The Man at the End of the Road

By Mariyam Qurayshi

The clock strikes 02.47 in the morning,

All these dreams sound like a warning.

I walk alone down the lane,

Where everything looks mundane.

Shops are shut, doors are closed,

A creeping fear-am I lost?

At the road’s end, a shadow stays,

A man who shimmers yet decays.

I move toward him, yet he fades

A mirage I chased in endless maze.

Then a whisper which was soft but near,

Calling my name the voice filling my ear.

I turn and search, but none appear,

Except the man, his voice unclear.

His lips don’t move, yet still he speaks,

His hands are twisted, frail and weak.

His smile is wide like a jagged seam,

He murmurs low: “You are what I seek”

A shiver slithers down my spine,

Sweat beads form and drip

Then a thought arises: this fate, is it mine?

Scared I blurt

“Where am I? Who are you? Do you feel pain?”

He only grins, then speaks again

“Slow down child, there’s time to catch up”

And then he continues,

“I was your age once, kind and free.

You did not stumble, nor did you fall into this place. 

You were invited that is all.”

And then I see, in dreadful view my reflection in the 

puddle below my shoe.

The wounds I hid, now torn and true.

Mangled legs and broken nails,

Hair in ruins, ears impaled.

I gasp, I fall to the ground,

The man just laughs, a hollow sound.

“You think this dream is not your fate?

I thought that too… it’s far too late.”

“Sixty years I’ve been right here,

Watching people’s hope dissolve in fear.

Your hope looks nice but don’t be fooled,

It fades in time, a fleeting jewel.”

I push, I crawl, yet pain erupts,

Each motion burns, each move corrupts.

My voice is trapped, yet still I scream,

“Why do you do this?? How can you? When this is just a dream?!”

“I needed a friend” he whispers deep,

“And you were the only soul lost in sleep.”

I fight, I bleed, I force my way,

Pain be damned, I won’t obey.

My knees are raw, yet still I rise,

His widened stare betrays surprise.

“How do you move? How do you stand?”

I meet his gaze, then raise my hand.

“Have you never tried?” the words slip free,

His silence breaks

And then I finally see,

His legs are whole, yet still he stays,

Trapped inside his mind’s own maze.

The chairs around him so many came,

But only he forgot his name.

I turn ahead, I will not stay,

The end is near, just steps away.

A door appears I push it wide,

Bones snap back, though pain collides.

I scream,I break,I burn,I mend,

This agony is not the end.

I take a breath, my body whole

But then he speaks a final say.

“You can leave, but don’t forget,

I will call, and you’ll regret.

Enjoy your peace, but know too well,

You are like me… I’ll bring you hell.”

But I just smirk and shake my head,

“You’re wrong” I say

 “I feel instead. You ran, you hid, you closed your mind,But I will feel, I won’t go blind.”

The world dissolves, a sudden start,

I wake up fast, a pounding heart.

Drenched in sweat, yet I can breathe,

A dream, a dream-it had to be.

But in the dark, where shadows play,

A figure lurks a silhouette grey.

I see him there, within my room,

The air is thick, the walls consume.

A shriek escapes,I gasp for light,

But he is gone now it’s just empty night.

“A trick” I whisper “A fleeting sight.”

Yet something lingers… deep inside.

By Mariyam Qurayshi