Alone

Marcus ran down the sidewalk, not wanting to look behind himself and see them staring at him. Quickly darting around a corner he stops to catch his breath, this city is large and with chance he may have lost them. Marcus looks up to study his surroundings, the large and beautiful city that he had come back to.

It was not easy returning home from the war, he had seen many things, lost many friends, it took everything just to stay sane. Many of the cities were ravaged by the war, simply destroyed and lifeless. This one was different, this one was his home, but he could not live peacefully. All these people watching him made it harder, all these faces looking at him. Suddenly they were there again, Marcus could see them, people and faces, always there.

“Go away! Just leave me alone!” Marcus yells, they were everywhere, these people. He didn’t know why they followed him or why they were constantly there, but he was sick of seeing them. He was tired of always having these people around.

Marcus runs even more, he knows it will do no good. No matter what street he is on, what avenue he goes to, they will always be there. These happy smiling idiots. Why is this happening to me? I cannot take it. He stops again, on yet another street, and they are there, yet again.

“Leave me be! Leave me in peace! What do you want from me?!” Marcus yells once more. They do not respond, they never do, they simply look, watch.

“My boy, what seems to be the problem?” A man wearing a tweed coat and khaki pants approaches Marcus. He wears his circular glasses low in his nose, a white beard, short and neat, decorates his face.

“It’s these people, they won’t leave me alone, they follow me everywhere.” Marcus says as he points to the ‘happy smiling idiots’ that plague him.

“But, there is no one there.” The man says as he looks around.

“Yes, they are! They’re always there! Can’t you see them?!” Marcus pleads.

“Calm down lad, you needn’t be distressed. I am a doctor, and I have seen many cases like yours since the war ended. You must have lost many friends, many loved ones, didn’t you?” The doctor asks

“Yes...yes I did.” Marcus sadly replies.

“Of course, and your subconscious is merely making replacements to cope with the painful memories of those now gone. These people are merely figments of your own imagination. Tell them again to leave, tell them, and they shall bother you no more.” The doctor says as he grasps Marcus’s shoulder for reassurance. Marcus looks again at the crowd of people, those smiling faces that taunt him.

“Go, leave me, go away forever. I never want to see you again.” Marcus says quietly. No sooner had he spoken did they begin to fade, like an old memory. One by one they eventually disappeared. “I-I cannot believe it. It worked! They’re gone!” Marcus grabs the doctors hand and begins to shake it vigorously. “I cannot thank you enough, you’ve done it!”

“No need to thank me son, no need to thank me.” The doctor says, his voice is very distant . “Think nothing of it.” Marcus looks on in horror as the doctor also begins to fade away.

“N-n-no! What’s happening?!” Marcus says in a frightened and confused voice. Everything begins to fade away, everyone has disappeared and the city itself changes from its untouched beauty to a grotesque hollow shell, void of life. Buildings begin to crumble around Marcus and everything from his imagination begins to change back to reality.

“NO! Don’t leave me!” Marcus begs. It is no use, the truth is revealed to him, the truth of his existence unfolds before his eyes. The people that he so despised were his only company in a world that was empty, a world dead from war. Those happy, smiling faces, the prosperous city, it was all gone, it was never real.

“Oh God, please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me here by myself.” Marcus whispers as he kneels in defeat. “Please, come back.”

They never would return, Marcus was finally alone.