“Why must this keep happening, Benedikt? We… we used to be so happy and now… now I’ve never felt so miserable in all my life!” The pale goddess wept profusely and fell to her knees next to me, pleading for me to return to her as her admirable husband. “I beg of you, mein Liebster, you are my everything in this world and I am dying on the inside, knowing that you are killing yourself… please stop this, mein Liebster… please…” she uttered, trying to grab onto a lock of my brownish grey hair to show she cared, but it was too late.
“Oh, stop with the whole ‘my love’ crap – I’m tired of hearing it! That phrase means nothing to me and it’s getting to where… to where…” I fumbled on my words at that point. Well, that was not entirely true. I wasn’t exactly sure how to rephrase what I was saying because I already knew that what I wanted to tell my darling wife would not only emotionally hurt her, but probably kill her internally. And as much as I tried not to utter the last part of that sentence, my wife urged for me to do so.
“What, Benedikt, what? Say it! Tell me you don’t love me anymore! I know that’s what you want to say, isn’t it? Isn’t it? If you despise me so much and have the gall to stand up to me, then you will say it! Or, if you care for me, then say that! Say something because I can’t be with someone who won’t tell me how he feels… I need someone who loves me more than his drugs… I need my husband back… please!” Isotta wailed louder than before and I can honestly say it broke my heart until the acid started accelerating rapidly throughout my body at an alarming rate. Unfortunately, my mouth also sped up and my words were not those of kindness by any means.
“Shut up! Just shut up for five minutes please! Stop being such a lousy bitch and leave me alone – at least for five freaking minutes!” I hissed at my wife, which in the past would have been out of the question, but ever since my hallucinogens became more important than she was, nothing else seemed to matter. My job at Alter Botanischer Garten Hamburg as the park’s head gardener was no more, my friends since childhood have all but disappeared, my parents won’t speak to me for fear that I will beg them for money, and the only good thing in my life is my wife and she disdains me which is completely understandable. Actually, the only thing that keeps me whole is the one thing that also destroys me. But how can you loathe something that makes you feel so good? I do not know and, honestly, I don’t want to stop using just to find out. “I just… I just… just need you to go… go away… Just go away… and leave… leave me alone…” I mumbled as the image of my breathtaking wife waved in and out before my eyes and all soon became rather interesting to view or at least that’s what I believed as everything around me became rather hazy.
“Benedikt, mein Liebster… are you all right?” I partially heard Isotta say in a peculiar voice as the brown wooden paneled walls of our bedroom began to melt behind her in wavy, nauseating lines. “Benedikt, are you in there? Oh, darling… come back to me… Benedikt, come back to me please… Come back to me, mein Liebster…” But the longer I gazed at my wife’s face, the further she seemed to fade away as the walls turned from a boring brown to glorious shades resembling a rainbow. A rainbow right in my bedroom was swallowing me whole like a giant hungry monster that was taking me as his grandest meal of all time!
“Look, Isotta… the rainbow is back again with all its wonderful colors! It’s back, Isotta, it’s back… it’s back!” I yelped happily as it felt like my wife was trying to calm me down, but it was of no use. Well, she might have been, but I wasn’t completely sure. It felt as though my body was being held down on my bed, yet it also seemed like I was sinking into a pile of quicksand. All was turning into something bizarre for I was speedily traveling into a fantastical hallucinogenic world. “Ah… red, orange… yellow, green, blue, indigo… and the brightest and most magical of them all… violet! It’s all so beautiful!” I laughed maniacally as my wife and everything around me seemed to disappear and a land full of wonder and make-believe sprouted all around with lustrous trees full of the most brilliant green leaves I’ve ever seen. “Isotta, look at all the trees! Oh, my God… it’s all so tremendous! Come feel it all with me…” As soon as I uttered that last foggy sentence, the vision of my enchanting wife nearly faded away, along with her voice, and I was soon surrounded by a world that was not only lovely, but beyond extraordinary as well. At least that’s what it started out to be...
Once my eyes became clear and the humdrum of my home life faded away, there was a world of colorful perfection in front of me. And even though I was familiar with the supernatural aspect of this realm, for I had been here numerous times before, I sensed that something was new, but couldn’t put my finger on it. It almost felt as if my delusional land of peace, filled to the brim with talking flowers and bewildering gnomes of all shapes and sizes, was somehow altered, but I wasn’t sure how. No, this did not seem right at all… my euphoric place of all that is blissful and amusing seems frightening and puzzling. It is no longer bright and cheerful, but rather hollow and dark. Usually, I “see” this type of reality when I take a darker hallucinogenic known as DMT, also known as dimethyltryptamine, which is often described as a psychedelic substance that causes a total loss of connection to conventional reality with the encounter of indescribable spiritual and alien realms. In simpler terms, it’s the type of hallucinogenic that sometimes makes you see horrific sights rather than those of a more pleasant nature. Many times before, I have taken it, when my wife was away on business in Hesse with her mother, just to feel something more frightening as compared to something vivid, which I am not experiencing currently. But now, at this exact point in time, I am feeling like I’ve just stepped into a hellish land as I hear a demon’s voice speaking to me… lavish graves surrounding me from all directions accompanied by the stench of decaying flesh that burns my nostrils something awful.
“Benedikt Emory, indeed a blessed and brave individual, I call you out to put your abilities to the test and find me!” I was greatly flustered by the voice I heard, almost as if it was over a stadium speaker, and while I knew I was quite delirious, there was something that seemed off. The calling sounded almost too well known to my ears, as if I had heard it recently. I flinched from the touching of a cryptic tree that slapped me from behind. Or maybe it didn’t, I don’t know.
“Who are you? Isotta… is that you, meine Liebe? Your vocalization is very alluring…” I giggled playfully, still feeling paranoid as the previous tree has now uprooted and is walking towards me. My God… this stuff is good! I’m kind of scared, but giddy all at the same time, so it evens out.
“No, Benedikt,” sighed the deep voice, “I am not your wife, for she is nowhere to be found here.” The sadistic unknown being said, terrifying and confusing me all at once, “My name is Domek Hadon and I have come to you with a favor of unimaginable proportions.” I gasped at the sight of the statuesque yet obscure-looking man, eyes and face as pale as new fallen snow, who appeared from nowhere and stood close.
“What… what do you want from me? I… I do not know who you are.” I shivered and stared up at the nearly seven-foot tall gentleman whose blackened locks waved heinously in the wind.
“You shall know all there is to know soon enough, but for now, I need you to come and find me.” The large creature sighed in ghostly tones. “My bones and flesh are separated entirely and need to find their way back together… you must search for them and make them whole again. And then you must feed me blood until my vampire existence returns… Do not fail me, Benedikt, or you shall die!” As soon as that confusing and horrid display of words was pronounced, I awoke from my drug-induced state faster than I ever had before. All was unreal and the worst part of it all was my bedroom was black as pitch whereas before it was brighter than the sun. Nothing was what it appeared and what made it all the more interesting was that I think I just met a vampire…
Chapter II
All will be revealed when the secrets of mysterious worlds present themselves for the rational people to see. It is then and only then tha
t all will make sense to where everything becomes more feasible to those who bow down to reality. I am not one of those lucid beings, per se, but someday I would like to be one… for about an hour or two. Honestly, I’ve done the drug-free life and it makes all of my normal problems harder to deal with and life in general rather boring. My wife seems distant, I do not have a career on any status level, and my very existence is so tragic that I pray for death day in and day out. There are days when everything is glorious and I have no need to complain, but with my hallucinogens… everything is uncommonly flawless in every way, no matter what. But here’s something I question: is it wrong to feel happy all of the time? Is it bad to live in a realm of splendid creatures and bright colors rather than one of bleakness and hate? And is it considered sinister to take a pill or mushroom to make me feel better about myself for once in my life? No, it is not, and I’m tired of people telling me it is! However, as my most recent “voyage to bliss” has come about, I have found someone who agrees with everything I just mentioned. In fact, he thinks I am his savior and begs for me to help him. Isn’t that wonderful? But what’s even better is that the bastard is claiming to be a vampire and wants me to bring him back to life, which is all too exciting for words! Or was it just all a “bad trip” and none of it really happened? I had to find out and the only person I knew who would know would be…
“Isotta… may I have a polite word with you?” I mumbled shamefully as I slowly strolled into my dining room at an hour past nine on a gloomy night in mid-December. I stared into the saddened eyes of my wife, who casually stood from a plush dining chair to face me, and said. “I am ever so sorry, mein Liebster…”
My dearest gracefully walked towards me, brushed a thinning greying strand from off my face, and whispered sweetly. “You must stop this drug-induced behavior, for you are by far too old for such silly things.” She smirked impishly, which reminded me of the youthfulness that she spoke of. “You’re not getting any younger, nor am I, so this must cease, mein Liebster. Now go wash up; supper is almost ready.” Isotta smiled and kissed my cheek softly as I thought further about what she said. Nonetheless, she was right as always. When I was in my late twenties, this type of lifestyle was fun indeed, but I was pushing forty and this state of paranoid delusions was probably one that I should forget. But as I said before, if it makes me happy, then why is it seen as wrong? Age is only a number, but experiencing a world that few will ever see firsthand is one that I do not wish to ignore, especially not now that I’ve met an immortal that time has forgotten about. Perhaps that will convince Isotta to listen to me!
“I will wash up momentarily, but first I need to talk to you about something rather important to me.” I huffed sadly, grasping onto my wife’s hands, which brought forth a concerned expression to her delicate face.
“What is it, Benedikt? What’s wrong?” she whimpered as I found myself telling her everything that had taken place a few hours ago when I left her in this land of realism. Unfortunately, after I spoke of petrifying visions of an immortal that only I could see, my lovely wife burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. “Have you lost your freaking mind, Benedikt?” She chuckled louder, bringing forth a heaping pot of stewed meat to the dining table. “So let me get this straight.” She paused to hold back a small giggle. “While I was worried out of my mind about your mental health, you were talking to Dracula, who begged you to save him?” Isotta cackled wildly, filling glass bowls with our meals, and nearly fell out of her chair. “Dear God, Benedikt… how much acid did you take? I seriously hope you keep this little tale between us. People would think you were mad and lock you up in an institution! Hopefully, this will be our little secret…” she said calmly, while gesturing for me to eat my stewed supper.
“But who’s to say it should be?” Isotta raised her eyebrow at my comment, which showed she thought I was insane. “Maybe this wasn’t a hallucination, but instead a realistic message from a being who came to me for help. Isn’t that possible?” I screeched with the hopes that she would feel as I did. Regrettably, she did not feel the same.
“I swear, Benedikt, every time I try to give you the benefit of the doubt and force myself to believe your rambles, you say disturbing things like this and make it impossible!” my wife hissed, dropped her spoon into her bowl, and stood from the table angrily. “It is nonsense like this, brought on by your drug usage, that makes it hard for me to stay with you. I honestly can’t take it anymore and I feel like I’m losing my mind! Hell, if you tell others about this, then they will shun you from society and eternally brand you as an enamored idiot!” Isotta paused as the veins protruded in her forehead. “Are you taking DMT again? I swear, if you are taking that crap again, I will leave your ass now!” she howled and I knew that I had pissed her off, which was typical with most phrases that came out of my mouth, but not like this one. Sadly, I didn’t care because I knew what had happened was true no matter what she believed.
“I promise you that I’m not taking that anymore and I swear I’m telling you the truth! Can’t you find it in your heart to believe me?” I clasped my wife’s hands in mine as she attempted to walk past me into the other room, which forced her to listen to what I had to say.
Isotta bit her lip with frustration, released her grasp, and sighed with pain. “No… I cannot do it anymore and if you believe this idiotic story that much, then you can shout it from the rooftops for all I care! I’m going to my mother’s house… I’ll contact you tomorrow.” she screamed with tears streaming down her face. She grabbed her purse and stormed out of our home.
Here was the problem I was faced with. I could have chased after her and apologized like a true gentleman would. But seeing as how I was still mildly dazed from my previous hallucinating state, I decided to take the road less traveled and shout my secret from the rooftops. I immediately rushed out of my home, literally climbed up onto my shingled rooftop, and hollered maniacally, which brought the attention of all of my nearby neighbors. “Hear me now… there is a bloodthirsty creature that begs for our help! He is an ancient vampire who desperately needs our assistance in finding his scattered body, putting it back together, finding blood for him to feed off of, and helping him live again! Who will join me on my journey to rebuild a forgotten immortal?” And soon the boisterous laughing began from those I thought were kind people.
“Stay off the drugs, Emory! Nobody believes you, so shut up! And for the record, you need to be locked up for screaming such insanities, especially so late at night! You are a whole new level of insane, buddy, and you are the one who needs help!” shouted a rather rude man, joined by other likeminded individuals, who seemed pretty decent in the past, but not so much now. “I am telling the truth! He came to me in a shadowy dream… he needs our help urgently. Please have a heart and support me in this crucial mission!” I sighed desperately, which was altogether ignored like before, more laughs coming forth.
“Yes, I’m sure he did… a drug-induced dream! You are such a fool, Benedikt Emory, and should have been institutionalized a long time ago!” jested the man again as others gathered around him closely and began pelting me with rotten food and rocks, knocking me off of my rooftop in the process. “You freaking loony… save us all the time of forcing you out of town by leaving now on your own freewill! We don’t want your kind here anymore and spit on you for your foolishness!” The angry mob began literally spitting on me as they forcefully began nudging me away from my home towards the edge of town, screaming profanities the entire time and continuing to pelt me with old food. It was indeed a shameful state of affairs, one I would never forget.
“Listen to me, dammit – I’m not making this up! He is real and if we don’t help him, then he will kill us all simply out of resentment. If anything, I’m trying to save us from our own premeditated deaths!” I hissed with the hopes that my neighbors would change their minds, but they didn’t. The food and spit continued and the rocks became bigger with sharper edges. The pain and embarrassment was too much to bear, b
ut I stood my ground… at least as best I could, which didn’t change their minds. “Please stop this, I beg you to stop! You… you have to listen to me… please!” Alas, this is the moment of my existence where I have never felt lower. I have become a mockery to everyone to the point where I have literally been shunned from town. I have never been more ashamed of myself than I am right now. Why didn’t I listen to Isotta when she warned me that others would truly think I was crazy? I thought she was being judgmental, but after the incident that just occurred, I’m starting to think she might be right. I was an idiot for shouting such witless rambles… an idiot who should be shunned! But what if I wasn’t really a simpleton with crazed visions of an actual vampire? What if he was real and only came to me in a hallucination because nobody else believed him? Was it even possible?
“Get out of town now, Benedikt Emory, and never show your face here again! If we see you around this neighborhood or anywhere else in town, we will be forced to alert the law enforcement and have you removed from the premises permanently!” The crowd proceeded to hiss as I stood my ground until they had to violently throw me out of town and lock me out of their majestic gates of judgment. It was all too humiliating, but perhaps it was for the best. But fortunately for me, when my wife returned the next day, hopefully to forgive me with loving arms, and saw how I was treated, then she would stand up for me and plead for my return. She would tell everyone that I was lost and confused, proving to them that I was not unbalanced as they believed. Yes, my dearest Isotta would make everything all better and all would return to normal! No… that wouldn’t happen either, no matter how much I wished for it. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. Sadly, I think now that I have been removed from my home, which I had owned for over ten years, I am left alone to fend for myself in a world that no longer wants me. It is tragic to have to deal with such an unspeakable state of affairs from people you assumed were your allies, but it is one I’m sure has happened to others.
Vampires Romance to Rippers an Anthology of Tasty Stories Page 7