Everyone Is Laughing

The sound of my own laughter echoed through my skull, a cruel, taunting reminder of the man I once was. I would awaken to the sound of these jeers, ringing out like a cacophony of mockingbirds from the recesses of my mind. As the days wore on, the voices grew louder, more insistent, gnawing at the fringes of my sanity. “No one takes you seriously,” one voice would sneer, its tone dripping with disdain. “You’re just a washed-up entertainer, chasing a spotlight you’re not worthy of.” I’d retreat further into myself, seeking solace in the sterile safety of the digital realms. Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to the endless possibilities provided by my Oculus Quest 2. With every virtual step I took, I desperately hoped to leave the twisted laughter of my own thoughts behind. Yet even in these fantastical new worlds, the voices refused to be silenced. It was a constant battle between who I once was and who I had become. Every morning, I’d look in the mirror, my graying hair a stark reminder of the time I’d wasted wallowing in my despair. My eyes, once filled with the unbridled passion of a dreamer, were now dull and lifeless, a testament to the chokehold my depression had over me. I felt like a ghost, haunted by the specter of my former self – that fearless entertainer, that man who could command the attention of an entire room and leave them begging for more. Now, all I had left were the digital remnants of my past, my social media posts a series of drunken rants, and glimpses of a time when I felt invincible. With every post, every nostalgic image, the voices in my head seemed to grow stronger, feeding off my misery like insatiable parasites. My alcohol dependency became a crutch, a means to numb the ceaseless mockery that plagued me. I’d guzzle down beer after beer, each icy swallow a brief reprieve from the relentless torment. But as the alcohol wore off and the world came back into focus, I’d find myself back at square one, trapped in the prison of my own mind. There was no escape from my depression. No matter where I turned, the laughter pursued me, a relentless reminder of my perceived inadequacy. The abyss of self-doubt threatened to swallow me whole, the inky black void a chilling contrast to the vibrant digital worlds I sought refuge in. As I wallowed in my misery, teetering on the precipice of despair, the cruel voices in my head only grew louder. Their laughter seemed to reverberate off the walls of my soul, a suffocating soundtrack to my slow descent into darkness. And all the while, the man I once was, the man I longed to be again, seemed to slip further and further away, lost to the unforgiving tide of time and the relentless grip of my own demons.