The freezer

The dark hallway seemed as long as it was eerie. Even though it was a small New York cramped apartment, it seemed like it stretched like a fashion show walkway, but with an audience of old family photos, that only showed a little glimpse of innocence now lost. It shouldn't have been disturbing, it was Luca's childhood home after all, it was the place where he was first taken to from the hospital after his birth and has been his metaphorical nest for his entire life and the way things are going who knows how long he will still be there. The same corridor that a week ago he would have passed without so much as a thought about its composition now felt like an alien environment, to the point that Luca thought he was dreaming. Objects seemed to repeat multiple times, the walls warping with every step, spiraling into the front door. The closer he got the smaller it got, it was as if the mechanics of his depth perception were reversed. The floor moved like a wave making him seasick and the doors felt like they lead to traps. The closer he got to the front door the more leeches made their way on his skin, sucking his blood and making him natious. But soon enough he reached the door handle, as soon as he put his hand on it a cold fog surrounded him, his arm went limp, it was like all of his muscles were taken out, leaving only skin and bone to just sit there barely being able to support itself. A tall shadow came into his vision, tall as a skyscraper but thin as a street lamp, his own mother Vittoria seemed something like a witch in that very moment, leaving him to feel like a disobedient hunchback servant.

"Where are you going, Luca, it's the middle of the night, don't you have any sense at all."

"I'm going for a walk ma, I can't sleep.", not daring to look at her. Her voice sounded the same as always, but now sure didn’t feel the same.

"Stay here alright, I don’t want you causing any trouble."

"I won’t mom, I promise, it's okay. The sun will be up soon anyway. So I just thought that I should just take a walk to clear my head a bit, that’s all." every word felt like a pushup leaving him breathless, but as a result even more afraid. He turned back to her with a nervous smile and a breathless laugh. She was way taller than that of her presence. With a slight sigh, she said "Be back at six."

"Will do."  With the fist of her steps back, the dark aura started to pull itself out of Luca, like a tree being derooted. He quickly  got the strength in his appendages back and immediately opened the door.The dim night light felt like a flashlight in comparison with the darkness of the apartment. 

Walking past the neighbourhood which felt like a dark forest, every place has a totally different feel during the night, even somewhere you’ve been thousands of times can have a totally different atmosphere depending on the lighting, it was a very early morning, so no one was around, Luca was alone, as he passed the streetlights, he noticed how his shadows rotated, one after another the same cycle with every streetlamp, as he was a few street lights away from his destination, he noticed another person's shadow behind him, he needn’t have turned around because he already knew who it was,  he did pick up his pace a little, the darkness swept away the shadow only for the next light to reveal only Luca’s shadow, alone like before. He entered the park near his home where he sat on one of the benches. A few moments later an older man sat next to him, signs of dawn began to show as the sky became a lighter shade entering the blue hour. 

“What’s been bothering you.”

“Just this thing with the family business. I don’t know if I want to continue it.”

“Well son, I know you have dreams, but you’ve got to think more realistically, life isn’t going to give you everything. You have to just make the most of what you have.”

“You always talk about how mom’s parents immigrate here, barely knowing anything and without a dime. You said they made a life here, how is me leaving in any way different.”

“It just is. You see, they were lucky that my parents gave them the opportunity to live here, they supplied them with a job and steady income, on certain conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“Things that should not interest you.”

“Well actually, it’s not the only reason why I’m against it.”

“Mhm What do you mean.”

“Well… Nothing actually I just wasn’t sure what I was feeling.”

“Listen, what we do is bigger than you. We have a good relationship with the community. Everybody loves the restaurant. Don’t you  want to continue being a part of our lives? We raised you, you can’t just leave us, we’re your parents, family is the most important thing in your life.”

“But at what cost, dad.”

“And where are you going to go, huh tell me.”

“Just leave me alone.”

Luca turned his back and just walked away, with no real other option he just went back home. A golden shine had just outlined the horizon. Luca entered the old family restaurant, it still had that special smell he always associated with the place, in an hour or so it would open. But Luca couldn’t shake off what he saw, he just had to confirm that it wasn’t some sort of dream or hallucination. If he was going to spend the rest of his life here he could at least make sure that that one thing wasn't true. Through the door in the kitchen, a short staircase led to the basement, cold and damp. There in front of Luca was the freezer door as soon as he opened it the door behind him closed.