Chapter 51: "Every living creature dies alone."

AN: This chapter contains a f*ck ton of spoilers for the movie Donnie Darko, It's basically the movie's summary. Ngl, I hated translating this chapter :[

Anyways, if you don't care about spoilers, you may proceed. 

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Thunder rumbled through the gray sky, and the occasional cry of startled birds pierced the heavy air. The camera panned over a vast valley, slowly zooming in.

A figure lay motionless on the mountain road. As the lens drew closer, the figure stirred, sitting up with the weight of exhaustion clearly visible in his posture. The evening sun flickered against his profile.

Suddenly, the corners of his mouth curled into a peculiar smile, and his eyes glinted sharply at the camera, casting a dark and twisted mood over the scene.

At this moment, the title Donnie Darko appeared on the screen, accompanied by an eerie violin score that escalated the tension, hinting at the surreal atmosphere to follow.

After brief introductions from the filmmakers, the movie plunged straight into its narrative without lingering on formalities. The opening sequence was unsettling and mysterious.

At a family dinner, a heated argument between Donnie Darko and his sister hinted at deeper issues, suggesting Donnie's ongoing struggle with mental health.

Soon, the plot thickened. Donnie was roused from his sleep by a strange voice. Sleepwalking, he encountered a grotesque figure: a man in a nightmarish rabbit suit named Frank, who ominously informed Donnie that the world would end in 28 days.

Back at his house, an unseen force shook the walls violently, as though disaster had struck.

Morning came, and Donnie found himself inexplicably waking up on a golf course. Upon returning home, he learned that an airplane engine had crashed into his bedroom.

Had he not sleepwalked out, he would have been killed. This bizarre incident left the audience with an eerie sense of confusion.

In the span of just fifteen minutes, the film had introduced a wealth of information, creating a surreal and unsettling atmosphere that made it hard for viewers to fully process what was happening.

While the narrative followed a chronological timeline, the rapid succession of strange events left little room for contemplation. The audience was swept along by the film's momentum, barely able to catch their breath.

With the house destroyed, the Darko family temporarily moved into a hotel. Tensions ran high as Donnie bickered with his younger sister, while their parents quietly celebrated Donnie's miraculous survival.

Life at school resumed its routine, with class skirmishes and the arrival of a new student, Gretchen, played by Jena Malone, adding to the intrigue.

In class, they discussed Graham Greene's short story The Destructors, a tale of destruction, which seemed fitting in the context of the film's apocalyptic overtones.

Things took another strange turn when Donnie met an eccentric elderly woman, Grandma Death, who whispered to him, "Every living creature dies alone."

This chilling line pushed the movie further into the realm of the weird and foreboding.

Donnie sought out his therapist and spoke about Frank, the rabbit-like figure that haunted him. Despite his disturbing visions, Donnie was skeptical of Frank's prophecy about the world's impending doom.

From here, the film's pace accelerated, and it became increasingly difficult to grasp its underlying meaning. While the events were presented in a clear timeline, their significance was cryptic.

Even Evan Bell, playing Donnie Darko, knew the plot intimately, but as the story unfolded on screen, he still felt as if his mind couldn't keep up with the rapid succession of events.

The key issue was that, although each scene was simple enough to follow, they seemed disconnected, making it challenging to piece together the larger narrative.

The movie was like a puzzle, where each event had its place, yet the full picture remained elusive to the audience.

In the movie, Donnie attended a class where motivational speaker Jim Cunningham (played by Patrick Swayze) taught his controversial method of conquering fear.

But Donnie, unafraid to challenge authority, openly mocked Jim's philosophy.

On the night of October 6, 1988, Donnie followed Frank's instruction and vandalized his school by breaking the water pipes. The next day, he crossed paths with Gretchen, and their relationship blossomed.

Meanwhile, the school bullies, mistakenly blamed for the vandalism, suspected Donnie of ratting them out, leading to further tension.

The plot continued to unravel in unexpected ways. Donnie witnessed strange time travel-related phenomena and discovered a book, The Philosophy of Time Travel, written by the mysterious Grandma Death.

The more Donnie learned, the more convinced he became that time travel was not only real but also connected to his visions of Frank and the apocalyptic warnings.

Donnie's visions grew more intense. One night, he dreamed of stabbing Frank in the eye, only to see him later with the same wound.

It was a chilling moment, adding to the unsettling ambiguity about whether Frank was real or merely a projection of Donnie's troubled mind.

The movie's turning point came when Donnie, under Frank's influence, set fire to Jim Cunningham's house. Simultaneously, Donnie's sister, along with other local students, performed a spirited dance routine in a talent show—a stark contrast to the dark undertones of Donnie's private struggles.

The fire revealed a shocking truth: Jim Cunningham was involved in a child pornography ring, a revelation that caused uproar in the community.

Meanwhile, Donnie's relationship with Gretchen deepened. They shared tender moments, but the impending end of the world loomed ever closer.

Donnie began seeing time tracks, strange visual representations of people's paths through time, further reinforcing his belief that he had a significant role to play in preventing the apocalypse.

The climax of the film occurred at a Halloween party on October 30, 1988. After receiving a frantic message from his therapist and learning that his mother and sister would be returning from Los Angeles that night, Donnie felt an urgency to confront Frank once and for all.

He led Gretchen and some friends to Grandma Death's house, where they were attacked by school bullies. In the chaos, Gretchen was accidentally killed by a car driven by none other than Frank, who was in a Halloween costume.

Devastated, Donnie shot and killed Frank, realizing that the events were spiraling toward the end Frank had foretold. Time seemed to fold in on itself, as dark clouds gathered and a bizarre storm began to brew.

In the final moments, Donnie returned home, resigned to his fate. As the airplane carrying his mother and sister flew overhead, a freak accident caused one of its engines to break off and crash through the roof of Donnie's house—right where Donnie lay in bed.

This time, he did not escape. The film ended on a haunting note, as the residents of the town woke up, vaguely remembering pieces of what had happened.

Gretchen, now a stranger, passed by Donnie's house, not knowing the boy who had died.

The melancholic song "Mad World" played as the credits rolled, leaving the audience in a state of stunned silence.

The story had ended, but its meaning remained elusive.

Was it a dream? A commentary on time travel? Or simply the troubled mind of a teenager grappling with his own reality?

No one could say for sure as they are all equally baffled by the film.