Shut Up & Listen

the check up, outro (finale)

A real life consciousness is a thing of the past. I read the message a few times over and thought this could be it. I'm losing it. I've lost my marbles— I'm out of my mind. Shit like this, this message I received, make me question all of reality. It's been a day and whoever it was isn't there anymore I'm sure, but I got up anyway. Jemaika and Dame were talking over me, looking in my eyes and questioning me. It's cool of him to come check on me and it was even cooler of Jemaika to call him on behalf of me. But I'm not me. They could tell.

I walked past the two of them into the bathroom in the hallway. I showered. Within half an hour I was following the GPS to the address. I'd been driving for a while and nothing looked familiar, but I kept going.

I arrived at a small diner out in Taylor, Michigan. It was quaint and obscure. A hole in a wall for sure. Nothing was recognizable except for the yellow bug that was parked a few cars over. My heart began to beat from nervousness as I opened the door to the diner. I looked around only to be greeted by Jill at the counter.

"Wow, Colin? What a surprise?" She gushed.

A surprise, my ass is what I was thinking. "Oh, wow. What are you doing here?" I asked sarcastically assuming it was her who had messaged me.

She shrugged "I like to pick up a few shifts here and there to help out my friend. I would've never thought I'd see you here." She said, rendering any chalance. She was too calm, almost strange. She offered me a seat at the bar across from where she was standing.

I looked around. The place was just about empty. The air was stained with a thick coat of Coffee aroma and the seats were a bright red glittery shellac upholstery. She poured me a mug and looked into my eyes the instant I'd turned back. "Can I get you anything?" She cooed.

I shook my head no, but she gave me the menu anyway. It was nothing like I'd ever seen. "What is this place?"

"It's a diner babes. Read the room." She smiled, but something was off— it was in her eyes. Or maybe it was something about the lock of hair that stuck out at the top of her bun? It could've been the small spot on her nail where the paint was chipped or the way her t-shirt hung off of her shoulder. She would never wear that type of t-shirt, and her buns are always sleek, pristine. It's her staple.

She looked at me but it wasn't at me it was past me or through me. I turned around but there was no one there. I opened my eyes and I was back laying in the bed at Jemaika's house with J and Dame still standing over me discussing the new baby. I tried to move, but it was like I wasn't even there. I couldn't move my arms or feet. I could see though my eyes weren't open?

It felt like I was in a trance. I looked over on the other side of the room and saw my pops sitting in his chair. He laughed at me, shaking his head. "Remember what I told you about Dreams?"

I just watched him. "When you were about eighteen or so, you came into the living room where I was watching my stories. You remember? You were telling me about a dream you had. It was the first time you ever woke up and was able to remember a dream vividly. You were so excited and scared shitless at the same time. Your heart was still racing and your eyes were wild." He laughed. He didn't move at all. Only his eyes and his mouth when he talked. He looked like a doll. Or more like taxidermy. 

"You told me about the dream. You were chasing people. Chasing your friends. Well, I guess you described it more as following them. You were trying to catch up, and they were too fast. They'd gone so fast down the hallway and around the corner, that when you got to the stairs you couldn't see them anymore. But you kept going. You kept running. You turned that corner and you began the journey down the long flight of stairs. You remember?"

I nodded my head, imagining myself and him in the living room on that morning. The sun was peeking through the way that it is now, brightening the bedroom. I smiled at the memory.