Bubbles (3)

 Part 1:

 Part 2:

There is something eerily comforting about knowing that you’re slowly losing your mind.

For one thing, trivial things no longer concern you as much.

You stop taking things seriously. After all, your mind is slowly deteriorating, and there isn’t much you can do about it.

So you decide to do dumb shit just for the sake of doing dumb shit. Like inviting your teenage neighbour over to smoke weed on a Monday night.

---

Amina woke up much earlier than usual. It was still dark outside.

She stretched, let out a loud yawn, and got out of bed. There was a makeshift mattress below her, where her neighbour had crashed. He was curled up in a ball with his hands on his knees, softly snoring. She quietly took off the glasses he still had on, put a blanket on top of him, ruffled his hair affectionately before stepping out to the balcony.

The first dilemma Amina was faced with was whether to start her day with a joint. She easily solved it as she stared at a bright star while her lighter flickered.

There was a time where I would’ve known its name.

She relaxed into the chair, letting her mind wander, until it inevitably went back to the events of the day before.

---

- “Are you alright, boss?” Mourad asked with a half concerned look.

Nope. I’m pretty fucking far from alright right now.

Behind Allal the expert fisherman stood a 6-meter giant of a man. He wore a black leather jacket with navy blue trousers. His pale green eyes were fixated on Allal.

Fuck. Didn’t I take my meds this morning?

She hadn’t seen him in years. In fact, the last time they encountered each other, she had to spend a whole month on a psych ward.

Don’t panic. Breathe.

She forced herself to give a half-hearted smile towards Mourad to reassure him, before focusing her attention back on the man.

As usual, it was extremely hard to pinpoint what he actually looked like. She could make out his eyes just fine, but everything else about his face seemed blurry. It’s hard to explain, but imagine not sleeping for three nights straight, drinking a whole bottle of bleach and then staring at the sun for an hour.

That’s how it felt to look at his face.

After their many encounters throughout the years, she had gathered 4 important facts.

Fact number 1: She was going crazy.

Fact number 2: Nobody else could see the man but her. See fact number 1 for more details.

Fact number 3: The man never acknowledged her presence.

And fact number 4, well… She preferred not to think about that right now.

---

She threw her head back and exhaled deeply, watching the smoke make lazy little circles above her head.

The sun was quietly rising, brushing the horizon with a deep orange, just for her.

She sighed, then got up and started to get ready for the day.

---

The atmosphere at the lab was very tense when she got there. Some people walked around with puffy red eyes, while others gathered in groups and spoke quietly. She felt a knot in her stomach as she uneasily made her way to her desk.

Mourad greeted her with a steaming cup of coffee.

“Hey, what’s, uh, going on?” She asked, despite already knowing the answer.

“It’s Allal. He had a heart attack last night.” He replied  

Fact number 4: Whenever the man with the pale green eyes gazed into someone, they usually died within the next couple days.