The Death of a Lunatic
The Death of a Lunatic
By Rick Barooah
The last paint strokes were laid on paper by Rit’s brush before climbing the corporate building. Perplexed, he admired the sunlight, mumbling inaudible cries as he ascended, watching the sunny sky transform into an overcast reflection of his internal resentment.
When the clouds spoke with a touch of compassion, Rit, seized by an uncontrollable urge, leaped from the fifth floor trying to reach them. Time expanded to engulf him; its absurd fabric stretched out five seconds into infinity. The townspeople, caught in the sheer banalness of their lives, witnessed time stagnating to produce incomprehensible, indescribable shapes that one forgot like fever dreams upon waking.
The clouds made shapes that seemed too intentional to be nature’s randomness, reminiscent of Rit’s stone-high paintings. His blood ran against gravity and he realised he wasn’t falling anymore. Time had swiftly changed its path to pull Rit towards the clouds — his skin sensed every air particle. As he ascended, cold shivers ran down his body as a blanket of drizzled rainwater cradled him.
Meanwhile, the observers — transformed into an audience — saw immense light piercing their skulls through their eyes. The clouds descended and dissolved themselves into Rit. He floated amidst tar-black butterfly-ish creatures spiraling around him. He spoke no words but an arrow of past time struck him bringing flashbacks of a place now too far to return.
When infinity revealed its end, Rit stayed stranded in the air and the earth moved closer with acceleration that defied comprehension. The soil painted itself with blood and flesh.
Time returned to its path and the crowd forgot without a wine-sip. ‘Another human life,’ thought the ones conscious enough or close enough to see the red turning into pink as the concrete absorbed it.
Author’s Note:
Lunatic originated from the Latin word "lunaticus" meaning moonstruck. There were ancient beliefs about mental illness that the moon phases could cause insanity. The moon (Luna-) is an unreachable object. At the beginning of the story, Rit jumps off the fifth floor trying to reach the clouds. And the dream-like picture of the piece, at least partly, justifies moonstruck.
