The bus to nowhere

by Skovko

When Misha gets delivered the news that Elias has died in war, she falls into a deep depression. It takes her outside, wandering aimlessly around, until a bus picks her up. It turns out there was a mistake made. Elias is alive. When he later turns up and makes his way home to his wife, she's gone.

3. He was nothing

Elias had no idea how much time had passed since he got the horrible news. A few days probably. It felt like he had been in a daze ever since. He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep, he couldn't function. All he did was breathe for another second and survive for another moment.

"She's vanished, Elias."

Those words kept repeating in his head. He couldn't recall anything after Seth left the house. All he knew was that Misha was missing and no one knew where she was. Everyone thought she had committed suicide after getting the false news that he was dead.

Seth kept trying to call and text but Elias had no words to give back. Everything inside him had shattered to pieces. He didn't want to live in a world that Misha wasn't part of. She was his everything. If she was gone, he wanted to be gone too. He wanted to be with her forever. He picked up his phone and listened to the latest voicemail from Seth that had arrived a few minutes earlier.

"Elias, pick up your damn phone! Why won't you answer me? I'm worried about you. We're all worried about you. Fuck it! I'm coming over and I don't care if I have to drag you out of the house myself. You're coming home with me, and you're gonna stay with me and Becky for a while until you get back on your feet. I'm not leaving you behind, brother. I got you. I love you. Stay there. I'll be there soon."

He looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the person staring back. Was that really supposed to be him? His long, black hair was a tangled mess from not having showered for days or gone near a hairbrush. His dark brown eyes were like glass eyes on a doll staring at nothing. He was nothing.

He couldn't stay within these walls any longer. This home used to bring joy and happiness. Now it was an empty shell. A cage slowly closing in on him and making him struggle to breathe. There was no more joy left. Only hopelessness and despair.

He walked over to the front door and looked outside. It was early morning and it was cold outside. He wondered what she had thought when she left the home bare-footed. He couldn't do that. If he was about to walk and keep walking until he found her, he needed his feet to be part of that plan. He put on his boots and stepped outside. He left the front door open in case she returned and wanted to get inside.