The Man Who Killed Himself (Short Story)

The Man Who Killed Himself

"There was this man whom all of the professors in this school knows," the cold, deep voice of the professor broke the silence that was dominating in the room. His voice filled the air. It soothed to my ears - giving me chills as he threw his words at us. "His name is Matthew Collins."

Whispers then uplifted after he spoke. Mathew Collins. Who wouldn't react violently, anyways? After all, he is no other than the lucky man who was near to perfection; but, disappeared in a snap. Abducted? No one knows. No one had an inch of idea where he went, or what took him. Even the police couldn’t find any clue that may help in resolving his case.

"By the looks of it, most of you know him. Well, that’s not a surprise. He was definitely an idol. A creature who was inhumanely perfect. However, all of you does not seem to know what really happened that night... that night when he disappeared," he added. His eyes gazed upon us - drifting from one student to another - and lastly rested on me. His eyes seemed to dig deeper through mine. I shivered. He must've seen the dying soul drowning in these orbs of mine. He must've also heard its screams of great pain as it is being tortured to its death - shouts of hopes to survive.

"It has been five years since his sudden disappearance. No one knew where he was, what he came through and what really happened - or so we thought. His parents finally came out of their confineness and told us the bare truth they've hidden for so long - the truth that shook the hell out of every single professor that discovered it. The unbelievable truth," he paused again to take a deep breath. Not a single one of my classmates took a breath in the midst of that deafening silence. Curiosity blazed up inside me as questions began formulating in my mind and ran through it in circles.

"Matt's parents thought that it would be best if you will know what happened to their son. By then, a case like Matt's will be avoided."

"A case like Matt's? What do you mean by that?" a guy from the back asked with furrowed brows. He's right. How can another abduction be avoided by a mere story-telling? It just doesn't make sense. Not at all.

"That guy... Matt. He was not abducted. He took his own life."

Silenced filled the room. Everyone was dumbfounded. How can a man that is near to perfection do such a thing? He almost have everything. I heard mumbles about how unbelievable it was but they eventually stopped when the professor continued.

"Matthew Collins almost had everything: the mind, the face, the body, the skills and the money that every other people has always dreamed of. So how can a great man like him commit suicide? What was his motive behind all of these?" he asked. The silence of the room doubled and so as our puzzled faces. I could even hear the creaking sound of the rusty garden gate meters away from the window as it was being pulled back and forth by the wind.

He paused for a while - giving us time to digest everything. His eyes roamed again and paused as it reached me. I shivered, again. Why is he looking at me like that? I immediately held my wrist as I felt my soft scar brushing my palm. Does he know about it? What is he up to?

"Sir!" a girl from the back shouted, it was Annie. "Can you enlighten us up? Why would he do that? I mean, it just doesn't make sense. He almost had everything. Why would he do that?"

"That's it. That's the reason why we couldn't believe it, too. However, that's also the greatest mistake that diverted us away from the whole truth - believing that he has everything. He had the body, the money and such, yes; but, are these really everything? Are those the things that are worth living, fighting and dying for? No. Those things only give us comforts to survive in this fucked up race we call life," I was stunned at his words. He's right. Those aren't everything. Yes, he was admired, idolized, looked up to. But those things deprived him the things he truly needs - love and affection.