Dear mother

Dear mother, how are you holding up? I’m doing well. Ever since I left our hometown, my life really did seem to get a lot more hectic, but I kinda like that. You were definitely right about some things, yet you were wrong about so many others. For instance, remember when you said that the word was a cruel place beyond my understanding, and that I need to grow up in order to carry my weight? Well, the world can be cruel, but growing up won’t make it less so. In the way that I see it, I might as well remain being a child for the rest of my boring old days, as long as that makes me oblivious to the horrors you saw hidden in plain sight.

Anyway, for the past 2 years, I have been living in this city. I have worked as a private investigator. Let’s say if any posh, seventy-year-old rich woman thinks that her husband might be cheating on her and she wants someone to snoop around, I’m the one they call. I know it might sound tedious, but it’s a lot more exciting than it might seem and the pay isn’t all too shabby either. It’s definitely more than enough to live life to the fullest. Speaking of the old ladies getting cheated on, it’s a common occurrence. Recently, I had a strange case where a man was apparently meeting with other women and taking them to his secret “pleasure” room, upon investigation I found out that he was hiring prostitutes, taking them into the room and then brutally beating and torturing them. Upon finding this out, his sister, the person who hired me, collapsed. She just couldn’t believe that her dear younger brother would do such foul things. Afterwards, we immediately contacted the police. And guess what? I got a medal for the entire ordeal. Well, more on that later. I know how much you hate it when people brag.

Anyway, do you remember when I was still a kid? It was drought season when you sent me away to stay with aunt Lauren, well I had a certain group of friends who I was very close with. To my surprise, one of them works at the police force. It’s Alice, the girl I told you about. I used to have a major crush on her back then, always finding her brave and restless demeanor attractive. I looked up to her. The things I saw in her were the things I wished I had myself. Not much has changed. She’s still the same brave girl, pushing herself far beyond her limits. Except now she bloomed into a beautiful flower. She is very, extremely attractive. I was surprised really. Back in the old days, she used to be a little boyish in her mannerisms. I remember the other girls teasing her because of it, although she didn’t really seem to give it too much thought. Having spent so much time around guys, her usual problem-solving skills involved punches and kicks so, in a way, the other girls were lucky it didn’t upset her.

Also, me and Alice agreed to go out to dinner next Friday. She said she knew a nice, small, quiet restaurant befitting of a long-winded reunion. It was called “The rabbit hole”, a strange name for a restaurant, don’t you think?

Well, I think that’s it for now; I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards, your loving son, Thane.

As Thane finished writing his letter, he lazily raised both of his arms, stretched, and let out something that resembled both a sigh and a yawn. He grabbed the letter and sealed it in an envelope, put on his coat and shoes, and walked out the door. As soon as he walked out, he remembered the envelope was still on his desk, so he walked back, grabbed it and instantly rushed outside, trying to subdue his worries of being late. But where is he going?

That day he chose to leave his car behind and took the bus, but why? Was there some equation on his mind that he wished to solve during his time on the bus? Or was it simply that he didn’t wish to be alone today? Either way, he got out 2 stops before the train station and walked there.

He rushed there as fast as he could. After all, the train would not wait for him. He seemed both nervous and lost. Only the devil could imagine that was going through his head back there. Was it doubt, anxiety, fear or any other emotion that made him leave the bus and seek a breath of fresh air? Only time will tell.

It took him twenty minutes to get to the train station. He nearly missed his train.

While getting on the train he saw how old it was, “probably one of the last of its kind”, he thought to himself and although it looked rundown, it seemed to have a strange comfort associated with it. “It felt like home”, he thought while sitting down in an uncomfortable seat. Suddenly, a sweet feeling of nostalgia hit his head. The words, “it really feels like home” and “I’m going home” kept going through his head.

For a moment, he was so lost in his head that he didn’t even notice the train starting to move. When he came to, he started paying attention to the other passengers that were on the train with him. There were four other than him, a sweet old lady, an old man riddled with scars, and a young couple. “Few people would venture out to such a place,” he thought to himself.

His pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by the beautiful vista that opened up before his very eyes. They were crossing a massive old wooden bridge that seemed to be at the end of its lifetime. Beneath it, there was nothing but water. The train was violently shaking its windows, as if it was about to topple right off the bridge, but Thane didn’t care, not one bit. To him, a death like this would be worth it.

“I wonder why,” he screamed out. Everyone started looking at him. “I wonder why no one takes this train anymore,” he continued. “Are they scared for their lives? Or do they simply not care about this place? Either way, all of them are fools.”

“The only fool I’m seeing here is you”, said the old man. “Shut up and let me rest”. That was the only response from the audience Thane got that day.

A couple of hours have passed and finally the train has arrived at its destination. But Thane knew he had a long walk ahead of him. The road ahead of him was long and hard, but he didn’t seem to give it much though, nor wolves, bears or mountain lions for that matter seemed to intimidate him. He wasn’t afraid. And was it that lack of fear that kept him going or was it simply foolish luck but he safely arrived at his destination?

There stood a large hill, with a rocky cliff face on the end of it and at the very edge of the cliff there proudly stood two tombstones. They wrote: “Here lies Nyx Asinus” and “Here lies Ereb Asinus”.

“Mother, Father, how are you guys doing?”, Thane mumbled upon reaching the graves of his parents. Then he pulled out his letter, dwelled on it for a moment, and gently placed it on his mother’s grave.

It seemed like the pressure of reuniting with his parents was a little too much for Thane. He collapsed on his knees, grabbed on to his head and took the demeanor of a small helpless child. Strangely, what could be heard from afar was not the cry of a weeping man, but the absurd and unrelenting laughter of a madman…