A Falling World: Chapter 6: Final Introductions

The room lay motionless and silent as chilled air meandered lazily within it’s walls. The only light source present came from a charger powering a phone for the next day. A thankless and unappreciated job.

Every night the light echoed across the walls of the room thanks to a mirror located adjacent to it and every night that reflection was the only thing that kept the space from a death like blackness. The owner, currently asleep, thought about moving the charger to a different outlet but every other spot in the room was too inconvenient to reach on a persistent basis. He covered the light the best he could but despite his efforts he was never able to fully kill it.

In time the owner gave up this endeavor since it didn’t interfere with his sleep, but he resisted against all other forms of intrusion and made sure not even the sun could puncture the sanctum he made his home. Present behind a desktop there existed the only window in the room with glass that only ever caught the briefest of glances of the rooms interior. For blocking their view there were thick curtains hung specifically designed to keep out the light and these ones specifically creased every corner that light could enter from – rebuking it all.

With the clock coming upon half past five in the morning the room steadily began to wake as a pale yellow glow slowly brightened over the course of an hour into a powerful shine. With the clock reaching it’s peak radiance it began to bellow – ending the rooms slumber.

David woke up to the sound of birds chirping and a blinding light pointed directly into his eyes. As he left his bed the air jumped and moved out of his way. He Silenced the alarm and turning off the light he moved over to his phone and unplugged the charger casting himself and everything else in darkness. He stood motionless in the pitch black room as the air slowly resettled into its meandering currents. As the minutes passed his thoughts slowly churned reminding him that he had about two hours to get ready for his first day of work.

Opening the door, light poured in through the opening as pale ghostly streams of white. This was the first time David awoke at this hour and as he entered the hallway he turned back to see the source. The light stemmed from the street lights outside and were entering through the blinds. He stood there wondering if he should replace them with real curtains before choosing to leave this decision to a future version of himself and heading off towards the bathroom for a shower.

The chilled tiles were cold beneath his feet as he entered the first of two rooms in his bathroom. As he closed the door behind him and enough light seeped in from the top and bottom cracks of the door to still make out the shadowed forms of what lay in this room. On the right there was the sink embedded within a counter that stretched the full length of the room. The space worked as a spot to hold towels, shampoo, a toothbrush, and more. Underneath there were cabinets that stored other equipment like first aid, Tylenol, a scale, and the like. This first room of the bathroom was more akin to a hallway with two doors than a room unto itself. It was longer than it was wide and standing in the center David could find the solid resistance of both walls if he stretched his hands out to his side to less than a half of their natural length. Of course he never did as he would smudge the mirror lining the wall above the sink and the effort required to clean the large surface area promised to be a daunting exertion of energy.

Locking the entrance behind him he removed his boxers, grabbed a towel and entered the door on his left where he turned on the shower and waited for the heat. David closed the door and within this inner room no light was present – not even from the open crevices doors naturally have. There’s something to be said about being familiar enough with a space to know where everything is without being able to see any of it. David tossed his towel to the left and with a soft thud he knew it landed successfully on top of the toilet tank. Two thumps would have meant that he hit the wall and the towel was now on the ground and three would mean the towel hit the wall ricocheted off the tank and landed on the ground. Thankfully everything was in its place.

With the hot air now permeating the room David entered the shower and turned the temperature to a more manageable heat before closing the curtains. As expected, some of the hooks became stuck in the middle of this process and were unmoving in the same places they always had trouble. With a gentle lift they came loose and the curtains closed.

As the minutes passed, the shower faucet filled the enclosed space with hot steam and David let this slowly wake him up – a method he preferred to the overstimulating nature of light. He wet his hair before moving on to his chest and back. Only after his core was sufficiently warm did he let the water take care of his arms and legs.

He lathered himself in watermelon scented shampoo before letting it unceremoniously rinse down the drain. It was now that he felt the pressure of his bladder and as he let it release the small space filled with a caustic stench. The smell lingered before the steam and the water worked in conjunction to pull it down and shunted it into the drain.

David let the water fall on him until he no longer felt the weight of his body pulling him back into bed and the water warmed him enough that the call of the heat was no longer an enticing offer. When these two conditions were met he dried himself sloppily starting with his legs and working his way up.

Entering the first room of his two roomed bathroom he could make out the shadowed surfaces once again but this time he didn’t shirk from their forms. Pulling out a scale from the cabinets below he measured himself. The equipment read his weight and displayed the results with a dim led light. He took note that he had lost half a pound since the day before and wondered if that was actual fat loss or a temporary shift in water weight.

This meant he was down two and a half pounds in three days. A good track to have but one he knew was very difficult to keep. David had a habit of losing five pounds only to gain three back due to a few days of fast food binging. Stepping off the scale he ran his hand along his belly and felt the outward curve he was striving to get rid of. His excess girth was small to the point of being difficult to see in the progress pictures he took but it was still there – he still had a bit to go.

David liked the way people looked with flat bellies and decided to set those standards for himself. Actively moving toward this goal was challenging though and early on he discovered a respect for everyone who managed to keep themselves in this shape. However, he felt that no one should be pressured into this body type – this was simply a standard he chose to set for himself after noticing it was something he liked in other people.

As challenging as this process was it was only half the battle because he was male and that meant he needed muscle too. David wasn’t in a rush though and didn’t want to complicate things. He was not a stranger to the gym, but in the past his gains were always hidden under a layer of fat. He also knew that losing fat and gaining muscle was complicated to do at the same time. So, he decided to lose weight first and get close to a ten percent body fat composition before starting the weight lifting phase of his plan.

Putting the scale back into its place he opened the door. With a fresh pair of boxers and the towel thrown into the hamper David walked in the twilight of his apartment. With thirty minutes spent he thought about what else needed to be accomplished with a mental checklist he constantly had to recreate from scratch.

Three tasks still needed completion before he would depart for work. David moved to the cupboard and pulled out one rod shaped magnet, one wrapped chocolate ball, a handful of marshmallows, a packet of hot cocoa mix and combined them all into a tall mug made of glass. He then poured out about 480 mL of milk into a second cup and heated it for three minutes in the microwave before combining it with the sweets in the glass mug. Carrying the mixture to the other side of the room he centered the mug on a magnetic stirrer he kept on a table that came with the apartment. He turned the equipment on and listened to the hum. He stared his drink until a whirlpool formed and then paced the space – stretching his neck, arms, and back.

David found dieting to be challenging but he had his ways of mitigating its hurdles. He followed two philosophies when it came to the matter. First, so long as he burned more calories than he took in he would lose weight. Second, he had to eat until he was no longer hungry instead of eating until he was full. He knew the milk would fill him until late morning perhaps early afternoon and the sugar would let him keep his attention focused on work. At around twelve perhaps twelve thirty he could then grab whatever instant coffee his workplace provided and use that as an appetite suppressant until one thirty or two o’clock hit. After that he would have to start eating the rice he prepared mixed with vegetables and extra servings of potatoes layered with guacamole. Having one spoonful every forty minutes to an hour should keep the hunger at bay and keep him from eyeing any quick meals on his way back from work. Overall, he should be taking in well under a thousand calories today and he imagined that if he kept this up he might be able to terminate his diet in a few weeks.

David turned off the magnetic stirrer and fished the magnet out using a second magnet before rinsing both and returning them to their place. He downed his drink in less time than it took to mix and rinsed out the cup before what remained in the glass crusted. With his first task complete he moved on to his second which was to brush his teeth followed by his third which was to collect his lunch and store it in some Tupperware.

With the easily forgettable items out of the way he dressed himself in dark blue jeans, a fitted shirt, and black running shoes. The shirt he noticed was the one made of cotton that he put in the dryer and shrunk as a result. It rode higher up on him than his other shirts and felt tight around the shoulders but it still fit and didn’t expose his waist when he sat yet so he kept it on. Leaving now he would arrive quite a bit early but given it was his first day it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

Collecting his phone, keys, and food David moved to leave. He turned the doorknob and pulled. What greeted him was something very different to what he was expecting. In front of him stood row upon row of shelves with a desk carrying on it a register he could barely make out from where he stood. The light glistening in the store was also far brighter than was shone through his windows to his left.

David closed the door and peered out his windows to see what was going on – to which he found nothing out of the ordinary. Placing his rice on the armrest of his couch he reopened the door and met the same scene. He closed the door again and looked out the eyepiece. Through it he found the normal scene he expected. Ugly brownish red paint layering the ground which would take him to the stairs.

Opening the door again he walked through into the store that manifested itself again. Taking a few steps in he heard the door close behind him. He stood in the open space taking it in. The smell was that of fresh plastic mixed with old books. The heat was on and he could feel a stream of warm air moving along his arms. The floor was made of wood with at least one plank that gave in and danced to his weight.

David turned around and saw a tinted glass door instead of the wooden green he was expecting. He drew closer to the door to inspect it and saw a wooden sign with strings hanging up which read ‘OPEN’. There was also a latch that appeared unlocked. Pulling on the door he opened it and saw the other side of the sign read ‘CLOSED’ to the outside world.

The outside air was nipping at his exposed skin but he didn’t mind. The streets were busy with cars and passerby’s going about their business. There was a single granite step between where he was now and the sidewalk with a hand rail on the side with flaking black paint. Grabbing hold of the handrail David lowered himself to the sidewalk and felt the roughness of the rail scrape against his closed hand. He took out his phone and noticed the time was now three hours ahead of where it should be. David took his time to get pictures of the store, the street, and everything else he could before reentering the store.

With the door closed behind him the heat worked quickly to warm his extremities. Finding the latch on the door David twisted the lock until he heard it click into place. He turned around and walked slowly throughout the store trying to find anything else out of place. Aisle by aisle he glanced at what was around but all he saw were old toys, children’s books, nick-knacks, globes, maps, and other assortments of miscellaneous items. Some were new while others were old but nothing stood out anymore or less than anything else.

Making his way to the register David rasped his knuckles against the wood with enough force to make the pounds echo in the store. “If anyone is available I would like to speak with you please!” David projected. There was no response and after a minute passed he continued his tour of the store.

After another few minutes he found a single unisex restroom, a closet, and another door that led downstairs. He stood at the top of the stairs again rasped his knuckles against the wood before projecting “If anyone is here just giving you a heads up I’m heading down.”

The steps were made of wood and creaked under the weight of David’s footsteps. The walls had no upholstery and consisted of a series of wooden beams directly on either side that barred David from lightless walls that had no depth. He could see wooden beams and behind it blackness. Halfway down the stairs he turned around and saw underneath the steps the same view as what were on the sides.

At the bottom of the stairs there was a sharp corner leading into a long hallway with pristine while walls and ceiling and a tan carpet lining the floor. Once again David rasped his knuckles and announced his arrival an action he found himself doing at every corner and entrance he came about.

The path David took stretched on for ages, twisting and turning. Some stairs led up while others went down. At first the walls and ceiling all had the same white décor with pristine tan carpets lining the floor. However, the further he traveled the less pristine the upholstery looked. Every hallway past the first looked more decrepit than the last. The walls turned brown, the wall paper began to fall and in time the path David tread were as barren the stairs he went down.

He hadn’t come across stairs in a while neither were the hallways turning anymore. An abyss surrounded him at this point as the ceiling had long ago vanished. He could see the ledge of the ceiling behind him and how it just stopped arbitrarily. The same darkness that hid behind the ever more dispirit beams spread indefinitely above the ceiling. The wooden beams on either side now were lessening along with the floor boards beneath him.

The questions David had took no form, but as the walls faded away in their entirety and the wooden planks became ever more spaced out he saw that they had no support. An echo of a thought crossed his mind that he should turn back which was paired by an equally weak sensation of panic. David paused at the sensation and moved to the side of the floor. Getting on his belly he moved his arm across the underside of the floorboards feeling their rough texture and noticeably not feeling any support. Pulling his arm up he noticed the undamaged state it was in and then peered his head below staring at the bottom side of the wood planks.

David had no answers for anything that was going on, only the abatement of what might be called fear with the knowledge that the floorboards in front of him had the same support as what came before.

He continued his trek even as the floor boards increased their distance to the point where he had to jump to make it to the next one. In time even the floorboards ended but he was unable to make the last few planks. Their distance was too great for him to make. If he made the effort he would just fall. So instead in rested his butt on the wood dangling his feet off the side seeing if anything would happen taking note of the emotions flickering within.