In his mind…

“I tell you, he’s going to crack up”

“No, he won’t. I don’t think so”

“Yes, he will. It won’t be long now”

“He will not, he is tough, you know that”

“And that toughness is what’s going to betray him”

Roy looked around him. He’s sure he heard voices talking, but there’s nobody around. His kids have all left for school, he’s all alone in his house now.

Dismissing the voices he heard as some passersby who might be talking too loud, Roy looked at the clock. Seeing that it’s almost 8 o’clock, he hurriedly took a bath, get dressed and went off to work. Just another day of being late at work.

“Look at him, he seems to have no cares at all”

“He doesn’t, and you know that”

“I hope so… I hope so”

Roy went in his daily routine in the office. Doing some paperworks, checking some documents, reading and responding to emails, and other stuff that he seems to perform in a “mechanical” sort of way.

After work, he went straight home. It was almost 7 p.m. when he reached their house, where his three kids are already waiting.

Fortunately for Roy, his son can already cook, that is why dinner was already prepared. After changing clothes, he called on the kids so they can take their dinner.

“A picture of a happy family!”

“Yes, they are. That’s why I can’t understand where you’re getting your idea about Roy”

“Like I said, a picture of a happy family… only, there’s something lacking in the picture… someone, rather”

Roy looks at his kids, they were all conversing. Happily talking about the day that just passed. They all seem to be happy.

Roy wonders… it seems his kids don’t even hear a whisper…. only he is hearing the voices…

After dinner, the kids took care of the dishes. Roy checked on his email for a while, and then went to bed.

The kids also went to bed early. Such is their routine.

It’s more than two years since Roy’s wife passed away. He was left with their three kids – Ralph, Edgar, and Angel. He is thankful though that his wife raised them well. Young as they are, the kids are already responsible, they took the death of their mother quite bravely… they were able to move on.

Roy also went on with his life. Attending to the needs of the kids, trying to do his best to continue where his wife left off in guiding their children. He wasn’t really much of a good role model, but he’s trying.

His friends sometimes can’t help but admire Roy for his strong faith, like he can handle any storm that comes in his life… and there were many of them. The passing of his wife seemed to be the biggest blow of all.

Roy wasn’t used to being alone… much more, being in charge. Nobody knew it, but it was his wife who would always push Roy to give his best… she alone knows how to encourage him… she alone understands him.

But now, Roy has to continue… he has three kids to take care of. He can’t wait for anybody to push him, he needs to push himself… he is all alone.

Sometimes, he would take the kids out… either to eat, see a movie, or just spend time in the mall. He wants his kids to be close to each other when they grow up. So that when he’s gone, they would look after one another.

His daily routine would be like that… work… home… work. He never really had a social life. He never wanted any.

“It’s a good thing I did not take you on your bet, otherwise, you could have loss”

“Who says I’ve loss? I still want to take that bet if you’re up to it”

“You mean, you still believe that…”

“Of course, I do!”

Days went by with Roy’s daily routine. Nothing changes… day in, day out.

No one would suspect because he would always wear a happy face, with nary a hint of any trouble inside.

Everything was fine.

One evening, the kids were all waiting for their father… it’s almost 10 p.m. but he is not yet home. The kids were worried.

Night passed and the morning came, but there wasn’t a shadow of Roy in the house. There were no calls even. The kids were very much worried.

Ralph called on their grandmother, Roy’s mother, to tell her about their father. She immediately went to the kids, while Roy’s sister and nieces went around town looking for him.

They went to his office and asked, but all they can say was he just took off fine the other day. They went to hospitals and precincts to ask, but neither have any record nor heard about Roy.

No clues. Where could he be?

Days… weeks… months has passed, and there were neither signs nor news about Roy. His mother took care of the kids, making sure that they could go with their lives normally.

Still, they were looking for their father…

It’s been almost a year, while the kids have accepted the fact that they may never see their father, they still miss him and hope that someday they will find him again.

Meanwhile, in some corner in the street at the downtown, there’s a man who sits on the side of the street. He has a hair so long that it almost covers his face, and from the looks of it, it seems the man haven’t taken a bath for quite a long time. His face was beyond recognition, he was almost covered with charcoal… or was it grease?

He wore a white t-shirt that has many holes, or it more seem like, a hole with a t-shirt on it. His pants, ragged and all, can’t be assured if it was really black or it was all dirt.

Passersby would always move away when they approach his location, because aside from his scary looks, they can smell him stink even from miles away.

“See! I told you he would snap! It took longer than I expected, but eventually he did”

“Yeah, I really thought he won’t. I really wish he did not”

Just then, the ragged man stood up and approached the two individuals, “Who are you people? Why are you always following me?!” he asked in a rather harsh voice.

“What?! You mean you can see us?!”

“Why are you surprised? Of course, he can see us! He’s on our plane now. He can see us now… and so his other persona”

Just then, the three men were suddenly surrounded by ten people. No, more like twenty people… perhaps even more.

They come in different shapes and sizes – man, woman, kids, adult, old, fat, short, thin, tall, grumpy, happy, black, white, brown… but what’s funny, the ragged man noticed, all the people looked the same.

They all seem to have the same face… they all look like… Roy

Tags: alone, inside his mind, loneliness, lunacy, solitude, spell, Strange, weary