366: One Story Per Day (2024)

Day 67 - The Lamp

     On the dimly lighted streets near the university campus, Alex felt his bag drag him down. As he struggled along, lost in contemplation, he collided with a towering figure—Erik, a well-known rugby player with an aggressive reputation.

    The impact drove Alex to fall to the cold pavement, his consciousness fading as darkness engulfed him.

     When Alex woke up, he met Maya, a lovely soul whose laughter brightened his days. They shared aspirations, overcame challenges, and created a life together filled with love, laughter, and the pitter-patter of small feet.

     Their days were a symphony of shared experiences, from slow Sunday mornings wrapped in bedsheets to spontaneous picnics in the park. Maya's laughter rang throughout their quaint apartment, calming Alex's spirit and filling the space with love.

     Their friendship became stronger over time as they weathered life's storms with unshakable strength. They celebrated milestones, such as birthdays and anniversaries, as well as the birth of their first child, a daughter named Luna, whose laughs brightened their house.

     Their love story blossomed like a fairy tale, with Alex and Maya confronting life's obstacles together, and their love grew stronger with each day. They created a life together full of love, laughter, and treasured memories that will last a lifetime.

     One day, Alex found himself unable to escape a sense of unease—the lamp in their living room seemed to pulse with strange energy, throwing unsettling shadows on the walls. Alex was pulled to the light, its cryptic brilliance enticing his senses. He spent hours enthralled, ignoring his own needs and becoming progressively distant from Maya.

     Maya sought aid, desperate to help Alex, but he remained trapped and unable to tear himself away from the frightening light. As he moved closer towards the light, it began to flicker. Suddenly, everything turned to black.

     Alex was shocked back to awareness while lying on the cold pavement, surrounded by worried bystanders. Confusion clouded his mind as he was led into a waiting police car and transported to the hospital for inspection.

     While on the way to the hospital, Alex had a startling realization and recognized the truth: the lamp, their home, Maya, and Luna were all figments of his mind. His entire existence had been a fantasy, a horrible psychological deceit.

     Even though doctors were able to treat his physical wounds, Alex dealt with the mental scars left by his brief sight of bliss. For years, he struggled with sadness and despair, lamenting the loss of a life that never really lived.

     And, as much as he wanted to return to the warmth of Maya's embrace, he knew deep down that she was nothing more than a ghost—a fiction of his mind, a piece of a dream that had gone through his fingers like sand.

- From a popular Reddit comment titled"A Parallel Life / Awoken By A Lamp"