what it was with Max. So now you've got even more people following you. More people watching you. Can you feel the pressure?"

"If you can't leave, can you please shut up. And stop with saying all that bullshit. Stop insulting me!"

"We can't leave, you silly girl. You really are stupid as f*ck. And no. We'll just keep talking until you snap. We'll keep talking until you'll kill yourself. We want to leave. We never wanted to be here anyway. So just kill yourself and then we can leave this stupid, rotten place."

"No. I can't... I'll lose Max and he's my best friend."

"Leah, look around. Max isn't here. He's in your head just like us. Listen and kill yourself so we can get out!" The voices said desperately.

Leah looked around, searching for Max and the voices. She didn't see anyone.

"B-But... But I thought that Max was real. He was real! I'm certain. I know it! Where did he go? Tell me where he went!" Leah snapped at the thought of losing Max and started yelling at the voices.

"Stop yelling and listen. Max isn't real so just let it go. And for us... Commit suicide and we'll be gone. You won't hear us ever again."

Leah started to believe the voices. She walked out of the forest towards the sea. The moon lit the surface so beautifully Leah wanted to touch it. She got into the warm water and walked straight ahead in the direction of the moon. It got deeper and deeper and eventually she got to a point where she couldn't stand anymore. Not knowing how to swim, Leah died there in the sea because of drowning.

So in a way Leah committed suicide, but no one knows. People are still searching for her, hoping that she's still alive. Well, at least she has some rest now. The voices left her head. So did Max and now Leah resides in peace.