Suspense Short Story – The Beard man
Photo credit: BBoomerinDenial from morguefile.com
(Note: Image does not illustrate or has any resemblance with characters depicted in the story)
I never understood if it was my conscience or my stupidity that got me here. My views on life have never been filled with too much hope; not to say that I am a nihilist but neither do I have an optimistic perception about anything in life. It dismayed me when I beheld myself falling prey to the same old self-destructive patterns, as if I was compelled by some ethereal entity that wanted me to spiral down into a bottom less abyss.
As years passed on the angst that I felt inside engulfed me like a python suffocating its prey one heartbeat at a time. It was one of those bizarre days when I first met the beard man. He was staring at me as if skimming through my life, I saw his gleaming eyes see-through me, analyzing what I had done. I was terrified of what he might see, I was scared stiff, I couldn’t look the other way even if I wanted to so I closed my eyes wishing not to see him ever again.
As time passed I had succumbed to the anguish that I felt, drugs were no longer recreational, I was lost in the reveries of a better life that could not exist, not for me at least. Everything felt gloomy and still, the silence surrounding me was deafening, my soul was tormented by the sadness within me or to describe it more vividly I was the sadness.
One day when I was sitting all by myself staring into thin air contemplating how to end the misery bestowed upon me by the fiend himself I saw the beard man. Many years had passed since I last saw him, unlike last time he had a calm and composed countenance but more enigmatic than ever; his gleaming eyes had a tincture of sadness that did not scare me but rather mystified me. I could no longer resist the temptation to confront him but as soon as I stood up to walk to him I realized that my legs had never felt heavier. Every step towards him was like a struggle with an imaginary hand that was trying to hold me back. The more I struggled the more difficult it became for me to drag myself further, but finally with a little success when I reached near him he disappeared, my trance had broken, I came to my senses just to realize that I had stepped off the edge of a cliff and that soon I will fade into oblivion. I was no longer tormented by the pain within instead I grew more and more content as I raced to descend that would soon relieve me of my desolation.
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