Chapter 1: Mysterious Pill
It had been another long day at my job working sales for the local computer software company. I was there when the doors opened at 9 am and kept watching the clock as the hands hovered tantalizingly close to 5 pm. My name is Matthew and I'm in my late twenties, with short brown hair, brown eyes, a lean build, and an insatiable curiosity.
It's true, I did enjoy my job and all the people who worked there, but sometimes I felt like I was stuck in the same routine day in and day out. It's like, I need something to happen to break out of my funk and boredom of the same monotony that I have been living lately. Life, just seemed to be boring and
dull as of late without any excitement to liven it up.
As I was walking out the door and saying my goodbyes to everyone I just felt like it would be another weekend where I dreaded going back on Monday
to the same job without any excitement or change. Again, I felt bad just like I was bitching about nothing but, I still, I wished there was something new that would make me feel a spark again.
So there I was, just walking along in the early evening, and I made a turn into my local park -- you know, for the nth time. A light breeze blew, carrying with it a scent of fresh-cut grass and the lilacs that surrounded the park's perimeter. I've spent countless hours in this place, whether I was on a jog, reading a book, or even stealing a kiss with someone special a long, long time ago.
It brought a small smile to my mouth but it soon faded away as I continued to walk home to my place which was close by. As I sauntered along taking in Irish setters frolicking, and basking in the amber-toned sunlight that filtered through the canopy, I noticed something incongruous with my bucolic surroundings. Glinting under the bench at the mouth of the small clearing that I found myself in lay a tiny vial.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I thought, 'Well, what the hell is that?' As I picked it up, I examined it closely, being careful not to spill any of its contents. The vial appeared to contain some sort of pills, and a blue lightning bolt was inscribed on its silver surface. I felt an odd tingle of excitement as soon as I rested my gaze upon the enigmatic trinket.
Despite my apprehension and logic screaming at me to just leave it behind, I decided to take it with me. I opened my jacket pocket, tucked it away, and continued along my path home. The appealing allure of the mysterious object caused me to forget all about my mundane day at work. Usually, I wouldn't have given this the time of day, but that sly tinge of curiosity kept poking my brain.
I shrugged it off, attributing it to my ever-persistent hunger for the extraordinary to happen. By the time I got home, I settled down and decided I'd look more closely at the vial. I pulled it out from my pocket and saw that it was smaller than what I had originally thought. Lying snugly within the small silver container were two tiny maroon pills with the inscription "Femme X" etched into the surface.
I pondered to myself, 'What the hell is Femme X?' The name alone was intriguing enough, and It sent a bolt of electric excitement coursing through my body when I turned it over in my hand, feeling its weight, like a small, potent key waiting to unlock a strange secret that had only inklings that swam in my imagination. The night was settling in; the sun had almost fully disappeared behind the horizon, and I found myself before the mirror, examining the mysterious pills more closely.
I kept thinking about the name "Femme X" and what it meant. I mean, was it a feminine product or maybe some kind of designer drug that was recently developed? It had me spinning in all kinds of directions, but I couldn't come up with anything definite. I decided to go online and try to find something, anything about Femme X, but I came up empty-handed. It was as if it didn't exist.
The curiosity was definitely gnawing at me, and I had to admit that the idea of something so mysterious made me feel alive. I examined the tiny pill capsule more thoroughly and inspected the symbols etched onto the surface and the strange numbers that were etched into them. I felt it was best to set them down for now and just try to go about the rest of my night.
After placing them on the side of my counter I went about making myself dinner and tried to watch my favorite TV show. I had a hard time focusing on any of it. The curiosity for what Femme X really was kept gnawing at me, and it felt like a small spark had been lit that I couldn't ignore. I pushed it aside and watched a few of my favorite shows, trying hard to forget about the tiny vial that now rested on my counter.
I watched a few shows based on recreational drug use and other subjects which seemed to spark my interest. It was like as if I was justifying using drugs, or in this case the pills, as if I was trying to convince myself that it was just another form of recreation. In my mind, I was trying to make sense of everything by telling myself that it was just something that everybody tried at least once in their lives.
I mean, who were we to live our lives so strictly by the book, just because we are told it's the right thing to do? The wheels in my mind were turning. My gaze darted towards the pills on the counter. They seemed to be calling out to me, with a riddle that I HAD to solve. It was if I wanted to free myself, to be a little bad or naughty and just allow myself to let go; to free fall into the unknown. Was this what adulthood had led me to?
I was at the point where I needed something more than a monotonous routine to titillate me, even if that meant taking a mysterious pill that seemingly appeared from nowhere. Finally, after the last episode ended, and the TV screen dimmed to black after I shut off the TV as I gazed into the darkness, contemplating the next move that felt like a pivotal one. I decided that I needed to just go for it, no matter what the consequences were.
I mean, what would I really lose? I could always just go back to my routine life, right? A chill ran down my spine as I pondered this moment, and I could feel a drug-fueled thrill coursing through my veins at the very thought. My hands slowly hesitated as I waited to grab one, just one of them, finally deciding to commit to that pivotal moment I had been contemplating.
The slick casing of the capsule was cool and reassuring in my grasp, and I brought it up to my lips, savoring the feeling as my lips parted. I mustered up one last semblance of resistance and, despite my racing heart I took the pill and placed it into my mouth. I swallowed it dry, the texture of the capsule giving me a strange comfort that I had never felt before.
It was a strange, bitter taste akin to instant coffee, but somehow it felt oddly calming. Finally I decided to rush over and grab myself a big cup of water and gulped it all down, washing away the aftertaste of Femme X completely. My mind started to reel, as I wondered what was going to happen next. I knew that going to bed would be utterly impossible considering how wired my brain was.
All I could do was sit there and wait as I contemplated what I had just done to myself. Had I really just ingested an unknown substance that I had found on the ground? Was there a bigger reason behind why I took this pill or was I just that desperate to break out of my mundane life? The uncertainty gnawed at me, but there was nothing I could do now except wait and see what was going to happen.
I had an odd sense of calmness washing through me and while I didn't know what the outcome would be, I realized that there was no sense in worrying about it. After about 30 minutes I realized that nothing was happening and it seemed like all my hopes and worries had been for naught as I got up. I placed the vial of Femme X into the drawer and got ready to retire for the night.
Perhaps I had overreacted to the situation, or maybe it was all just a figment of my imagination. I went about brushing my teeth and getting prepared for bed as I
mulled over the events of that evening. To be frank, I was happy that I didn't die or fall ill instantly after taking Femme X, the catastrophic outcomes I had envisaged. The bed beckoned, threatening to swallow me whole as I crawled beneath the sheets.
I closed my eyes, surrendering myself to the sweet oblivion of slumber. But the events of the day kept replaying in my mind like an annoying jingle that I just couldn't shake. Honestly, I was a bit upset that I had risked my health and well being for a mere fleeting moment of excitement. The frustration built up, as my eyes remained stubbornly open in the darkness, and I felt the familiar weight of exhaustion pressing down on my eyelids, but sleep eluded me.
I tossed and turned under the covers, willing myself to drift off and just make this whole Femme X episode a weird and distant memory. Eventually I was able to pass out around 2 am as I fell into a deep and unwavering slumber that was so uncharacteristic of me. A sleep so deep and powerful that I never even realized the strange and unfamiliar tingles that were running through my body.
The bizarre transformation that took place inside me as I slept, was more profound than something that I could ever have fathomed. A change that would I would find out when I woke up, was a something that would leave me as a completely different person. But was it was for better or for worse?