The following short story is inspired by the poem “Far Beyond the Place of Stopping” by R.J. Williamson. I have linked a version from reddit as well as a video adaptation at the bottom of this post.
The saying “My life is like a movie” is usually used to denote that your life is great, turns out that is not so true. Ever since I woke up in a world that looks das though it had been rotoscope my life has been hell. Every step I take is predetermined, every word I say spoken for me. I would like this movie to end, for credits to roll and for vision to fade to black so I can wake up and see everything has returned to normal.
I had a conversation with my mother today, what I said was not of my choosing, and her replies were like that of a fan fiction writer trying to write a character they only vaguely know. It was a most disheartening experience, one of the people dearest to me stripped down to a shell and replaced with someone else. The comfort I would have hoped to take finally directed to be in her presence taken from me and replaced with unease. Perhaps this was a cruel joke orchestrated at my expense, taking what I find precious away.
The room itself was different too, subtle details missing, cabinets without handles, pots fused to their lids as though created without a care for their functionality so long as they looked good enough. Even things like water is different, it is not cold nor is it wet, It looks like water yet lacks any sensation. It is a facade meant to torment me. The same is true for food, I eat and yet it has no taste nor nourishment. I grow ever more ravenous and thirsty yet I cannot find satiation.
I long for a freedom not forthcoming. To return to a memory that grows fainter by the minute. I wish to taste food with substance. I thirst to taste water that can moisten the dryness of my throat. Nothing in this place can satisfy. With every passing moment I become ever more like my prison, the depth behind me stripped away by this hollow husk.
Inspirations:
reddit link to the poem
theatric reading and video by burial goods on Youtube