Fear of Solitude

In the dark, lonely cell, the figures of two men were barely visible. One of them was lying down, and the other was by his side, holding the failing hand of his friend.

“Hey, feel any better? Just hang in there, you’ll be alright.”
“What…time…is it now?”
“Hell, it must be far past midnight, looking at you sleeping for hours!”

But he wasn’t quite sure, either. Nobody knew what time it was. Actually, both of them didn’t know where they were, how long they had been locked up, and why they were detained. However, such things didn’t matter much anymore. Not only was there no way to find such stuff out, there was a far more pressing concern to the man keeping vigil by the patient. His friend was seriously ill, and the man was about to be left all alone.

“Hey, how are you feeling? We’ll get out of here soon. Just hang in there.”
“…I’m…ready…to go…”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not leaving me here, all by myself!”
“I’m sorry…”
“Then don’t be, goddam it! You’ll be alright, ok? Just hang in there.”
“I really am…I’m sorry…”
“Oh for heaven’s sake! You’re not going anywhere, so you don’t have to be sorry. Just keep talking!”

The patient’s hand, which had been holding onto the grip of his friend’s with its last strength, fell to the ground. Suddenly, an unfathomable fear overwhelmed the man left on earth.

“Hey…don’t kid with me! Just hang in there, ok?”
No response.
“C’mon, talk to me. Now you won’t even talk to your closest friend?
No response.
“Hey, don’t leave me here… You can’t leave me alone!”
No response.
“ANSWER ME, GODDAM IT!”

But there was still no response from the silent body, and the man’s desperate cries echoed throughout the hollow cell, reverberating as it bounced off the lifeless walls. There were still two delineable figures in the cell, but now there was only one life breathing its misery. The man, shivering and afraid, crouched up in the corner and buried his head inside the darkness of his arms. Then he continued his effort to talk with his friend, or what was remaining of him-the dead corpse.

“Hey buddy, talk to me… I’m scared and I don’t know what to do. Please talk to me...”
“…”
“You have to talk to me. I can’t stand it here by myself. It’s cold and it’s dark and I’m hungry and I’m afraid…Please talk to me…”

Despite his painstaking efforts, he failed to make conversation with his last source of human contact; his last source of communication, connection, and hope for survival. Now, there was nobody to answer him back. Now, there was nobody to protect him from the emerging horridness of solitude.

“Ha…haha…he’s not talking back to me. He…he’s not responding. He’s the only one I’ve got left and he’s gone.”

Then, his words began to turn into a mush of odd laughter and indecipherable sounds. He continued his strange soliloquy, only to hear back from the echoes of the hollow wall.

“Hahaha… I’m left alone. I can’t believe it. Hehehe…”

Darkness thickened upon the lonely man as the dim moonlight coming from the window gradually faded away. The man couldn’t wait until he was only left with darkness alone. When he had somebody to talk, joke, walk, stretch, sleep, and breathe with, it had been bearable; now, without the existence of the other person, talking, joking, walking, stretching, sleeping, and breathing had suddenly lost their meanings. He took his hands to his throat, and grasped-firmly. He let out an eerie grunt, wearing a twisted smile, and then he was upon himself.