Black

He was engulfed by the darkness. He could not see or move or think. His eyes burned, as did his insides. He was confused, but it was more than the usual daze – he felt, for the first time in a long time, fear. He could still hear the sound of the gas escaping from the nozzle, and it broke his momentary confusion into pieces as he realised what had happened.

He reached out with his hands, desperately gasping at fistfuls of air. He tried to open his eyes but they would not. Everything was black. He tried to force them open with his fingers, but ended up poking himself in the eyes instead. It seemed like the confusion was never ending, but so were the realisations – his eyes were already open. Still, he could not see.

The gas that had leaked out of the cylinder had sprayed directly into his eyes. He had no clue about which gas it was, or what that blue, cold cylinder was doing in George’s basement. He seemed to have forgotten the actual reason for which he had come down there in the first place. Everything seemed to be slipping away – his thoughts, time, but most of all his hope that he was only momentarily blinded. He felt like hours ago that he was trying to figure out the purpose and story behind the mysterious cylinder. Yet, after all that time, all he knew for sure was that the only colour he could see was black.

At last, he was relieved to have made contact with the wall, despite being banged and bruised by the spare items lying around the floor. He made his way to the door, and to his surprise, it lay open, whereas he clearly remembered closing it behind him when he entered. He went up the stairs he was so familiar with, just as if it were his own house, and navigated his way to the living room. “George! George! Are you there? Maria? Is anyone home?” he shouted, not knowing the time of the day. “Help me, please,” his voice slowed down. He sat down in a chair with some difficulty reaching it, and fumbled to retrieve his phone from his pocket and dial a number. He dialled a number he hoped was George’s. When the familiar voice answered at the other end, he breathed a sigh of relief that was cut short by his panic-filled explanations.

“George! I do not know what is happening. Where are you? Come over right now, I cannot see – I – I cannot see anything. Everything is black. That cylinder, the gas –,” he could barely form sentences. “I’m afraid I cannot make it, Liam. I am sure whatever is happening is for the best.”

“What? George? What are you saying? What is this supposed to mean? What – did you do something? I cannot see. I am all alone here. Don’t you understand?” George’s words blurred away. Liam felt faint. He fell to the ground with a thud, and if he were able to see, the darkness would have engulfed him at this point.

The only way Liam realised that he had regained consciousness was the feeling of his arm being aggressively shaken. He moved slightly, and heard a voice talk above him.

“Liam, is it you? I heard you shouting. Are you alright?”

“Maria, thank goodness! Where is George, do you know? I cannot see. Everything is dark,” he said as he held her arm.

“You too? Liam, everything has gone black – I do not know what to do.”

Then someone else spoke. The voice was ever-so-familiar, but it sounded like a total stranger. Liam was not sure if he had actually heard it, or if the events of the day were driving him crazy.

“Ah! Black. My favourite colour, and now it will be yours, too.”