By: Audrey Yeung
I don’t have much time left, so listen well. There are three things that I know are true and two more that I am unsure of. Let’s start with the certainties.
One, the world is ending. Read that again if you would like; it does not change the outcome. The world is ending and in a most brutal way. More on that later. So say your goodbyes, have your final meal, and find a nice place to live out the rest of your days.
Two, the Demons are arriving soon. They are the ones who will destroy the very ground that we walk on. I did say it was brutal, didn’t I? Expect them to lure you in with their charms, taking the shapes of loved ones. They travel by wind and melt through walls. They plague your dreams and whisper sins. The most terrifying thing is that no one has seen them in their true form. If someone has, they are dead now. We cannot hide, nor run. Perhaps it would be best if we were to die before the Demons come. Less pain, I would think.
Three, nobody knows. And if they do know, they do not care. Don’t ask me how I know; there are secrets one must keep even as the world starts to burn before our eyes. I have tried to tell people, but they wave me off as if I am a senile old woman. Now, I am only two of those things, and senile isn’t one of them. They claim the Demons aren’t real, but I know better. Everyone is too engrossed in their own businesses to care about what is going on around them. The world is ending, and people are more interested in their fancy new cryptocurrencies and whatever the latest trendy diet is. Besides, no one likes to advertise the idea of the end of the world, so nobody knows. But now you know, because I am telling you. You care, don’t you?
Now, the uncertainties.
One, the Demons are arriving soon, but I don’t know how soon. It could be tomorrow, it could be next week. What is “soon”, exactly? In the meantime, do not be swayed by the general public who tell you that Demons aren’t real. I encountered one as a young girl. It hissed terrible things in my ear, cut my skin, and suffocated me with its smoke claws. I told people then, too, but they didn’t believe me. Claimed it was my fault. I stayed away from balconies after that, for fear that a Demon would convince me to do something awful.
Two.
Two.
What was it, again?
Three.
No, two.
Two.
Do you see? It’s started already. The end of the world!
Oh, it feels glorious, doesn’t it? Agonising, yes, but glorious.
Where was I?
Yes, that’s right. Two.
Two.
Now, I have something else to tell you. If someone offers you pills, don’t take them. It confuses your head, and suddenly, you won’t be able to think straight. Demons find that enticing.
Two.
If someone in white offers you a drink, there’s a good chance that they’ve crushed the pill into a powder, and it’s dissolved the drink. Don’t drink it. The Demons are here, I can feel it. Yes, I can hear them. You must be careful. They are telling me things, bad things. Pay them no mind.
One.
This is new. The darkness is new. It must be the Demons. Say your final goodbyes, for the world is ending soon.
Rationale: Though it is most likely inaccurate, this is what I imagine it might be like to lose sanity and control of oneself, which the narrator does so slowly over the course of the piece, transitioning from longer sentences and paragraphs to shorter sentences with a sprinkle of memory loss and hints of issues with mental health that have escalated with age.