The Last Dawn

A gust of wind passed through the slightly open windows, causing the tightly closed curtains to rustle. Finally, as if anticipating this moment, warm rays of sunshine illuminated the dark room.

A skeletal figure lay on the bed. The presence of these new intruders disturbed his rest. A bony hand reached out from under the covers and explored around until it managed to get hold of his phone.

[16:34]

"Dammit…"

Despite uttering a few curses under my breath, I wasn't surprised. This routine had been going on for a couple of years.

I threw the bed sheets off my body and lifted my upper body from the bed with my arms. I looked around, still a little bit dizzy from waking up. The room was the same; the only decorations were a curved desk, a bedstand, and a wardrobe lying on its side.

As my eyes stopped roaming around and focused on the side of the bed, a heavy sigh escaped my lips.

A wheelchair stood near the night table.

I used my hands to massage my legs, hoping they could stimulate some feelings, but it was useless. Numbness pervaded my lower body. I had visited countless doctors and even a foreign hospital in the hope that some experimental drug could solve my condition. Still, the new treatments only worsened my already fragile health.

The name of the disease that plagued my life was Asher. It was so rare that the specialists I visited used my name to refer to it, and despite my complaints, it stuck. I hated that my most significant accomplishment in my 22 years on this earth was naming my torturer.

I used my arms to drag my body to the edge of the bed, and, resembling a weird worm, I plopped down in my wheelchair.

I was only wearing a pair of old sweatpants, so I went to my toppled wardrobe and, rummaging through the messy clothes, found a clean, long-sleeved shirt. After that, I went into the bathroom and quickly washed my face. In the mirror, I saw my reflection.

I chuckled a little bit. If one looked past my unhealthy pale complexion, which contrasted with my obsidian black hair, I looked pretty handsome.

I had dead fisheyes, or at least that was how my doctor referred to them every time I went to him for my prescription. He always recommended reconnecting with old friends or getting new ones to improve my mental state.

Well, I never listened too much to his advice.

After drying my face and hair, I took my keys and squeezed out of my front door. It was Friday, and I needed to get to the pharmacy since my meds were running low.

The sun was shining brightly, and I had already started to regret going out. I hated the warm weather since I always had to wear baggy clothes to hide my skeletal figure as best I could.

I lived on the city's outskirts, and today, there was an unusual number of people on the streets. I hated it. Every time someone passed by me, they gave me a look of half pity, half concern.

I reached the pharmacy, and as soon as I entered, a warm voice greeted me.

"Oh, Mr. Asher! Come this way. Your medicines arrived just this morning. You're lucky!"

A chubby woman in her forties was waving at me with the enthusiasm of someone much younger. She had long brown hair. Her most notable feature was the gold ornaments that decorated her neck and ears.

 The place was busy, but thanks to my condition or because I was a regular, I was able to skip the line.

"Hello, Miss Darcy. How are you?"

"Fantastic as usual! Just give me a second to find what you need."

As she said that, she turned around and started looking in the various drawers behind her, one by one, while talking.

"Sorry, today is hectic, as you can see, and everything is a mess."

"I saw...How come so many people are out and about today? Is there a celebration or..."

"Yeah! Something similar. Haven't you looked at the news? Today, a solar eclipse is happening! In about an hour, don't miss it."

Her voice had always been as loud as a bell, and judging from the looks that the people waiting in line were giving us, they seemed to agree.

"AH, here! Found them."

She turned around and put a tall pile of boxes on the counter.

"I should have all of them; let me see."

She started scanning them and saying some incomprehensible names as if she were casting a curse. My eyes looked over to the cash register, where the total amount kept getting higher and higher....

"The total is 1257€, and with your discount, it's just 1057€."

I reached into my pocket with my trembling hand and handed over my card, which she swiped with a big smile. After the transaction went through, it became even more prominent. As I laid the bag containing all my meds on my legs, I couldn't help but think that I probably had contributed a lot to all the gold she wore.

With a wry smile, I thanked Darcy and went out into the street. The bustling crowd had increased since I entered the pharmacy, and I could see that squeezing into the crowd with my wheelchair back to my home would be a hard-fought battle.

After thinking for a little while, I decided to go to the remote park that I used to frequent before my condition worsened.

I should've thought about it a little more. It was a bad idea.

"Oh, excuse me!"

I was sweaty and panicking. Even though I used some less frequented streets, I still couldn't avoid the crowd and got stuck in it.

I had accidentally run over the foot of a little girl who looked to be around five years old.

"Don't worry. She will feel fine in a few minutes. At their age, they tend to overdramatize small things."

"Still, I should apolo….."

As I said that, a pang of pain ran up from the bottom of my back until it reached my head. I reached into the bag of medicines and took a capsule from one of the smaller boxes that I immediately threw in my mouth and swallowed.

"Hey, are you alright?"

I was hunched over with one of my hands covering my mouth.

"HEY!"

The shout distracted me from the pain. Looking up, I saw the father looking down at me with concerned eyes. He had short brown hair and a well-defined face. The people around us, startled by the noise, were looking at us inquiringly.

Deep resentment started bubbling up from inside. I hated everything. My condition, my weak body, the unfamiliar man in front of me and his little child.

Why! Why me! What are they looking at me for!

My eyes started darting around even though I didn't know if I was looking for help or somewhere to vent, but as I was thinking, a voice reached my ears.

"You seem unwell? Do you want to call someone, or can I help you?"

His warm voice sounded to me like mockery. Who does he think I should call? My dead parents? A doctor who can't help me with my condition?

I lashed out.

"Who are you? My fucking parent, I'm fine! Just move"

He looked shocked by my quick switch in attitude, but I didn't care much; I just wanted to get away from everything and everyone.

As he moved aside, I started pushing the wheels of my wheelchair, but I couldn't get away as fast as I wanted. I struggled to escape with my skinny arms and received countless of those stares I always hated. To them, I looked like a pitiful man who deserved sympathy and help, but I despised that. It made me feel inferior.

I couldn't help but mutter courses under my breath while looking down at the pavement, hoping to reduce my presence and avoid seeing the reaction of the people around me.

Finally, after some time, I managed to reach my destination. A desolate park that even drug dealers wouldn't approach was in front of my eyes.

It wasn't easy to navigate; the path was broken and full of potholes. Overgrown bushes and trees reached out with their branches into the footpath.

It hadn't changed much since I came here a few months ago. The city council probably didn't even know that this place existed.

The residual anger I still felt pushed out every doubt about stopping and going back home. I carried on. The branches scratched my arms and my face.

After a while, the path ended, and I reached a clearing. A stone stele stood in the center under an old willow, an unusual plant for the region I live in, but I didn't care that much how it ended up here.

I pushed forward until I was under the shade near the old monument. I was feeling uncomfortable; I was sweaty, and the lingering pain still reminded me of the brief encounter I had before. I decided to sit on the grass to find some relief.

I used the remaining strength in my arms to get down and put my back against the cold stone stele.

A slight breeze alleviated some of my fatigue and distracted my mind from my problems.

"It should be about time."

I looked up, and between the branches, I could see a small opening that showed the sky. The eclipse was starting. I probably shouldn't have watched it since I didn't have sunglasses, but I didn't care anymore.

A strange feeling of pace came over, and for once in a long time, I felt relaxed.

 As the sun was covered and darkness slowly descended, I started seeing small black cracks in my vision, but I didn't care. When the moon completely eclipsed the sun, pain flooded my eyes. I immediately closed them, but as I opened them, I noticed that the fissures around me had expanded.

"I couldn't have just gone home!"

I immediately regretted coming here. Why did I want to watch the eclipse without any eye protection? Had the medication I took before also numbed my mind besides the pain? Now, in addition to my legs, my eyes had been ruined. While I was feeling sorry for myself, the feeble breeze started picking up in strength until I couldn't help but notice that something was wrong.

I started panicking. I immediately looked down at my body and realized I couldn't see any cracks. My eyes were still working fine. It was the fabric of space around me that was breaking. Desperate, I turned around and grabbed the stele with all my power.

I used all my strength, but as the wind got stronger, the force pulled my body toward what I could only consider as certain death. My fingers left bloody stains as I lost grip until my arms couldn't hold on anymore.

I knew my end was coming. I had anticipated this moment for a long time, and I could at least be happy that it wasn't my disease that took away what remained of my life.

My vision went completely dark, and I couldn't feel my body anymore. As fear flooded my brain, a strange sense of relief made me relax before even my consciousness faded into the darkness.