the 65th street

The 65^th street

The incidents that happened in the 65^th street was never meant for human eyes, to this day, every time I see red, I envision their faces. It happened 40 years ago, I was still young, and I just moved out of my parent’s, with the little money I had, I was forced to rent an apartment on the 65^th street. The apartment itself wasn’t all that bad, other than a few scratches of what looked like cat claws and slightly soiled corners, the apartment was rather homely. At first, I thought my neighbors weren’t really social but after a month or two I learned that they were just like me, but they never got enough money to move out, I got to know a couple that lived there, they were nice people, although ignoring a few weird habit’s, like panicking when part of the wallpaper was ripping out, this day started out like any other. <Jeremy!> yelled out a voice behind me, in shock I quickly turned around, a blond girl with beautiful hair and sparkling eyes that resemble jewelry, it was Iris, reassured I walked up to her and gave her a kiss, she was my girlfriend, my first one at that. I met her on the street while I was getting my newspapers, she was like a shining star, walking in a long white robe, she stood out like a sore thumb. <are we still meeting up later this evening?> she exclaimed<of course,> I responded without missing a beat. She leaned in and gave me a kiss, then walked into the horizon of the hallway. I really did love her, if anything ever happened to her, I could never forgive myself. I decided to go get her a gift for our rendezvous this evening, I heard from one of my neighbors, Ryan, there was a great antique not too far from here, although there was a reason why people didn’t go to the shop much, there was a rumor going around that said that the shop was haunted, it said that once you enter the shop you could pretty much guarantee that your life would end in 48 hours where you would suffer unimaginable pain and lose everything you tried to build your whole life. According to the rumors the last person who bought in it had his parents killed, lost two of his limbs, ate his own daughter and killed his wife. I don’t believe in any conspiracies, but I won’t take my chances, I walked to a shop not to far from the cursed antique shop. The door opened with a small jingle from a bell, it felt rather warm considering it was winter, surprisingly there was nobody in the antique. it was filled with small objects of all colors, red, blue, green... they came in all shapes and sizes from a miniature dog to a 2-meter-tall crayon, they were all on top of shelves and beautiful displays. But something felt off, with all these dazzling lights and vivid colors, I felt like there was something behind it all. All the small objects felt as though they were looking at me. Suddenly I heard a thud beside me, startled I turned around; it was just a wooden car that fell on the ground, just as I was about to put it back on the shelf, I saw a red face staring at me from where the car used to be, It looked like the face of a full grown man but it somehow looked spotless, it looked as shiny as a pearl. I was about to take a closer look, but it started to change facial expressions, with wrinkles all over his face, resembling to that of an old man ,I it looked as if it was about to scream, but just as it was about to let out a moan, a man behind me yelled< you don’t have to mind that, let me.> he walked over to me and picked up the car and placed it back on the shelf as if the face was never there. The man was rather short, he would match the description or a short grumpy old man, but he had a smile on his face, one so warm that it could make you forget all your problems, but that wasn’t my case. horrified at what I just saw I asked him<what was that?!> <what was what?> he answered, frustrated I asked again< the f-ff-face, it was there, how didn’t you see it?> the man looked at me confused < please, enough jokes, sorry for the late introduction but I am doctor Steven, the owner of this antique, how may I be of assistance to you?>I paused for a second, trying to remember why I was here, I answered< I am looking for a special gift for someone I want to protect> he stood there and though, after about a minute he tells me< I might have something in the back but I cannot guarantee your safety, but I can guarantee the safety of the wielder of this gift.> he walks out of the room and walks back in with a small box,< open it back at home it’s quite loud.> I paid and left. As I was walking out, I felt stares glaring at me, I didn’t know what they were, but I knew there were a lot of them. Back home it was almost time for my date, only 3 hours left. I thought I heard enough time, so I put the box on my desk, turned on my lamp and opened the box. I heard peaceful melodies play, words could not express these sounds, it sounded so calming like a warm cup of tea on a sunny day, but I felt something else too, it felt eerie, it was almost too relaxing, when I finally opened the box I couldn’t believe my eyes, I was a music box, although I didn’t get a clock I was still satisfied with this find, it was glimmering under the light of the lamp, in front of me stood a small rectangular box with emerald green paper on its sides and a beautiful carvings at the top, I reached under and tuned the knob, I heard the same melodies I heard earlier. This made me wonder how I heard those melodies earlier, when I took a closer look at the box, I noticed a small trapdoor I opened it and a nut Craker flung out just like a coocoo, stared, I was still amazed by the details on this nut Craker, then something odd. It was as if space was distorted in a small area in the box. I reached in and pulled it out, surprised confused and curious, I watched closely at what I held in my hand, it was a red, egg-shaped rock with a distorted human face on it. Thinking this was an omen I wore it on my neck, nothing happed or so I though, I kept it on but noticed that this strange object wouldn’t respect the laws of gravity, when I leaned down it would fall slowly like a sheet of paper, I tried to remove it but it was too late, it was as if it became part of my body, the rock was stuck to my chest, I though it was glue so I just decided to take care of it after the date. In a blink of an eye, it was time, I arrived with flowers and waited for her. <iris> I screamed, and just like always I immediately saw her, she was wearing the same white robe as we first met, she stood out like a sore thumb. I handed her flowers, and we walked into a restaurant, I had a well-paying job and saved up enough to buy a better apartment, but I just never had the time to move out, I would soon regret those words. We ate and discussed about our future and what we would wish for, I love everything about this woman, I would do anything for her. When we finished dinner we walked out, her hand in mine I couldn’t wish for a better life we crossed the road and just as I was about to hand her, her gift she said< oh, wait I think I forgot my sweater wait for me here> now I don’t know why she ran or why the driver didn’t see her she was run over by a car. Those where the longest seconds of my life all I heard was a car honk a thud then a crack, the next thing I knew I saw the head of my lover roll in front of me, it glared at me the same way the red face did, but this time they were lifeless, her face still smiling in joy appeared before me, I crumbled to the ground, refusing to accept her death I held her head in my arms, I knew the spectators around me want me to get off the road but didn’t want to interrupt my moment. Her head felt like a cold lifeless object denser than it looked, in regret and guilt of me not stopping her I grabbed a metal bar that fell of the truck and ran toward the driver with her head still in my hand. I leaped and hit the driver right in the head, I wanted him to suffer cry and beg for the gift of death, but I swore to myself that even after death I would torture him in hell. I heard him scream in terror and sounds of metal hitting a hard object and before I knew it the object the metal was hitting became soft. He was dead. I let go of the piece of metal but still held tightly in my hand of what is now the remains of my girlfriends’ head and strangled the man, <stop> yelled a man snubbing behind me, at that second all my anger busted out< oh, so you think I am wrong for stopping a criminal, huh? You though I am wrong for taking revenge on the person who took the life of the most important person in my life! I yelled>I could no longer control myself and rushed towards the man and this time I used the head of my own girlfriend as a weapon, holding it by its hair, I felt like I was no longer human, just and incarnation of pure anger regret and revenge, I watched as I ran towards him, he was crying as if I was glaring at him like how a lion glares at his prey I didn’t care, as long as it meant it would bring justice to her I would do anything. After about a hundred hits I grunted< how does it fell huh! I had to experience this but a hundred times as bad from the inside.> at that point I didn’t even know why I was killing; I just had a smile on my face<hehehehe> I giggled… I laughed… I was enjoying this, then I suddenly felt a sharp pain through my chest. I looked down and to my surprise the rock took shape, it linked to my body through tendons, veins and tissue walls they were all around the rock as if I was part of me, I felt connected to Behilt, I don’t know how I knew its name, but it just came to me as if I was always aware of it. It offered me power, the police just arrived, I though it would be a good time to test it out, I was directedly shot tens of times but somehow my body grew back as if nothing happened, this time chuckling and laughing I yelled<come at me> with the bone of my lover’s face already visible from the amount of times I hit with it I took the head off one of the many victims, I jumped and killed at that point I just became a killing machine without purpose. I looked blankly at the tens of bodies I killed, Abruptly a policeman shot me strait in the head I ran twormards him and grabed out his spine, I heard a voice<eat it><eeeeaaattt itttttt> as if it was a whisper, but I understood that it was Behilt, I took the spine lifted it closer to my mouth and cobble it like a meatball. 

I tasted like a crunchy but slimy broccoli; I was hungry for more. But play time was over since the swat team arrived, they immediately threw bombs and shot me from all directions. It hurt worse than death but I have felt worse, I wanted everyone to feel the pain I went through, this is what justice is to me, using corpses as shields, I ran towards the swat team and tried killing them, but they were used to these kinds of situations so they reacted quickly, I decided to target an individual, I ran towards the weakest looking one,<you’re no longer human> he said as I was strangling him, I saw his body fall to the ground while his head was in my hand, that moment I realized that this isn’t what I wanted, seeing lifeless bodies wasn’t what I wanted, this isn’t what iris would have wanted, this is what the Behilt wanted. I was under his control the whole time, without knowing I already completed phase two of the curse, destroy what you have created, I wanted to stop killing but I could no longer control my own body<run> I yelled, but no response, it was the doing of the Behilt, he was controlling my body, I fainted. I woke up and found myself drenched in blood, and all around me were bodies, all looking at me with wide open eyes, it seemed as they were blaming me to kill them, I stood up and walked, the ground was coated in a sea of red, it was blood, I walked for hours and hours, the only thing I could see were piles of bodies people that hung themselves on the broken buildings, heads and all kinds of body parts, I don’t know to this day if I was the one who killed all these people but I think I was, there in the horizon I saw a perfectly laid body, I recognized that white robe, but it had now become red, I ran towards it but it seemed forever farther away, I understood that is was but an illusion of what I wished for,<hahahahaha> <it’s me, it’s always me, the one who has to pay the price><what did I do to deserve this, where did it all go wrong!>I cried. I just wished to live a happy life with my girlfriend, I let myself fall to the ground, looking around me there was nothing but bodies heads and corpses bodies heads and corpses bodies heads and corpses bodies heads, <where did it all go wrong?> I chuckled,< I just want to rest this was just a dream, right?, right?>, I gazed at the abyss, I saw nothing but horror terror and death it was a cycle that I made myself. Days months and years passed, the girl in the white robe is just as far as it was at first, there was only one way to end this, I looked at the sharp metal rod sticking out of the ground, this was my ticket out of this nightmare. I walked over to the rod, put my neck beside it, < I will be joining you soon Iris,><if life has taught me anything it’s that people who seek power end up weak, those who have power consider it a curse inside><goodbye,> I wasn’t sure if that was a tear or blood but I woke up this time with Iris beside me. This life might have been a dream, but it was everlasting in my mind, I wanted to tell her I loved her, I wanted to wake her up and tell her that every day when I wake up, I want to see her face before anything else, even if it meant having to die, I would do it. I woke up, again, in a pool of blood, again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, until I accepted the embrace of eternity and eternal suffering, this is the price of power. I was driven by love and the past, scared of the future, scared to lose her, maybe none of this would have happened if I moved out before, maybe I would have gone to another shop, maybe the car wouldn’t have been there, maybe I wouldn’t have killed those people. But what is done, is done, most people can’t understand that they stay stuck in the past thinking that ruining what you have now will change it, but it doesn’t, and I realized that far too late, I just want to hold her and stay with her, I wish I could die, but I can’t, I understood what it meant to be immortal, and I don’t know why so many people want to be of such, it’s a curse, one that will last forever. Looking at the infinity dark abyss, the terrain of heads and bodies, and the girl in what used to be white robe, I gazed, waited for my time to come, but I knew it wouldn’t. 

By Ulysses.Lefebvre