Novel & Cerita Comfortably Numb The Departed

Her touch was an anchor, the only thing tethering me to reality when all I wanted was to drift away into numbness. I turned away from the grave, unable to watch as they lowered his coffin completely, the ropes creaking as they played out inch by terrible inch. The priest's voice faded into the background, swallowed by the murmurs of sobbing and sniffing around me. I could hear Piper somewhere behind us, her quiet weeping punctuated by Hannah's mother trying to console her. My own mother's stifled sobs. The sound of dozens of people trying to hold themselves together and failing.

I opened the messaging app and typed: [Don’t bother coming. I’m already home.] I hit send. The screen went dark. The house fell completely silent. I leaned back on my couch and closed my eyes. The small, stubborn hope I held onto finally faded.

"How were things handled for Kay? Where's she laid to rest? Winston asked, choking back tears. "Ms. Greenfield's matters have all been sorted," the nurse said, casting a glance at him. "But I have no idea where she's been laid to rest. She specifically said she didn't want anyone bothering her." "What about her last words?" Winston asked, not ready to give up. "Did she leave any message for me?" "No," the nurse said, shaking her head. She hesitated before finally passing him a phone. "This is all she left behind. She asked me to burn it, but I just couldn't bring myself to wipe every trace of her from this world. That just seemed too sad…"

Like I was already floating away. Maybe this was it. Death. [System Online]

Then exhaled. Again. Again. Again. The trembling in my fingers lessened. The dizziness faded little by little. My heartbeat no longer sounded like thunder. It still hurt. Everything hurt. But I wasn't suffocating anymore. I leaned my head back against the damp wall. The tears had stopped without me noticing. Only numbness remained. Complete... Utter... Numbness. The silence around me felt strangely comforting. Nobody expected anything from me here. Nobody wanted explanations. Nobody looked at me with disgust.

All of it was over. I drifted toward the sunlight, toward the distance. The warmth fell across me, gentle and steady, without a trace of cold. I felt my body growing transparent, fading into the light, little by little. There was no pain. There was no sadness, only a boundless, quiet peace. I knew I was disappearing, disappearing from a world that had given me nothing but suffering, dissolving into the endless sweep of time. After this, there would be no more Tommy Lawson. No more the boy who had been broken by a behavioral correction camp, failed by his parents' blind conviction, and dragged down by his sister's inability to act.

It was like they had all walked into a tsunami, and their painful shrieks filled the whole atmosphere. After what seems like forever, everything becomes calm, friendly, silent, and still. I blink several times, my eyes examining the damage I have done. I was breathing heavily, blood was covering my body, and my brain was trying to process what had just happened. Some minutes ago, there were thousands of creatures here in front of us. But now, everything has returned to normal. All around me, the dead body of the wendigo, Nazgul, and the burning bones of the skeleton fill the ground.

Abhi went out of the room. They both came near the temple where Simmi was standing near Naman's picture. Two years back Naman died of cardiac arrest." Mom, why are you sad? I want to see your smiling face before going to give the exam." Manav grumbled like a child. "Yes bua this is something on which I agree with Manav. We want to see your smiling face before going, it makes our day." Abhi kept his head on her shoulder. Appreciating all this Simmi smiled and put a tilak (it is an auspicious red dot placed in the middle of the forehead as blessings) and both of them touched her feet to take blessings, then they went bidding her goodbye. Their exams went well.

Jonah replied flatly, "It's fine. We can always do another one after she's discharged." Liam cheered, "Awesome! I want to stand right in the middle!" Their voices gradually faded, and soon, the room fell silent. I touched my chest and found only peace there.

“That’s enough. We don’t need to go check on him. He’s getting more unreasonable as time passes. Doesn’t he know his family would worry? “If he wants to throw a fit, let him. This time, I have to teach him a lesson.” I stood nearby listening to their conversations, yet I felt numb. I did not feel any grievance or anger. Not even sadness. It was as if those emotions had died along with my physical body. I simply watched them quietly. I even felt a little eager to see what their expressions would look like when they finally learned I was dead. They decided to record a video to clear Cameron’s name because I had refused.