Inner Me(Short Story)

Inner Me

The anniversary of my mother's death fell on Mother's day. At first I tried to spend it as a normal day watching TV in my empty apartment, but that didn't feel right.

Empty...empty....

A vast space with nothing in it encircled me with its gray prison walls. I had to sell a lot of furniture and other items to secure my living expenses. There were only a few mementos of my mother left in a box I sealed away and hid from sight. Looking at them made me want to cry every time.

I wondered what was more empty, myself or the apartment? In order to disperse negative thoughts I continued to watch TV.

"Make your mom happy. Buy these exclusive flowers for just one hund,"I switched off the TV commercials.

This year's commercials for gifts were out of control, but I still caught myself looking at them. I should also make a purchase. Buy flowers and leave them at her grave. Although mom wasn't here anymore, and I couldn't pray anymore, at I could send her my regards with them.

My cellphone suddenly rang in an anime melody. It was a popular anime, but its overly happy tune didn't fit my situation. I did like it, but I couldn't listen to it anymore, so I quickly answered.

"Hello," I said.

"Hi, Leon! I'm calling about yesterday's assignment. Did you start?"

"Yes, I did. In fact, I already finished."

"You're a miracle worker, Leon. How did you find the time since we played Warfare battles almost all night?"

"I worked on it when all of you guys went offline," I calmly said.

"Seriously, man? When did you find the time? Don't tell me you worked at four o'clock? How do you have all the energy?" my friend had a lot of questions.

"I tend to wake up early," I said shortly as I remembered my younger day. My mother used to wake me up very early every morning to pray. The rest of the world was still sleeping, but I had to read the sacred texts and recite the most important parts. I don't do that anymore, but the habit of waking up early was still around.

"Really? I barely woke up this morning. My mom was yelling at me so I had to," he said. "By the way, today is Mother's Day. Did you already buy flowers for your mom or something like that? I totally forgot and my mom can get vengeful. I should go to a store," he could talk for hours without stopping.

We were in the same classes but he didn't know my family circumstances and that was completely okay. A lot of people attending the university lived alone.

"I'll send you the assignment to copy. I've gotta go now,"I cut off the conversation.

"Okay. I guess you're busy Leon. Thank you for the copy. I'll do my best so that the professor doesn't find out. You know how annoying he can get,"my friend really liked talking.

"I need to end the conversation. See you tomorrow,"I turned off my cellphone.

As I was laying down the phone on the table I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Somehow, looking at myself in the mirror always made me happy. I had a normal reflection like everybody else. It was proof that I wasn't a monster. My complexion was very pale, but it was no wonder since I stayed up all night long. It should get back to a normal, healthier look during the day. My short black hair was completely messy so I used my hands to fix it. There were big black bags under my red eyes, but after I put my glasses on they were less visible.

My eyesight was fine, but I didn't feel calm when going out without glasses. They made my red eyes less visible and people wouldn't stare at me too much. Having red eyes wasn't a big deal, but it was very rare so it's no wonder people were shocked when they saw it.