Waiting in the dark

Waiting in the dark (a short story)
Category: Writing and Poetry

Jack never liked waking up early. Sleeping in always felt wonderful. His bed was his haven, his place of most comfort. But to him it felt empty. She was gone.

On the morning he couldn't take sleeping alone he awoke quite startled with his Sony alarm clock softly glowing red in the darkness. It was the only available light source. Jack found it uneasy. It was nearly four a.m., an unusual time in the morning to wake up naturally, even by dawn lovers, early morning risers or people with prostate problems.

Jack wasn't a faithful man; he hardly even went to the mosque as a child with his parents. But something about that morning seemed foreign to him; as if a sovereign entity had roused his from sleep. Needless to say, Jack was stirred to far awake to lay back to sleep. So, disturbed and unhappy about his waking, he stumbled into the washroom across the hall of his small apartment and took a piss.

As far as revelations go, Jack was one to never experience them. As a man raised a in the Islamic faith, his parents naturally tied to open their son to God. His father was a converted Catholic and so his mother was a life long Muslim. His ex-girlfriend Sarah had asked him to go to church with her every odd Sunday. But this was uncomfortable for him.

Standing in front of his toilet he felt a sudden and unexplainable urge to get dressed and leave Toronto.

Now Jack held a job as a waiter, and needless to say was not the wealthiest man in all of the GTA. But he felt compelled to wear his one and only suit when he opened his closet. There in front of him the navy blue striped blazer hung. He rarely wore it, only to his Aunt Maggie's funeral last September.

Jack's Auntie Maggie was his father's sister. And after his mothers passing when Jack was nine Maggie became the woman in his life. She taught him everything she knew. She was his ray of hope when things got bad. When she found out she had lung cancer Jack didn't know how to react. He became angry with the doctors for being unable to help his Aunt. It took both Sarah, Jacks girlfriend at the time and Auntie Maggie to calm him down. All Jack could remember of the funeral was Sarah holding his hand tightly.

Jack pulled his pants on slowly and fastened the black tie around his neck. The blackness of the tie made his white dress shirt seem whiter. Jack finished getting dressed by tying on his black leather shoes, putting on an old watch his father gave him and finally, pulling the blazer over his shoulders. Dress for success, his father once told him. Although Jack didn't know why, he felt he had done just that.

Glancing at the watch now tight on his wrist, Jacks brain didn't register the darkness outside with 4:13. And even though it was much before noon, he strolled to his fridge and pulled out a Kokanee. Twisting its cap and taking a long swig, Jack had the reoccurring urge to leave.

The hallway in his building was an astounding white and bright, so it took a few moments for Jacks pupils to adjust enough for him to see. The building had a lingering smell of many different people cooking many different things; the only refuge from the smell was the tiny elevator that never went to the first floor, so Jack would have to walk down a flight of stairs to reach the entrance.

"I'm so sorry Jack. Come back to me, please!" The words passed through Jack's brain like an electric current. He had no idea why he imagined Sarah's voice. It was a scream that came into his ear as a whisper. He had never heard Sarah apologize and wondered why his brain would assemble a memory that had never really happened.

Sarah, as Jack would tell anyone that cared to ask, was the love of his life. Her curly blonde hair that always seemed to dance in the breeze when they walked down the lake was his favourite thought. Although it was her eyes that had initially sparked his interest in her. Not quite green, her eyes seemed a yellow and sometimes a gray. Sarah was a mystery to Jack, who knew everything about her. Jack knew in his final moments, she would be his only thought.

On the street Jack didn't know where he was going to go. He didn't know why he was up. The black, dead streets seemed unnatural for downtown Toronto. Not a soul was awake nor were the street lights on.

He wondered the streets with no real sense of direction, the sandy blackness was foreign to him, in the concrete world that was Toronto, Jack had forgotten the harsh feel of sand on his face once again he wondered where he was going to go. But in the darkness he knew he would have trouble finding anything until the dawn sprung.

*

After what had seemed like an hour in the engulfing blackness that was the city streets Jack became fed up with his unguided quest for nothing. He had decided first to get his bearings then to find his way to Sarah's apartment. It didn't take long for Jack to figure out his bearings were lost in the darkness; not unlike himself.

"Hello, my lad." A voice came from the darkness.

"Who's there?" Jack's repose was half startled and half defensive.

"Only an old passerby, my Child. Why are you out at this untimely hour?"

Ignoring the strangers question Jack continued, "Sir, do you know how all the lights went out?"

The Voice replied after what seemed to be eons, "because you do not wish to see." The comment took jack off guard.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do you believe in life after death Jack" The voice seemed to come closer with each word.

Jack, taken aback could not seem to find words.

"Yes, I know who you are son. And I know of all the hatred you hold in your heart. How would you respond if I told you, forever your Sarah can be yours?"

"Shut up about her you son of a bitch." With the mention of Sarah, Jacks anger raged.

"I know what she does to you. Would you like to know who she is fucking tonight? I can make the pain go away. I create pain my boy."

"Who are you?" Jacks only response. His anger suppressed by surprise of this strangers remarks.

"Come with me boy and forever you will be free of pain. It seems your God wants you to suffer for Him. My master only embraces joy. He believes not in the pain of your God. You remember the story of Adam and Eve do you not?"

Jack said nothing but stared into the darkness looking for the figure who was speaking.

"Well, you're silence only shows you need the story retold. Well my boy, It was told that God created Adam to rule his Eden and Eve to be his wife. Correct?"

"It's just a story." Jack said abruptly.

"A story? My boy, everything in existence is a story. Now! Where was I? Oh yes, Eve brought sin into the world by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. She then blames my master. You see, the female created sin, and slander. All females practice this, and therefore their souls belong to us. So, again I ask you; Lad, come with me and own the wretch's soul for eternity. You may inflict any pains on it you wish!" The voice grew menacing, frightening Jack.

"You talk about women as if they are little more than cattle."

"But they are little more than cattle, my master will show you."

"Who the hell is this master you keep blabbing about?"

"Oh boy, you miss the point, I am my own master. And I may be yours as well, and the lady will be but you're property.".

"You Satanist freak! Have you been stalking me? What the hell have you done to Sarah? You bastard!"

"I assure you boy I am no Satanist. And yes, I watch the sinful souls. I know you quite well, and the lass I see daily. Do you wish to hear how she thinks of you? She is a twisted soul"

"Fuck off .I'm calling the cops."

"Very well. Enjoy the dark boy. Call my name if you change your mind about my little offer. You know what it is; even if you choose not to believe."

"Jack! Wake up please, I need you! Be okay." The voice became that of Sarah's. With that the voices both seemed to stop.

"Hello? Sarah? Old man? Is anyone there?" Jack called out now frightened.

Goddamn freak. Where the hell am I going? Jack thought to himself. How could he know anything about what Sarah's doing..

*

The darkness loomed over Jack as he continued to wonder the streets. The glow on his watch read 7:06 but still everything was in complete blackness. It was then he decided to go into a building at random. The thought hadn't occurred to him before. He had passed many doors and always felt it was unsafe to enter. After his brush with the old man Jack thought it was safer to be indoors.

The first door he reached felt familiar as if he had walked through these doors many times before. It felt safe and sad at once in a sweep of emotion. He opened the door with a full swing. The light on the inside was blinding, a brilliant white. Jack though immediately of the light at the end of the tunnel people say happens at death. As if by instinct Jack flowed through the halls to the elevator, his eyes still not accustomed to the light. His hands hit the down panel the familiar setting calmed him. He didn't think of his strange visit with the menacing old man on the street.

Once inside the elevator, Jack pressed floor 8 as if, again, he had done it so many times. The ride took shorted than his brain could recall. It took s moment but the memory came to him. This was Sarah's building, this was Sarah's floor. Jack found himself staring face to face with Sarah's door. He turned the knob. To his surprise it was unlocked. Sarah always locked the door even when she was home. Jack expected to see Sarah with another man when he opened the door. The thought broke his heart all over again.

The door didn't creak or make any sound when he opened it. There was no sound in the room as if it were a vacuum. However inside the door was not Sarah's apartment, but a single room with hardwood floors, fresh white paint. It had large windows which the sun shone brightly into. In the exact center of the room stoop a single wooden chair. Jack took a few steps in behind him the door shut gently. Every angry feeling Jack ever felt seemed to wash away as if someone poured water on his soul and cleaned away the bad thoughts and pain. He only then remembered Sarah and their first kiss. Falling to his knees he began to cry. Sarah had left him, she didn't want to see him. Heartbroken, Jack began drinking and driving home from bars and parties.

"Hello Jack. Not quite what you would expect it to be like is it?" A sweet voice floated across the air out of the vacuum.

Jack knew this voice, "Auntie?" he spun around only to see the face of the little old woman whom he loved as a mother." Auntie Maggie? This isn't possible"

"I'm sorry sweetheart. But it is."
"Why are you here Auntie, where am I?"

"You don't know what happened Jacky?"

"Am I dead Auntie?"

"Everyone has their time dear."

"Why now Auntie, I know my life wasn't perfect but It was getting better, I swear, I was getting to the right place. I was just waiting for it to be okay"

"Baby, you're here now, and now You're waiting for your real life to begin."

"I love you Auntie. I missed you. Everything seemed to fall apart when you died. Sarah left me. I got fired from work."

"I love you baby. But I never left you. I never will. And between us, I have a feeling Sarah misses you. She prayed for you. She was with you in the final moment."

In that moment his eyes closed he could see her face, he could hear her voice. All he remembered was the love they once shared. With that comfort, Jack let the light take him. He felt her embrace. He remembered her hand in his. In this moment Jack was waiting. His real life was about to begin.