Hunt for the rising sun

Submitted into Contest #50 in response to: Write a story told entirely through one chase scene.... view prompt

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Mystery Drama Thriller

Imagine a scene where a person is being chased by someone/something but it’s not visible. The person who is being chased is running and running, gasping, shouting, “Hello, help me, hello. Why can’t I see anyone? Hello”. Then he stumbles on a rock.

Now it’s another place, a bedroom.

Suddenly, he wakes up on his bed. The person who was being chased is woken now. He was dreaming. It was kind of a nightmare to him. He is perspiring, gasping. It is 11 in the morning.

The person speaks as he is speaking to the audience, “Life has been chasing me for a long time. Frustration, depression, worries have captured me deeply. I can’t get out of these. There is a lot of trouble”.

He takes a deep breath and wipes his face.

During wiping his face he adds, “When is it going to end? When shall I taste success? When shall I face happiness?”

A lady's voice comes from another room.

“How long will you sleep? It’s already 11. See, your friends are going to work. They are earning their living. They are happy with their life. And you, what are you doing? You have left the job. Wow, that’s great! What a remarkable job you have done! Now wake up and freshen yourself.”

He says as he is being recorded, see, “My mother is also rebuffing me”.

He tells himself “Are they really mentally happy?”

He adds again, “My mother doesn’t understand this. I know I also have to do some jobs but can’t kill my mental happiness doing something else which I don’t love. At a time I used to do a job but I was not happy with that life. There was no adventure, no mental satisfaction, no creative manifestation. So, I left it. I don’t know what I’ll do in future.

He takes another deep breath and goes to the washroom, washes and takes his breakfast. Meanwhile, he has been checking his social media accounts, especially a lady who he is in love with. He texts her, “how long will it run”?

She texts, I told you not to text me further.

He texts, “I told you not to make me possessive about you”.

She stops messaging.

He closes all of his accounts and thinks all about the things which had happened between them. A few days ago they had a tremendous fight. Since then, she is not talking to him properly. He is very possessive about her. He sometimes gets anxious but he loves her too. The insecurity about his love is running in his head.

He goes to his room, opens his laptop, lights a cigarette, randomly sends job applications. A sign of frustration is blooming on his behaviour. Nothing is going right with him. So, he closes his laptop. His mind has been restless these days. Intermittent smoking expresses him like that. Whatever he chooses doesn’t live for a long time. But it’s a surprising matter that his love has been 4 years old. Sometimes, when he makes or creates something, like a tune on his guitar or writes a story, he feels an internal satisfaction, an eternal happiness. But that’s it; after that, he becomes covered up by depression.

A friend comes to his home.

Friend: Aunty, How are you?

Mother: Good and you?

Friend: Good, Aunty. Where is Neel? He is not responding to my messages.

Mother: Where would he be? In his room; go ask him.

He goes to Neel’s room. A mild tune of the guitar is heard from outside.

Neel: Sunny, you! So surprising!

Sunny: I think I should be surprised. What are you doing these days? Why aren’t you replying any of my messages?  

Neel: Nothing, just playing with myself. Hehe. Take this.

He forwards a cigarette to Sunny and takes another for himself. Sunny lights it up.

Sunny: You have been so silent these days. What happened? You don’t go out, aren’t so active on social media like before. What is wrong with you?

Neel: Nothing, Sunny. Oaky, leave it. Listen to this tune. How’s it?

Sunny: Why are you rejecting to answer? I know you are in trouble. Everybody faces this kind of situation in their life.

Neel feels irritated by his words. So, he keeps the guitar and opens his laptop again.

Neel: Let me show you something, sunny.

He shows a tune which he has recorded in his laptop. Sunny listens to the music and says, wow, it’s fantastic; marvellous.

Neel is interested in some other things. He plays guitar, writes stories. His passion is connected to those things. He is crazy about it. He loves to learn new things and that’s what has kept him busy.

Sunny leaves him and he is again left alone but he enjoys his solitude.

His mother calls him, Are you finished with your meaningless job? Won’t you bathe today?

He doesn’t respond. He knows she won’t stop saying this. She regularly does this.

Neel takes bath and finishes his lunch. There is no job. So he doesn’t have anything to do. He opens his laptop, checks mails, watches videos. These are his regular jobs right now. It seems if he gets a new job, he will be alive but now he is dead. He sleeps.

After a few minutes when he is in deep sleep…..

Imagine a scene where a snake spirals his neck. He can’t breathe properly. He shouts but is not heard by anyone. As he is shouting, he wakes up on his bed; gasping, perspiring.

His dreams have been like these. He is suffering from insecurities, worries. His future is at stake. He doesn’t know what is going to happen with his future but he can’t live like this.

He wakes up and lights a cigarette again.

Neel: This is my life right now. I have been chasing by it for a long time. Frustration, depression, worries have been my closest friends.

But somewhere he is very optimistic about life. He is living with void now but he knows tomorrow can be a great day, the day where everyone will live merrily. That is why he hasn’t left hope. He believes that a beautiful future is awaiting us.

July 17, 2020 15:03

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2 comments

Barbara Eustace
14:36 Jul 24, 2020

Like the way it ends like it starts, with the nightmare of insecurities. The theme of someone doing a job they don't particularly like just because it's there will ring a bell with lots of people. I hope he found his beautiful future.

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RABI CHATTERJEE
16:38 Jul 26, 2020

I am glad that you liked it

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