Not So Alone

You're not crazy, you're not lonely, you are OKAY!

I have repeated this mantra to myself every day for so long. Ever since I woke up that morning, apparently the only person left. I miss my family desperately. I miss human contact. I miss having someone other than my own messed up brain to keep me company. 

I still don't have any idea what happened to everybody. I woke up on a normal Tuesday morning and got ready for school, but when my brother never came down for breakfast I went to wake him up. I remember being irritated at him for not waking up again. He was constantly oversleeping and since I was the only other one awake it fell to me to wake him up. 

I didn't bother knocking. I just slammed the door open, ready to yell at him for not waking up. But when I stalked over to yank the blankets off of him, his bed was empty. My heart lurched, and my first thought was, I'm going to kill him! He couldn't even bother to come home before school, and now the parents will be pissed that he snuck out! 

Taking a deep breath to brace myself, I walked to my parents room to tell them. However, when I got to their door, I hesitated. It was mostly nerves, but now that I think back on it, I think I subconsciously knew something was wrong. It took a second after I opened the door to realize that something was off: My dad wasn’t snoring. It seems like a little thing, but every single night for my 17 years of life my dad’s lawnmower-like noises had been the soundtrack to my dreams- even from two rooms away with my door shut. 

After I realized that it wasn’t just my brother missing, it took only a short time for me to check the rooms of everyone else in my house. My first thought was that they all just left without me, but when I called my dad and heard his phone buzzing from his room, I realized that wasn’t the case. He’d never leave his phone. And even if he did, there would be at least one phone missing- but everyone’s phones were right where they normally would be, plugged in and everything. 

I won’t go into detail on what happened next, but just know it wasn’t very fun.

A while later- I’m not sure how long- I finally got up the courage to leave my house and start looking. For what, I’m still not really sure, even though I’ve been out here for however long. 

Scratch that. I know exactly what I’ve been looking for. But after all this time, I’ve given up hope of ever finding anyone else. At first, I relied on probability: There’s billions of people on the planet, I can’t be the only one left. But I’ve looked online, I’ve looked at T.V.s, I’ve even tried to listen to radios, but nobody is on air. I have no hope left now. It’s not worth it to hope, because when I inevitably get disappointed, it just leads to pain.

So, cut to me wandering around, trying to find a new house that has amenities left, clutching my almost-dead phone, trying desperately to fill the oppressing silence with music from the tiny speakers. 

“C’mon, c’mon, c’mon, please open, you STUPID D-,” In the middle of my muttering to the stubborn door, I hear something. Just the smallest whisper of a car's wheels, but a sound nonetheless. Considering I haven’t heard a sound not made by me or nature in forever, that sound is very recognizable. Before I can get my hopes up, it’s gone, and I slump a little. 

Just a trick of your mind, it’s only to be expected that you’re going crazy.

“Um, hello?” I hear a voice, rough and tentative, and I whirl around. Only to freeze in shock.

Standing in front of me, looking very real and very unlike anything my mind can come up with, is a boy who looks to be around my age. He stands stock still, looking as shocked as I feel. For a moment, all I can do is stare, drinking in the fact that I’m not alone, followed closely by he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I take in the wisps of curly brown hair peeking out from under his blue hat; his eyes, long-lashed squinting at me in disbelief; his nose, slightly crooked; his lips, twisted up in an amazed half-smile. He puts his hands up, reaching slightly, and slowly walks toward me. He must see my eyes widen and my hand twitch slightly up, because he smiles broader. As he approaches, I realize that he’s quite tall. He stops a little bit away from me, hand outstretched for a handshake, and grins a blinding grin. I hurry to grab his hand, to assure myself that he’s real, I’m not alone anymore. His hand feels warm and swallows mine easily. 

“I’m Darren,” he says, his voice rough from disuse.

“Violet” I barely manage to breathe my answer through my tight throat.

I’m sure I look like a crazy person, my hair wild from not having easy access to a shower, my eyes even wilder from lack of sleep and the manic hope I’m sure is peeking through them. 

Not sure what to say, I just lapse back into silence, studying the face of the person who appeared so unexpectedly. I only realize that my music is still playing from my phone when I see him start bobbing his head along. 

“So, you like My Chemical Romance?” His grin quirks up more on one side, and I feel my face heating up.

“Um, yeah,” I trail off for a second, then grin a little and add, “I’ve been feeling kind of angsty lately. You know, nobody knows what I’m going through, I’m the only person in the world, etcetera, etcetera.” I pause to gauge his reaction, then continue mock-thoughtfully once I see his light chuckle, “Though, I’m sure it’s a little more true in my case than in your typical angsty teen, you know, with the whole, ‘actually the only person in the world’ thing. Well, I guess I’m not the only person anymore, since your presence means I’ve just been melodramatic all this time.”

I playfully grin up at him, relieved that my weird babbling didn’t make him walk away.

“Well, no better time than now to be angsty, as you put it. I mean, now that you’re not the only person anymore,” he smiles, then continues, “And, since I took away your ‘Only Person Left’ title, I feel like I owe you. Would you like to feast with me tonight?” He asks, pulling a granola bar out of his pocket.

I giggle, the sound foreign after so long, and take the proffered granola bar

“I would love to.”