I got out my russet cordovan shoes for the occasion, and wore a tie in a way I thought was quite unbecoming, particularly considering my usual ritual garb. I found myself loosening the uncomfortable thing throughout the day until it was practically draped over my sweaty shoulders by sundown.
In fact, the heat was unbearable.
* * *
She smiled at me much more than usual the next day, but I couldn't seem to figure out why that was. That straight-A grin langoured from cheek to cheek every hour or so. Even after she was gone it lingered in my mind for a while, as if depressingly prodding me to redouble my resolve.
All-in-all, her non-committal attitude sapped my confidence. Resultantly, I watched the trains come and go at the station for a few hours and dejectedly smoked a pack of cigarettes, building up a small hill of crumpled butts, and deliberately turning those russet shoes grey with ash.
I didn't manage to build the confidence to go home. I ambled, or more correctly, blindly lurched across the city in a depressed state. I quelled that depression in a sleazy bar that smelled like a hawker centre.
Over the next few hours I drank myself into a trance until eventually the world went black. Eventually I was home, not quite remembering how. I remembered the dream I had. Heavy drinking usually stifled my dreams, but I suppose my dejected attitude caused this sharp imagery.
In my dream, there was a small concreted room, without any exits or entrances. It was lit ambiently, without any particular source of light. I sat at a small table, and there were four stools.
The three gruesome beasts sitting around me slurped a blue-black ichor from their mugs. I had a mug too, but I didn't think I could stomach the effervescent liquid. Still, they seemed keen for me to enjoy a celebratory drink.
A hole about the midsection of their grotesque forms opened up and extended a proboscis into the mug to take a sip. Afterwards, the proboscis retracted into the slimy orifice, and the flabby body around it gyrated intensely. Indeed, the monsters themselves seemed to have trouble with the liquid which smelt of freshly-laid bitumen, and stung my nose.
I felt a sense of unease when they tilted their heads towards me. They noticed I wasn't drinking any of the tar. Yes, I supposed I should fit in.
I took a sip. My body immediately rejected the vile liquid, and my eyes watered as I slammed my face into the table which we sat around. The liquid spurted out through my clenched teeth, and I wept from the burning sensation in my mouth. The terrifying beings seem enthused; they laughed, with a great bellowing of a mucus-covered bulb towards the top of their bodies. Still, they seemed pleased with my attempt.
My whole body felt painful.
Again, they laughed heartily.
I laughed too.
