Listen to your Heart.

Hola! I am a newish writer and this is my first time entering a competition......I have a lot going on and....well...I tried my best right up until the end of the clock....Thank you for your time! Believe in Love Have Faith and Never Ever Give up! May the Universe and Love guide you...- Sincerely "Maybo" Davis William Stickney, aka The Beloved Desirable Island.

Okay! Here We go!

"So, this…Voice. Keeps Yelling at me in my head." The man said aloud to himself.

"I LOVE YOU!" The Voice cried out.

"I can't really tell if its a woman or man, but it feels feminine...if that makes sense."

“Oh. My. God. Helloooooooo!” The voice chuckled as it spoke to him.

"It's not mean or anything like that. It's actually just....well. It keeps being like, really freaking affectionate and supportive but I dunno, I feel like that's always the story...you know, with...."

"Don't Say it!"

"........Schizophrenia."

"YOUR NOT SCHIZOPHRENIC! Bahhhhhhh!" The Voice sounded annoyed but somewhat amused, as if it was holding back laughter.

"I don't think I'm crazy necessarily, not yet at least. But these..." He continued monologuing to himself, having a thought cross his mind that this only further confirmed his developing insanity.

"Stop it! You're not CRAZY!" The Voice insisted.

"These.....thoughts. They just keep pouring in."

"UGH. HELLOooooooooooooooo! Come on! Answer me!"" He heard a thump sound in front of him.

"And the voice. It's been getting worse. Not like bad worse like. Just like, happening more frequently. Sometimes I like to think, I dunno, likes it’s a transmission or something fun like that, or if...it is indeed me. Just, babbling to myself." He was getting more distressed as he kept babbling.

"OKAY. HEY! DON'T SHUT ME OUT Let's talk!" The Voice sounded concerned.

"Like, I FEEL crazy, manic even. The thought of being insane, overwhelmed by this odd sense of...."

"LOVE! IT'S CALLED LOVE! Walk towards the love! COME ON! Quit being SILLY!" The Voice was now calm and encouraging.

"Hah. I don't know about that. I'm all alone."

The Man Let out an audible grunt of disbelief.

"NO YOU'RE NOT! I'M RIGHT HERE TALKING TO YOU! You even just answered back to me!"

"UGH! STOP IT! PLEASE!" The man pleaded to the voice.

"Please?.......I just want you to wake up..." Quiet Sobbing could be heard from the voice after speaking.

"PLEASE STOP!" The man pleaded again.

The voice snapped back to a more assertive and confident tone.

"Okay! Fine! I'm just trying to help! Let's take a break. I know you can do this. I promise. You're being silly. I love you." He heard a wave of what sounded like a raging fire fade away from him and he felt slightly calmer and suddenly the thoughts stopped.

"Relief!" The man thought.

"It hadn't just been the odd dialogue going on in his head. It was this overall feeling of, well, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, and on another note, I realize that I am still in fact, talking to myself. Hell I even narrated it a second ago."

"So that voice....." The man actually thought this one to himself rather than be verbal.

"Must be me." He finally said audibly to himself.

"Also Why did I decide to narrate myself? Is this really necessary....OKAY. Calm down."

"What. The. Fuck.........I need to go to sleep." The man said to himself. Or Rather. I fucking said.

".......FUCK!" The man shouted audibly.

He then breathed in rather deep and quickly all of a sudden, but only through his nose feeling a slight stinging sensation that seemed to penetrate his mind but thoughts concerning it were over ruled by the developing situation.

The man was a little bewildered, most definitely, but as he got ready for bed and looked in the hand mirror he kept next to his bed he noticed something. Something different about him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he felt. He felt good! Despite his confusion on his overall experience he was in fact, feeling pretty good when considering things.

Still, a little lonely. Did I mention I'm all by myself? Anyway.

He considered breaking into song but was discouraged by the indeed reality that he hadn't really had any....well. He couldn't remember. All the memories he was trying to recall felt like a blur, although he knew he had to have something.

"I wish I had someone to talk to at least." He thought to himself.

The man had been alone for quite some time. Things from the past were still a blur, but he had chosen isolation after a harsh experience, or, something like that, he couldn't really remember.

"I don't want to think about it right now. Please stop." Another defense against.....himself.

The man was realizing that the thoughts hadn't really stopped, and he was still talking to himself.

Rather increasingly in fact.

"Oh Fuck. I'm going mad. This is what insanity is. Holy Shit." His face turned to that of dread and distress for a moment as he looked in the mirror then suddenly remembered.

"Oh. Wait." He looked back into the mirror.

"I forgot." He remembered.

"Right. Everything is fine." He said confidently to himself as his mouth crooked into a smile. He then brought his arm and hand up to express a "peace" sign, proceeded to stuck his tongue out, then reverted back to a goofier smile while slightly chuckling at himself. Then, proceeded once again to stick his tongue back out, another quick sign of peace, and then some final words before going to bed.

"I love you!" He smiled the gracious presence in the mirror.

He paused for a moment before bellowing out another.

"I.....I.....I Love you!" He could barely pull himself away.

The man thought this was so strange of himself.

He hadn't really felt like this in a long time. He couldn't remember the last time he did in fact, if ever, but it felt good.

After Finally tearing himself away from the mirror, in awe of his own reflection, he finally left the bathroom and got into his bed and barely noticed the fact that he passed out in a matter of seconds.

_______________________________________________________________

A familiar aroma filled his senses and a soft yet sparkly or.....is it bubbly?.....Frying?

A loud POP went off near the other sounds followed by a sizzle.

"Uhh........" He moaned.

"OH! OH!"

An older elderly sounding female voice responded followed by quick thumps that seemed to be coming towards him.

"Hola mio! Como Estas! Bien? Si?" The voice sounded excited. He wasn't too sure if he could understand, or even respond actually.

It felt like it took all of the air inside him to respond, only to simply moan again.

"Uh...."

"BIEN! SI!!" The voice sounded very pleased.

He tried again to respond.

"Uhh........"

"esta bien! Tome su tiempo. Sé que puedes hacerlo. Creo en ti." The voice was calm, but insistent. Like a coach who was trying to bring their prized player back from the brink of defeat but pushing them to the limit, knowing they can handle it.

He hesitated a moment, trying to focus, he could feel tears coming out of his eyes.

"AH! ¡LO SABÍA! ¡ESTAS ADENTRO! ¡PUEDES HACERLO! ¡NO RENDIRSE NUNCA!" The voice cheered. Loudly.

"AAAAHHH" He still couldn't annunciate or remember any words still, but this time it was indeed louder and expressed intent.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!" He could hear what sounded like a room full of people celebrating and a muffled radio announcer faintly in the background expressing the excitement of a game in a language he still failed to understand completely.

She chimed in again.

“BRAVO! Muuuuuuuuuy Bien! Usted está cansado. Tomemos un descanso. Ve a dormir" The voice said insistently and it felt as though he instantly lost consciousness again.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning he awoke feeling, not bad, but not good either. He was slightly concerned about his sanity but he continued his daily routine of....wait.

"What was that stuff...."

His mouth suddenly felt warm with a dark bitter taste touching his tongue.

"Somethings missing though.." Something thick and hazy brought on a stinging sensation in his nose and throat, suddenly causing him cough as a wave of relaxation swept over his body.

His mouth felt warm again quickly after that.

"ssp-Ah!" He said aloud and suddenly his mood was much, much better.

"I can't think of what it is, but I feel great! Let's start the day!"

"pfft Hahaha" He could hear laughter in the background of his thoughts.

"Oh god damnit......not again." He wasn't necessarily mad, more like slightly annoyed and continued trying to ignore the thoughts while enjoying his smells and feelings.

"Alright back to my work...."

"Haha You don't need to work right now! Stop it!" The voice laughed at him.

"ARGH" The Man shouted out loud.

"Come on! We're supposed to be playing the game!"

"This isn't a game!!!" He grabbed at the sides of his head in the stereotypical

"Oh my god. Okay! Let's just relax."

"I'm losing my mind...." pose.

The Voice was suddenly much sterner with him forcing him to acknowledge himself.

"Hey can you calm down? You're just riling yourself up again! Come on! It's gonna be okay, just Breaaaaath innnnnnnn. And breaaaaaath out. Breaaaaaaaath IN! And now Breath out......"

The man, still jumbling through the thoughts in his mind couldn't help but start the breath work. It felt completely out of his control. His thoughts suddenly stopped as he watched himself perform a breath sequence as if he had done it before but he for the life of him couldn't recall ever doing it.

"Don't worry, it's okay. I'm right here! Just relax! I love you!"

The voice was calm and gentle as it continued to console him.

"It's okay........just keep swimming. Well uh I mean breathing. Haha. Actually let’s do both! You'll get there. I promise."

The voice started to hum softly and he barely noticed his eyes start to shut as his mind drifted off.

Silence.

_______________________________________________________________

He woke shortly after in a pool of sweat Gasping for air, startling the person next to him.

"Whoa Babe!" A concerned yet groggy woman looked up at him from his chest.

"Huh!?" He looked at the women confused, no longer narrating his own thoughts as he started to feel more normal.

"Babe What's wrong? Come on It's okay! It's prolly just still wearing off.....oh. Haha. You....You probably don't remember do you.....I swear something weird always happens to you on that stuff.

He had to think real hard for a second and then she gave him a look that said

"Oh you Dumbass. You really can't even remember can you."

"He smiled realizing what had been going on." He said with a growing grin.

"OH NO! DON'T YOU START AGAIN! Haha" She burst into laughter whilst rolling her eyes.

"Haha. I did it again huh...."

She rolled her eyes.

"Not really but I guess you were trapped in your head again. I really wish you would go to a professional for your 'sessions' I worry about you."

".......Oops." He gave a look of "please forgive me haha?"

"Ugh! Atleast your funny."

"So What did I do?"

"Haha Youuuuu actually were being really sweet for a while but then you sort of got trapped in the bedroom for awhile I guess and when I found you you were definitely somewhere else, for a while haha" She laughed as he smacked his forehead with his hand in shamed.

"Yeah...I knew you were okay but, sometimes it's just..."

"I'm sorry I know..." He sighed calmly with feelings of regret.

"Haha It's totally okay actually I had a lot of fun messing with you."

"Wait what? You were...messing with me?!"

"I was trying to get you to snap out of it and come play snowboard kids with me! Hahahaha you passed out sooooooo early I was like ARRRRRRRGH!"

He recalled his original dream.

"OHHHHHHHH."

"Yeah so then I decided to try to make you some food"

"Did I eat any?"

"Haha! Pfft NO! BWhahahaha But....." She tried to contain her laughter so she could finish telling her side of the story.

"What?" He was eager to know.

"BWhaha. I was talking to you like mi abuela the entire time it was sooooooooo fucking funny I was trying so hard not to laugh. You would grunt every now and then and I would just root you on it and it KIND OF WORKED! Except then you got sleepy again so I just left you alone and ate haha."

"Well I suppose your grandma is very proud"

"Pfft and youuuuuuuuuuuuu failed! Haha!" She shook her finger at him in jest.

He was already losing his breath from laughing at the situation.

They sat and looked at each other for a moment and she gave him the look that always meant something along the lines

"You know what I need you to do right?"

"Ab-soooooooooooooo-Lute!-leeeeeeeeeee" He annunciated each part to express maximum goofiness.

She jumps up and starts heading down the hall.

He waited for what felt like a really long time until finally he couldn't really remember what he was waiting for.

Was it.........

A voice rings in his head "Heyyyy! It's time to wake up! Vamanos! AKI AKI! NOM NOM NOM NOM I'm gonna EAT THEM WITHOUT YOU!!!" and the then smell a familiar aroma. He finally opens his eyes and He looks around the room to try to explain the weird dream, only to catch site of the hand mirror plate once again with renments of a powder substance and a short straw tube.

"Oh god damnit!…..Oops."

From the other room you could hear a woman shout.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"UH NOTHING!" He stumbled up, being unsure if he had made some sort of mistake again but as he stood up he grabbed the mirror and flipped it over above the trash letting the remnants of his night spread and disappear shaking his head in a manner as if to snap himself out of a trance.

He then took the mirror to his face, smiled and said

"Everything is fine. No, really. I actually mean that." He continued to smile into the little hand mirror until he heard the voice once again.

"You coming????"

"Coming!" He places the hand mirror into a drawer next to the bed and proceeds down the hallway as he is suddenly met with a familiar scent.

He walks into the kitchen to see a woman cooking for him who looks at him and smiles and sticks her tongue for a second and laughs as both of them sit down and begin to eat.

"So, How do you like it"

"It's amazing, I'm so happy they serve these in heaven."

She blushed and cried a little bit at the sentiment.

"Wait, you know your not dead right? I love you!"

"Haha! Yeah. I know."

"HEY!" She pouted that he hadn't responded the way she'd liked.

"Ha!" He managed to blurt out, spitting out some of his food, all the unfortunate result of his face cracking into a smile. Just kidding.

They both thought it was hilarious.

And they lived Happily ever after.

The end.

????????? Dun Dun DUN!!!!!!!!

Haha Thanks for reading!

Sorry for lack of editing I ran out of time!!!!!!