Within the Walls of Apartment

Waking up?!

Feeling sudden cold inside the blanket, I lowered it a little to check what is going on. The room was dark for that time of mid-noon "Humm" exclaiming to myself, I tried to peek through the window to check out. But, suddenly on hearing loud footsteps nearing the room, I turned around to see the silhouette of my mom standing in the shadow of the door near. She giggled. "Oh! you're awake now.. How many times should I tell you to not sleep in the day like this.." she said in a high voice.

As she was leaving, she said "Fold your blanket and come to the living room, I'll bring coffee" closing the door on her way out. I pulled myself up and searched for my mobile and found it to be turned off. "Battery must be dead" thinking to myself, I plugged it into the charger. As the phone turned ON, so many notifications started to stack up altogether and it went on for a minute and the mobile got turned off again. I left the phone to get charged at least for a while to turn it again and I went to the rest room to relieve myself. When I came out finally, I saw a smoking cup of hot coffee kept near my phone. "I know that the coffee will reach my hand, Mom! As always!" I murmured it with a smirk and took it in my hand.

As I was holding it in my hand, I took the phone and turned it ON. Again train of notifications started stacking up and the first thing I saw a notification of 424 chats of my college whatsapp group. I rushing opened it up and hit myself for forgetting to submit my assignment which I should have submitted by 12:00. I pulled down the notification bar to check the time, strangely the time showed 12:00. The phone buzzed again with chat notification from my bestie. "you moron! I called you so many times to remind you about the submission. Dont worry! I submitted for you too. As always. reply you ****. Were you sleeping again?" He texted continuously without waiting for me to reply.

Before I could reply him, my mom shouted from the kitchen to drink up the coffee before it get cold. I started sipping it up slowly and was checking other notifications. The coffee tasted like medicine I spit it out in surprise and saw that mom has made 57 missed calls. "oh thats strange!" I told to myself and tried to check the time she called wondering why would she call if she is here?. The phone started buzzing suddenly with display showing "Mom Calling". Feeling confused and with heavy heart, I answered it.

"Do you know, how many times I tried to call you? It answered back as turned off... Were you sleeping again...? How many times have I told you to not sleep in the day like this? I have come to the temple with your Dad... Have the snacks kept in the kitchen and lock the main door... Stay safe... We'll come back soon" said my mum's voice. Deep horror started to eat me up as I was shivering of strange cold. "Then who's in the kitchen??" I thought in frightening. I slowly and with chilling fear, walked towards the kitchen with constantly shaking feet. But there was NO ONE. "Oh God!" I screamed like a lost sheep by gripping my chest.

The whole house started to be blanketed by infinite darkness and deafening silence prevailed all over. The unexplainable horror gave freezing cold to the feet and hands. Whole body started shaking spontaneously out of deep horror. Before I could understand and realise my situation, the doorbell suddenly rang like a bolt of thunder.

With extreme fear, I carried myself slowly towards the door and galloped the fear within myself. I slowly and hesitantly saw through the peephole to find my mom facing down carrying shopping covers in both hands. "Thank God! Its mom... Finally..." screaming in relief, to myself. I removed the chain from the door and I curiously asked "Where is Dad?" as I was opening the door.

But instead of feeling the warmth of my mum, the Empty hallway blew a cold breeze on my face and a freezing chill swept on my spine. Immediately shutting the door with extreme horror, I cried and bewildered with scurrying questions "Why Mom is not in the kitchen, who was it that suddenly rang the bell and appeared in the hallway? It appeared to be my mom but how did she disappear? Where is Mom? Where am I? Why is it so dark and cold here? Why? Why? Why?" I broke down to my knees holding my head in terror. I was sitting all alone on the floor of that dark cold house. "No it's not my house! It's a place of no life!" murmuring with a grouched voice, I felt strange about my own house. Without knowing what to do, I just leaned on the wall, palming my face. I tried to pull myself away as far as I can from that dark cold place of horror.

Suddenly, I heard something ringing my ears, it's loudest chattering of a infinitely large crowd. Slowly and gradually the voices reduced in number and I could hear an unrecognisable murmuring of one shaky voice. When I tried to hear it clearly, the whole house started to warp around me and my body got shook up. Now I heard clear loud voice "Wake up! Wake up! The day is going to fall". It is my mum saying it as she tried waking me up.

"Ha Ha Ha... It's all a dream... Jeez its one freaky vivid dream" laughed at myself. My eyes were little blur off the sleep and I saw my mum stitching torn button of an old shirt on a couch. Cleaning up my eyes and adjusting it to the light for clear vision, I realised that the room was still dark and cold. "Am I really awake? The room still feels the same as in the dream... yet everything looks vivid" inferring to myself, I tried hard to understand. I heard her distorted voice saying "How many times have I told you not to sleep in the day like this?"

"Aahhhh! It's that same thing I heard in all my dreams! Am I still dreaming?!" My head felt heavy jamming like hundreds of hammers ramming all at once.

Suddenly inhaling the mixed smell of medicines, montage of random memories started flashing through my eyes and I finally opened my eyes. To my dismay, I realised that I was not home and tied up to a bed. All I could see and hear was vague blurry silhouette of people in green gowns and green face masks, murmuring in electronic voices. I turned my head down to check myself. "What happened to my body? Its not me! Why am I all yellow? Why are my veins looking so purple and popping out? It's not me! It's not me! Aaah aaah! What are these stitches all over my body? Aaahhhh it's paining! It's paining! What happened to me!? Ohhh no! Those green masked people are coming towards me!" I tried to get away by shaking everything. I heard them loud as they are slowly approaching towards me. When i saw through the flapping of long green draperies, I could see many young people like me, tied to their beds inside green separators, with stitches all over their body from neck below to their torso, pale like dead. When I tried to realise my lurid situation, a stout masked woman came close to my face with her smirking eyes. As she penetrated a large needle of a purple injection, my vision suddenly started oscillating between the blackness and blinding luminance. And all I could hear is that same distorted voice uttering "How many times have I told you not to sleeee..........