Radio Waves of the Macabre [On Hiatus]

Chapter 1 - Drowning (Part 1)

Inspiration springs from necessity.

David Li could not recall where he had first heard those words, but tonight they clung to him, shouting at him, demanding to be heard. Inspiration and necessity. Intrinsically bound to one another.

David needed to take control. He needed to prove himself and to make good on his potential. He needed something, anything other than this failure of an existence. Most of all, he needed to create, to take his brush to a canvas and will an image into being – to pull it into existence from nothing, as if the very fact of his need could usher into being a spark of inspired resolve where currently he found only an empty bitterness. He needed...

"I need a drink."

The bartender raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." David cocked a glance at the tap. The handles blurred, and he rubbed at his eyes. His vision cleared momentarily then immediately blurred once more. He decided to take a stab in the dark.

"You got an amber on draft. Don't care which."

"Whatever you say." The bartender grabbed a pint glass from under the counter and headed off.

David could feel the man sneaking a glance his way, but the bartender's face was as blurry as the draft handles. David blotted at his eyes again. Still nothing. He blinked and his vision cleared for a moment, but only a moment. His vision had been fading for over a year now.

Struggling, David pushed that thought away. If he dwelled on it for too long, he wouldn't be able to think about anything else.

The bartender returned. "Seven dollars."

David pulled out a ten. "Keep the change."

He winced as he said it. Everything was too damn expensive in the city. Everything. Hence the necessity. David needed cash. His funds were running low and his debt way too high. Isn't that the way of it, now, he thought. A generation drowning in debt before they even begin?

He laughed. Something about the bleakness of it all made it morbidly amusing. David didn't think of himself as a cynical person - somewhat down, but far from the bitter man he could see in himself at that moment. His mind had chosen dark paths to follow this evening, and he reveled in it, not just basking in the misery, but more drawn to it. That darkness overpowered him and he had no choice but to immerse himself.