Hi Steemers!

I recently wrote a short story about mental health and decided to share it. I'm no professional writer, but I hope someone out there can get something from this. Enjoy!

Four Words

Elijah was very, very lucky to have Alison Krauss in his life. Or, at least he thought so.

Elijah admired everything about Alison, from her luscious buttery orange hair to her enchanting willowy figure. She had been gifted with infinite wisdom and grace. Her eyes were prismatic sapphires beneath a satin cascade, and each beam of light that bounced off these luxurious icy pools glinted an aura of joy and unabashed hope. Alison was Elijah’s first love and he secretly dreamed that one day they would get married.

One particular morning, Elijah received a magical gift, an unread text message from whom else, but Alison Krauss. Overwhelmed with a sense of pride and achievement, Elijah unlocked his phone and immediately examined.

Simultaneously, his stomach and heart contracted.

Four words.

Short, but certainly not sweet.

Four words to change him.

Four words to stand on him. Four words to corrupt him. Four words to push him over the edge. Four words to become him.

Elijah’s afflicted heart cast a somber spell upon his body. He glanced towards his bedroom garden through the cloudy window to escape the horror, but all he could see was a drab wooden fence. The fence’s marvelous timber wolf coat had been annihilated by the elements. Heavy rain driven by tempestuous winds had poured down in the pailfuls to form a devitalized wall of charcoal. Elijah recognized that the bleakness of the view was very much like his deteriorating mind, consciously feeling the gradual loss of rational evaluation like an overwhelming darkness… 

…still, he needed an escape as soon as possible, even if it was irrational.

Hurriedly, he threw himself onto the edge of his bed. It was there that he sat, helplessly watching tears of condensed water run down a cloud of fog, desperately forcing himself not to think about anything except his bedroom garden on the other side of the glass pane. Yet, all Elijah could see was the drab wooden fence. 

It was no use. Suddenly, Elijah’s brain imploded, letting the four words race through all parts of his head like a stampeding wilder beast across the savannah. The crackle of thunder resonated through the room causing Elijah to jolt upright and erratically flail his arms in a paranoid stupor. The rhythm of the drum in his chest began to beat abnormally fast. Lightning streaked across the sky and gusts of wind began to pattern themselves with a melodic rhythm, as if they could control the disturbance. The noose around his lungs tightened, whilst the monster in his stomach began to grumble. 

There was only one way to escape.

Elijah inelegantly positioned himself on the far left side of his bed, as if he were expecting someone to fill the space next to him. He compulsively shuffled his body until it was precisely parallel with the dark grey wall on his right and the drab wooden fence on his left, whilst forming a 45 degree angle between the far left corner of his room and the back of his head. 

Elijah winked three times with his left eye, followed by three times with his right.

Completion of this obsessive ritual meant that he was safe. He wiped his lip, and closed his eyes. 

When he woke up, things would be back to normal.

If you got this far, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your feedback <3