The White Room

“I wasn’t always like this” the man spoke sombrely poking his razor like fingernail into the burnt marshmallow, “I wasn’t always some ‘madman’ who everyone feared” His blood-red fingertips sinking into the melted sensational delight, satisfaction streaming over him, “That man before wasn’t me, A nobody, Someone, who no one knew, someone, who no one saw...” his tongue pressed against the scarred lips of a person who was once civilised “I always told her to stay out of that room, even her mother knew better” The grotesque finger curling into the worn hand, claw-like fingernails stabbing into the man’s palm, Blood. The viscosity causing a giggle from the man, “she always had the prettiest smile, until I took it from her...” The grin of a broken man formed, teeth like pieces of burnt bark. “If only she didn’t go into that room” Regret could almost be assumed if it wasn’t for that devil-like atrocity sprawled across his face.

“I was born into a normal family, Beatings. Everyday. Locked in that room. Everyday. Starved to the point of being identical to that of a skeleton, if it wasn’t for the bulging eyes, id have surely been mistaken for dead. The American Dream they said.” His ominous smile never left his face, his eyes looking more demented than usual, “My childhood sweetheart, her cherry lips, skin resembling snow, virgin, Perfection. It could’ve been seen that way, by her friends, By her family, Not by me, I saw someone I could mould, make into my very own plaything” A grin began to sprout as he spoke about his wife, proud of what he had accomplished, what he had done to the poor, poor woman. “Ah, now her” His entire perspective had changed, their grin turned into a serious frown, hatred. The strongest emotion which anyone could sense from this overwhelming aura being produced. “She never listened, never listened to ME!” The man looked as if he was about to break loose into a frenzy of rage “It was all her fault, everything was fine until she went in there! Never fucking listened, no surprise she got what she deserved.” He looked as if his thoughts were drowning him, tears flowing down his cheek, like rain dripping down from a tree. “I never intended for this to happen...” choking on his own tears as he crumbled into the ground, scraping his nails against the dark oak wood until blood began to drip, fingertips now comparable to stubs. “They’re together now, forever, I wish I could find salvation... wait, no I don’t” the man burst out laughing, like some kind of hyena “I’d never regret what I done, never for a trillion years, locking her in that room, just like I was when I was her age... only this time, she never came back out”

“Now, I’m guessing you want to hear about this ‘White Room’? You’re trying to figure it out aren’t you?” He spoke to himself daily, as if he was in some kind of televised show where his every action was documented, must be from him losing his mind. “Well, whatever you may be thinking it is, you’re wrong, it wasn’t a dungeon, it isn’t some kind of mental institution” he scoffed at the thought. “This is the part where I tell you, isn’t it?” He giggled “how about I tease you just a teensy bit more, how does that sound?” He truly was a madman, the pride of being insane, his joy of being compared to the worst demons imaginable, acting as if he was on some kind of reality show, this adamant personality of his always on display, for everyone to see, even when there was no one near him, his brain had certainly deteriorated over time, had it been through the beatings he experienced as a child or just his mental health sinking through the years, it was hard to tell.

“Sometimes I believe my family are still here, mornings around the table, nights around the fireplace, it was a good life, for as long as it lasted. But she just has to find the bodies didn’t she? She just had to ignore my warnings, didn’t she? she just had to! If only she hadn't gone into that room. If only. She wouldn't have ended up like them, decaying sacks of meat. It must've been the smell that gave it away or my constant repainting of the room, the pristine colour palette.” He always wondered why she was so curious about that room, it was just a locked room that smelled like rotten meat, fresh paint, and her father was always in there. I wonder. “I wonder how much they've missed me. Especially my wife, those long romantic nights, she must feel lost without them, ever since I made her dependent on me and only me. She must feel so lost. And that’s why I must be with her, I’m the only thing that completes her, the only thing that loved her, only me!”

“It wasn’t just my parents that had beaten me, my grandparents did, schoolmates, even the teachers had a turn, If I ever tried to fight back, it just resulted in me being chained up like some kind of wild dog, people even defecated on me, no wonder I’m the way I am... no wonder they got what they deserved...” He clearly had a reason for why he did what he did, even if it was incredibly evil. There was an intention, after all, he did get the results he was after, it was unknown whether there were more victims, His family were the only ones found, the only ones linked to him...

“Now I stand here, with my family all around me, just like when we ‘celebrated’ my birthday, in this dastardly White Room” The chair he stood on wobbled as the man wrapped the noose around his neck, tightening it as he let out a sigh of relief, the Rotten corpses of his family sat in chairs, decorated with hats and sparklers in this White Room haunted by the souls of the past, “48 I am today, not like it matters” He shook his head, “Anyway, honey, guess I’ll be seeing you again” His wicked grin grew as he knocked the chair with his foot, the sound of it rocking filling the room until a bang took over, his body struggling through instinct. Until silence, his asphyxiated body dangled like a lightbulb, flickering as the world was freed of a malicious being. A being born without love. A being that hung not knowing love. In the White Room.