Devouring Spirals
Aiden bit the fingernails on his left hand while the other one pulled a tuft of hair from his bleeding scalp. His half-open vitreous eyes were only half as terrifying as the demented smile twisting his down-turned lips. If anyone deserved a hazard sign around his neck, he was it, and all because of…
Spirals. Lots of spirals. Fucking spirals everywhere he looked.
There were blood-red swirls on his bedroom walls casting living shadows on the satin sheets. Black and blue whirlpools dominated every screen in the household, while the reflections on the mirrors were tainted by yellow and green monstrosities. If he looked at any part of his body, he could see iridescent ripples clawing out of his skin. Was he turning into a spiral, too?
No one believed him, of course. Friends and family thought he lost it for good every time he tried to bring up the subject and even his therapist had distanced himself from him faster than the blink of an eye. His world was a spiraling vortex of despair where only darkness could thrive and there was only one person to blame.
Her name was Karen, his most recent ex-girlfriend. She was a fake blonde with fake nails and an even faker personality. She would say anything to get in your good graces and then, after you lowered your guard, rip your heart from the inside out. The worst thing anyone could do to her was to reject her attention or break up with her and anyone who did so had to suffer the consequences.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked the day he finally found the courage to speak his mind.
“Yes, I am. This is not working out, so we should go our separate ways.”
“What ways? You’ll be lost without me, sweetie. I’m the best thing that has ever happened to your pathetic little life.”
“You can keep telling yourself that, but it doesn’t change how I feel. You’re not the person I thought you were. We’re not a good match.”
“That’s not how this works. No one breaks up with me.”
“And yet I just did. Please forget my number and where I live. I don’t want to see you ever again.”
“We’ll see how long it takes for you to change your mind…”
It was the last time they spoke, but not the last poisoned gift he got from her. The hallucinations started the next morning, chromatic abnormalities taking over his sense of self. Was it a spell? A curse? A permanent rewiring of his brain patterns caused by something she had him drink or eat during the time they were together? He didn’t know. All he saw were the spirals, growing larger with each second. Spirals on the floor, spirals on the ceiling, spirals on the kitchen cabinets and bookshelves, spirals on the glass of water on his nightstand…
“Fucking spirals! I hate you, Karen! I hate you so fucking much!”
“I told you no one breaks up with me…” He could almost hear her voice echoing all around, mocking his misfortune. Aiden sank to the floor, head hanging low, and waited for his mind to crack for good.
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