The Stanley Parable

Mariella/Insane Ending

Stanley's eyes fluttered open to his office. He had been logging back in just to check if the Narrator had fixed whatever the issue was, but so far that has not been the case. He had came back, the next day, to check once again. Whatever was wrong, It couldn't be that bad. Stanley stepped out of his office and waited for a minute. 

"All of his co-workers were gone. What could it mean? Stanley decided to go to the meeting room; perhaps he had simply missed a memo." 

Stanley breathed a inaudible sigh of relief. The Narrator was back. But something seemed off. The Narrator's voice sounded oddly... stuffy? 

"Right, I'd assumed you would have noticed. Stanley, I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not feeling to well. I think I might be a bit sick. So please, just make this easy for me and follow the story by the script, ok?" 

Stanley nodded and continued to the room with the two doors. 

"When Stanley came to a set of two open doors, he entered the door on his left." 

Stanley, not really thinking, went to the door on the right. He heard the Narrator let out a tired grumble. 

"This was not the correct way to the meeting room, and Stanley knew it perfectly well. Perhaps he wanted to stop by the employee lounge first, just to admire it." 

Stanley considered going back, but the door behind him was closed, so he continued onto the employee lounge. When he got to the employee lounge, he didn't let the Narrator speak and went onto the next hallway. 

"But eager to get back to business, Stanley took the first open door on his left." 

Stanley obeyed and this time didn't take the lift. 

"And so he detoured through the maintenance section, walked straight ahead to the opposite door, and got back on track." 

Stanley walked into the meeting room. Nobody was there. There wasn't a single trace of human life. 

"Yet there was not a single person here either. Feeling a wave of disbelief, Stanley decided to go up to his boss's office, hoping he might find an answer there."

Stanley would feel like even if the Narrator hadn't told him so, Stanley would have gone to his bosses office. He took some glances at the white board and projector, then left the room, heading towards the stairwell. 

"Coming to a staircase, Stanley walked upstairs to his boss's office." 

Stanley, once again not thinking, went downstairs instead. He ended up in the parking lot and just continued to walk about while the Narrator was talking. 

"But Stanley just couldn't do it. He considered the possibility of facing his boss, admitting he had left his post during work hours, he might be fired for that. And in such a competitive economy, why had he taken that risk? All because he believed everyone had vanished? His boss would think he was crazy. And then something occurred to Stanley: Maybe, he thought to himself, Maybe I am crazy. All of my coworkers blinking mysteriously out of existence in a single moment for no reason at all?"