An Author's Struggle - What Lies Ahead

Ch 20a - The End

Months passed, unbeknownst to Murphy who consigned himself to a routine of miserable stupor. He rose at noon and returned late at night, with his cash funds dwindling rapidly. 

As a new habit, he ignored the broken chip and blinked immediately to spite it, not deigning to read a single message it wrote. 

Emptying the fifth drink in the cheapest bar he could find, he reached out for his wallet to pay — and found it empty.

‘Ah. And so it ends.’

The barkeep had apparently noticed his plight, but there was nothing they could do to him other than refuse to serve more. No explanations were needed, either.

Whisked by two muscular men, he was carried and tossed out in a bush in the parking lot. Promptly disposing of the trash, the men shared a self-satisfied grin.

“Don’t come back if you can’t pay, you wretch. Ptooi.”

“Forget it, man. He’s just a blind old man.”

Once he ensured they left, Murphy coughed and stood up with some effort. His skull was throbbing, but his rib hurt even more.

‘Jackals! They were too rough this time.’

Holding on to his side, he hobbled away unsteadily down the street.

Humans were strangely adaptive creatures, and despite being drunk half the time, he learned to navigate home even while blind. 

It was no easy feat by any means, and relied mostly on asking kind bystanders for directions. However, unable to pay for taxis, he could only make do with his legs.

Luckily, the bar and the motel were cut from the same shitty cloth, and so they were both close to each other. This place shone like a dazzling jewel in the night, but in truth was no more than a slum area. 

If tent cities were allowed in Romania, this would have been prime real estate for the homeless rejects. Home to drug addicts, wasted gangs and drunks just like him, it was the best and the worst place to be if you were poor.

Hearing footsteps nearby, he stretched out his hand to block them.

“Excuse me, can you tell me which way the Borsh Motel is?”

“Sure,” a lithe hand guided his hand to the right, “About three hundred meters that way. Should run right into it.”

“Many thanks, kind lady.”

“Say… are you by any chance Morpheus?”

Shocked and unsure, Murphy drew a blank even as the girl continued, “I thought I recognized the voice. It’s you, isn’t it? I’m a huge fan of your novels!”

Caught between pride and shame, Murphy had no clue how to react. On one hand, he met a fan in real life. On the other, he was probably reeking of piss and had a horrid breath. How could he get over the embarrassment and admit it was him?

The lass was very perceptive, and caught on to it immediately. She tightened her grip on his arm. “Come on, I’ll guide you to it.”

Feeling awkward but unwilling to refuse the polite lass and make a fool of himself by dropping in some ditch, he accepted her help. 

They walked in odd silence for a few steps. When she saw Murphy fully intended to keep quiet for the rest of the trip, she couldn’t resist however, “I heard what happened. I’m sorry to see you gone. I have been reading your novels for three years.”

“Thanks,” he finally let out after a stammer, “And what brings you here?”

“Oh, I’m just getting my fix. Glad I ran into you, though.”

Her nonchalant attitude caught him by surprise, but he wasn’t one to pry. Soon after, they lapsed back into silence. 

“We’re here.”

“Thanks,” he replied with the same monotone voice, then figured it’d seem rude and added with a smile, “I am also glad I ran into you.”

Once she let go, he took out his key and fingered his way around the door for the socket. Too drunk to remember where it was supposed to be, he grunted in annoyance after fiddling for one minute too many.

“Here, let me help you with that.”

“Sweet Jesus!” he dropped the key, startled, “You’re still here!?”

She giggled, then he heard the door get unlocked and pushed open. A stench wafted from the inside, its putrid power so strong it nearly sobered him.

He couldn’t see the girl, but imagined she would recoil in disgust at any moment and leave. 

Contrary to his expectations, however, she strutted in in excitement “Are those the latest smart glasses? Oh no! What happened to them?”

“Some blind fool stepped on them,” he chortled and hesitantly followed her in. 

“Oh, the frame’s twisted, but the chipset should be intact. I think I can get it to work. At least the right side, anyway — I’m no miracle worker.”

“No shit. You can fix it?”

“Yeah, just need to re-attach this… and this… and, voila!” 

Just as he got excited and thought she was finished, she ruthlessly dampened his spirits, “Never mind. The display looks cracked. These are toast.”

“What about the camera? Does it work!?”

“Hm? What do you need augmented reality glasses for anyway? I thought you just wanted to sell ‘em. It’s what I would do — score me at least a month’s supply.”

“Just tell me if the camera works… please.”

“Yeah, it’s a bit more protected so looks like it’s going to be juuuust fine… Yup, here we go!”

He didn’t see what she did, but a few moments later he felt her cold fingers part the hair away from his face. She slipped the glasses on without deigning to warn him. 

« BT connection established. Rendering video… »

A few moments later, as he anxiously held his breath in anticipation… a stream of pixels re-arranged themselves on his retina. Blurry and unfocused at first, an image formed. A unicolored woman of cyan text, and then the background objects, choppy and without detail. 

There was no depth perception to speak of, but he didn’t care… because he could now see!

“I can see!” he shouted in reverie, looking left and right as if receiving the most divine gift.

“You are a miracle!” he embraced the woman, forgetting his insecurities and stench for a moment. When she tapped him somewhat awkwardly in response, he let go with a soft cough, “Sorry… and thank you. Thank you so much!”

“No biggie,” she slipped a few feet away, “Hey, uhh, can I use your bathroom? Gonna use that fix. My parents would kill me if they caught me at home with it.”

“Sure,” he agreed nonchalantly, then set out to clean the trash while she went in. Now that he had his sight restored, he couldn’t rest on his laurels. It was high time he got his life back in order!

‘No more excuses!’ he told himself repeatedly, each time a little more sober.