Darkness Is Spreading

The days blended together like a watercolor painting, each moment bleeding into the next without distinction. My life, consumed by turmoil and uncertainty, had become an endless cycle of drinking. Working in an empty warehouse day in and day out, I felt the weight of the world bearing down on me. What was worse, my employer also happened to be my landlord. It felt like a cruel joke, taking money from one pocket just to put it in another. Every evening, as the last remnants of daylight faded away, I would close the warehouse gate, the loud clanging echoing through the empty streets. I’d take the long walk through Queens, the city’s cacophony of sounds swirling around me – car horns, laughter, sirens – all the while feeling as if I was trapped in a bubble of isolation. My footsteps would lead me, without fail, to the same store. The neon sign flickering above the entrance seemed to mock me, the bright colors a sharp contrast to the darkness consuming my life. The store clerk’s eyes would follow me as I grabbed a six-pack of Coors Light from the refrigerator. I wondered if he pitied me, or if he simply viewed me as another lost soul. Regardless, the transaction was always the same – a few crumpled bills exchanged for the cold aluminum cans that would numb the pain, if only for a few hours. Returning to my apartment, I’d find solace in the dim glow of the candles I had lit. Their flickering light would cast eerie shadows on the walls, a reminder of the darkness I was desperately trying to escape. I would sit on the mattress that lay directly on the floor, the springs creaking beneath me, and crack open the first can of Coors Light. The frothy liquid would slide down my throat, each sip bringing me closer to oblivion. As the hours passed, the aluminum cans would accumulate around me, the cold condensation leaving wet circles on the worn carpet. The bitter taste of the cheap beer would blend with the acrid smoke from the cigarettes I chain-smoked, a toxic cocktail that would soon fill the room. I’d inhale deeply, the thick smell of cigarette smoke clinging to the fibers of the carpet, my clothes, and my very soul. It was a constant reminder of the vice that held me captive. Night after night, I’d drink myself to sleep, seeking solace in the empty embrace of alcohol-induced unconsciousness. The darkness enveloped me, a shroud of despair that seemed to grow heavier with each passing day. The cold touch of the aluminum cans, the sharp sting of the cigarette, and the unrelenting ache of loneliness would consume me, a constant reminder of the prison I had built for myself. And in the depths of my despair, I would pray – pray for the strength to break free, to escape the darkness that threatened to swallow me whole.