Stories from another dimension

[S.E. Lizard]

Someone in Human Land


I do not know what kind of horrible thing was able to influence me in the night time, but in that moment I felt like my bedroom was compressing. I had to leave my house. Where to go at 11 PM? Yes, I thought that the best is to go to a place where I will drink some liquors and nothing else besides my mind would compress.

Two steps out of my door and I heard a voice saying:

“May I have a cigarette? “

At first I did not figure out if that was a female voice or a male voice. I looked around and I noticed that there was a man dressed up to the nines. He was holding in his hand a bag from which was snuffing aluminium bronze. That bag was releasing a strange flavour, making me wonder if there is a way to leave the planet and live among nameless and spineless beings in a galaxy ruled by an unknown creature.

“Yes. “ I said.

“Thank you very much. Do you have a lighter? “

“Yes, I do. ”

“Oh! Thank you! Thank you! I would like to ask you one more question… You know, I have just finished my work at the large national company which hired me. I was at the office by 7 AM and stayed until 11 PM… You know, I would like to go and have some fun, to get rid of the black thoughts… I would like to dance, to drink wine, to talk to women and maybe to return home with one of them. So, can you give me enough money to go to a decent place? “

“No, I cannot. Why don’t you ask the corporation if it’s going to pay you? “

“This is not your business and you know that. Everyone is selfish and ungrateful. “

I left this guy and heard him screaming from behind. It lasted about five minutes and then stopped. I was heading to downtown in the very middle of the frosty night. But none the less the streets were crowded with children who were looking and behaving like buffalos, women running and carrying luggages and lots of noisy people. There was a naked girl in a cesspool with another one, dressed with a fur coat who was taking pictures. I raised my voice and asked them:

“Is there a purpose in this action? “

“No! We are just having fun.”

“Just like I imagined… “

I was keeping my way, understanding that the coldness is no jesting-matter. I decided then to get into the first night bar that comes in my way. There was no suitable time for demands. So I made my way towards the wood cottage from the top of the street. On the cottage was written the ‘bar’ word. I opened the door and I went downstairs. I heard piano music and I saw on the stairs lots of blood and body fluid splashes. I went to the basement and the picture was just like this: a small room decorated with small chairs and smoke clouds. On the left side was a table and a woman was sitting alone there, reading a book. A man was crying in the doorway, saying over and over again: “I am not the one to blame! I am not the one to blame! “ It was not something to lie on my line, but seeing myself down in that cheap inferno, I thought it would be wonderful if I go and buy some drinks. Finally I saw the bar but still I was not able to control my curiosity, and I stared at the people around me as if they were aliens. Then I saw a woman propped on the bar and an old boy who had his leg amputated was flagellating her, saying with a loud voice: “This is why I came here!” There was no time to wonder, because then my view focused on the stage where some naked young girls, having about ten years old, were dancing and throwing cash here and there to random customers. I thought it would be better to annihilate my rationality and I remembered the bar and asked for a vodka.

“We do not sell alcohol. I am sorry! “

The bartender was no other than Saddam Hussein.

[S.E. Lizard]

The Madhouse

- You’re crazy! The wind does not have a reproductive system, you moron! So, one more time, what are your parents’ names?

- Wind and Atmosphere!

- Fine, it’s time for vitamins!

Although he could not rely on his body, there was only one serious question which ground his bones, his brain and soul: to stay, or to go?

What a good life since darkness was born! He was able to accept afterword the thought that he would stay… And that’s all… Seemingly! But he was proud that he managed to hide the light inside, in the dark. He was tired of lying and using horrible tricks in order to carve a god, to have it always by his side and to be taught not to feel anymore. He could have strong feelings under anesthesia too. How much time can be wasted in this straight world, when there is no straight man?

- I heard you! Even if you cannot scream and run you are still thinking out loud. Maybe we should prescribe you some dinosaur painkillers. But you know, anyhow, sometimes it’s better to lie.

- Sometimes it’s better to die. It’s fine anyhow, too bad that we are here.

- I am so sorry for you. It could have been different.

- And how many times you had this feeling, being in this useless hospital?

- If it was useless you would not have been here. I have this feeling for almost all of you. It’s about showing mercy to others.

- I am useless here, the same as you. Just because you are gifted to survive, it doesn’t mean that you are a hero. Your situation is useful but the reverse does not work. Did you ever think that maybe I am your brother who does not know if he really wants to leave the madhouse? Maybe this is not bad for me, for you either, so who suffers for this minor fact?

- You, your parents…

- I miss the Wind, but he does not miss me, he will always be so full of life.

- This is incredible! Enough of this! Take your darkness and go to hell!

- After you, my lady!

Millions of leaves have fallen and he still did not receive the angel’s kiss. Someone knocks at the door… And he is able only to whisper.

- Why are they knocking at the door? Because anyhow – whoever might be – will enter here like to a cave. As if they would care if I am dead or not. If I am dead, the better for them, a new place will be available and so, this is the contribution for saving the world from the potential fools.

- Hey! It’s me, the Mouse! How many times do I have to tell you that you are not alone, either misanthrope?

- Actually, you did not even knock at the door. You just popped out from under the bed. You are right. See how miserable people are? They talk about loneliness without knowing what this means. Damn it! A planet inhabited by nihilists… Tell me, Mouse, how would you describe the nihilists?

- I don’t know. I did not meet any of them.

- The nihilism is just an utopia too. Maybe there are nihilistic people, but I never met any of them either.

- Could Zoroaster have been one of them? , the mouse began to laugh hysterically.

- Nietzsche could not even present him like a nihilist, either less the other people who have talked about him.

- I’m asking myself, if it took thousand years for people to make the difference between truth and lies, what would they need to discover the nonexistence of truth? Eventually, the lie is defined as a human, especially since those days when society has been founded.

- The mold has flourished since then and today we can see how man struggles to emulate the Universe and to come up with new laws of nature. But I think every man felt at least for one moment what a small creature he is, but most people choose to deny this feeling. Today they want to prove they remember how the firmament looks like. I wonder who can watch the skies without having a material interest or without thinking at his own image. They want to show us the fact that they can create the space nebula and they can walk undisturbed across the Universe, as if it belongs to them. Instead of this, it is true that the words belong to them. In our case is the same, Mouse. It’s just that we do not enjoy this and if you remember when we were at the village and I saved you from drowning… Oh, well! Back then, I did not know the meaning of the word “happiness”. Do you think I was missing something then?

- Nothing besides experience. But even then you were scared by death that you did not see it. I could not understand that fact.

- I know. I was like a box made of glass.

- But what do you think about apocalypse?

- I do not know. I guess it is about that phenomenon which was raised by mankind about three thousand years ago. It is not a constant phenomenon, of course.

- Fair enough! But if we must explain the Revelation as a phenomenon which is going to happen, according to what people say, I think this event will develop an artificial aesthetic explosion. It could be just a local event, of course.

- Do you mean that it will be something which looks great and that’s all? An imitation of a natural phenomenon?! As if people would know the rhythm of nature.

- Exactly! However, you should sleep more. Maybe you’ll dream something that is beyond compare. I saw your nights turning into nightmares without exception.

- After I was told yesterday that Jesus has always been the great god of India, I dreamed of a nuclear bomb attack and I still could not be killed.

- Are you sure that this happened yesterday?

- No! Maybe it did not happen yet.

The mouse went to sleep, or who knows, maybe it just started working on new networks. But the in-patient could not fall asleep. He thought he should enjoy for the first time the fact that he had his own room and regarding freedom, “To hell with it! It does not exist anymore.” But that little peaceful moment disappeared immediately when he realized that his own past showed him how to no longer relate to bad memories. His only mission was to feel all the vibrations that surrounded him. And yet he still does not prove that he has learned something. He still feels the way how memories broke him down long ago.

In the morning, as soon as his feet stretched, he started to walk through the hospital. Various patients stopped him in the hallway to tell him that they are highly educated and healthy, each of them using the same sentences. They were all dressed with holiday clothes because that day was a big Christian celebration, which meant a huge amount of food for most of them. Sores and parasites were hidden under their outfits.

- Oh! If only I were a corpse and someone would ride the hearse for me. Who?! The horses! I don’t need people to help me say goodbye to your city which is populated with humans born by stray dogs. I wonder how long it will take until the commercial education will dethrone your god. I would not want to live in a world like that. I have come to prefer those dirty Christians.

Having these words on his lips, he experienced a kind of sadness greater than the entire world. Watching from the hospice yard the songbirds that conquered the territories of all the gods who were the children of men, he has found himself outside the hospital, trying to unconsciously follow the birds’ maps. Since the first hour of the day the celebration in question annihilated the attention of the guards. The patient awoke in Babylon wearing pajamas.

He felt in the air a dancing atmosphere, but he was unable to dance unless he would completely forget about his identity, and he chose to move forward, stepping gracefully.

On his right side there was a field covered with black plants that had the length of his half body, having some small leaves. On the left side there were people dressed with large and white clothes who were digging the soil. This introduction closes shortly after. And so the lost patient steps on a city street. It seemed that in front of him appeared an infinite line made by stalls. And so it was! So many objects for sale were exposed on each stall that he sank in a mixture of colors and shapes, so he could not recognize anything. The full moon was reigning on the sky even though it was the afternoon time. On the opposite side of the sellers and their stalls there was nothing, just a shaky horizon could have be constructed because of the heat. He seemed to observe in the distance some agricultural lands but he could not exactly distinguish anything.

He started to talk to himself.

- Good! Now I am going to die because of dehydration. All those freaks with their stalls seemed not to have within reach even the smallest bottle containing some kind of liquid. As if I had money to buy it! But it does not matter now because maybe I would have known then how to ask for mercy. I guess the rain has never been here.

He did not imagine by then that he would reach a point when he could die of thirst. Maybe he had such fears when he was in the village and those around him were talking about plagues. But even then, when they warned him that it’s just a matter of time until water turns to blood, he was not afraid that he will drink blood. The blood would contain water, he said, so he was calm, fearing most the origin of the creature from which the blood came out.

He was walking too long with his head down when by mistake he looked around, protecting himself from being bitten by insects. A few feet away, he noticed three people sitting beside a single tree. There was a woman and two men dressed in black robes. Being afraid that they could disappear, he ran towards them. Hearing his steps, they turned their heads at him, one by one.

- How can we help you, stranger? , the woman asked.

- I am terribly thirsty! , he said, and in that moment he saw that a snake was dancing through the woman’s fingers. It was a slim and spotted snake, like it may have been a reticulated python.

- You are lucky because we have some water left. There you go! , said one of them.

- Thank you so much!

- You are welcome! Drink it all, because we will return to our home soon. For sure that the fountains did not dry up and the water will never turn to blood. Unfortunately, neither to wine…, and they started to laugh like monsters.

The other man asks:

- Where do you come from?

- I came from a lunatic asylum.

- I don’t know what you mean. Anyhow, for how long have you been here?

- I do not know. I just arrived a few minutes ago, or an hour ago. Are you a priest?

- Yes, we all worship the Sun. This is our meeting place where we share our prophecies.

- Will I be a jerk if I ask you about the prophecies you discussed today?

- Oh well, one of our common predictions is that the Sun will become an automatic and controlled illuminator for the population of this planet. Lucky us that we will die naturally before they will execute us.

- But come with us! You can stay at my place because it is easy to understand that you have nothing with you, least of all a place to rest. , the woman said.

- Is it true that you have no intention to exploit me, nor a bad thought which makes no sense? I am not used to see a so-nice attitude.

- The strangers are our family. This is how things go here. To ignore strangers and not to give them anything from your possessions, it means to destroy the foundations of a realm’s economy.

- I understand! I should have imagined this.

They took a road adjacent to the main street and suddenly, heavens of vegetation came out from nowhere.

One of the priests asks:

- Shall I understand that in your living place you were considered a man with mental health problems?

- Yes. When I told them that the wind is my father, they hospitalized me for mental disorder.

- Did you mention them anything about the primordial life?

- Which one?

- Stardust!

- Do you also think that we came from stardust?

- It’s not my nature to talk about universal certitudes, because I am human and I do not have the necessary condition to do it. But here, we feel this thing since we know ourselves. I like to think that the wind from this planet is the catalyst for our life’s structure.

The absolute darkness came on the stage. The subject awoke and a burning candle was blinking on the single nightstand from his room. He had his eyes fixed on that flame which seemed to be a feeble creature that saw more dimensions than people can imagine. He started to feel as if he had been travelling with that flame. He thought that he heard a voice saying:

- I wish I could help you, but you are here, lying in the hospital bed. This is not the Babylonian priestess’ room.

The door opens and the nurse rushes to enter the room. She is now pregnant. The patient is scared and screams because of her belly which makes him think that it’s a growth.

- So Satan did not smile at you yet. Are you still alive?! You have to know that we don’t waste drug doses for the sake of the mutants. You are a mutant! You must get out of this hospital.

- Do you want to book a place for your future offspring? You did not even ask me if I could walk.

- Take him out! Now!

About eight men enter the room in the same breath. They wore black suits and they had head-mounted antennas for signal reception. They took the patient and put him on a stretcher. Then they started to run.

- Take him to the morgue! , shouted the nurse.

- I am not afraid! , he said. I know for sure that ancient people’s thoughts were not in vain. I know for sure that all of you have died a long time ago. And I know that we people don’t have too much importance.

Without cause in their quest, the people with antennas threw the subject down the stairs by mistake. The patient disappeared without a trace. I know this thing because he is I. We don’t have color, race, or aspect. We just fly.

[S.E. Lizard]

Stray days

I was thinking that if I had got out of bed, I would have been eaten by mice. Otherwise, if I had remained asleep, I would have been eaten by some dogs. I got up, of course, because mice are less dangerous than dogs. Anyway, if I had hung in the balance, I would have been devoured by pigs. At that moment, they were terribly starving.

I opened the door but the storm outside made me close it immediately. I went then to search my cosmonaut suit. It took me an hour to find it and then, another one to put it on. The storm, the flood and the sludge were just a change of scene and it was the time to gather apples for pigs’ lunch. A few moments after I fed the pigs and myself, I noticed some intruders. They were actually policemen. I asked them from the very first jump:

„What did I do wrong? ”

„Nothing, ” said one of them „but you must help us identify a dead body. We’ve just discovered a murder in your village. ”

„But I do not know the people from this village, except a few ones. It would beat all creation if the dead man was a friend of mine. ”

„But you would not lose anything if you take a look. ”

„My inner silence was just annihilated. I think this is a huge price that I pay. ”

„We are aware of this. Look, I am sorry, but the dead body got a wretched condition. The village mayor called us this morning. He told us that there are rumors in the village about someone who has died in his own house, because there is no living sign since long ago, even if the clues show that someone lives there. There are birds and cats in the yard. A woman entered the yard to feed the cats and then she said that felt some kind of a cadaver odor. ”

„And why do you think that there was a crime? ”

„You will see. ”

„Fine. ”

The dogs did not bark at strangers, a fact that surprised me. They looked very suspicious. I locked the gates and I went on a short expedition through the mud with the police officers. One of the policemen asked me:

„Why do you wear this outfit? “

„It is an astronaut suit. I made it. I have never travelled to outer space but it is very useful when I am working in the gutter. Now that you are taking me to a place where the corpse flavor dominates the atmosphere, it is easy to understand that the helmet is very helpful. But even so, I think a gas mask will fit my circumstances. ”

The dead man’s house was not far away from mine. I went on foot for about ten minutes. We stepped inside the yard and we were welcomed by hens with blank eyes. I saw just a cat, sprawling on the stoop, being annoyed by the sound of the rain. I felt the smell of putrefaction in spite of the fact I was wearing an astronaut helmet.

We entered the house and got in the small murder room. That man died holding a newspaper in his hands. He was throttled and the police officers said that the crime occurred about three weeks ago. So the dead man’s neck got so long that reached a size of one and a half meter, or even more. He had violet ears. The TV was still on, and his head sunk in the articles from the newspaper, being grossly swung. The dead body was partially naked and its facial features were easy to distinguish but I did not recognize anyone there. I said to the cops:

„Probably someone knocked over his house because this room is very messy, but I do not know this guy. Is there anything else that I can do for you? ”

„No. But if you find out something new or hints regarding this case, please inform the village mayor. ”

„Of course I will! ”

So these bullocks, I mean these jar heads, I mean the cops got me out of my house and then they just sent me home. I assumed that I was living in a crime village. Once I got home, I knew that my dogs will protect me. But then the great war started, it was me against the huge world of nightmares.