A walk at night

There was a man walking in downtown that night. He was a normal man, just like any other bloke around at the time. He was wearing huge, brand-new headphones, and a song after another blasted through them as he walked. Now it was time for some dance music. The song title was: ”Under The Influence.”

Right after the track started, some drunk folk exited a bar that had closed its doors. The man with the headphones walked calmly towards them, expressionless. One guy from the crowd noticed the man and shouted a long list of four-letter words, so that everyone would surely hear his voice...but the man didn't. The music played so loudly that he wasn't able to hear a thing, and even if he had caught some of the yells, he probably wouldn't have cared.

The song changed again. Now the sounds were more psychedelic, ”trippy” in a way. The man walked on, and a blurry, swaying figure appeared out of the darkness, and was approaching quickly. The closer the figure wobbled, the clearer the man could see it. It was a hooded youth, his jeans very loose and shoes like the ones you can spot from the feet of skateboarders. The hood made his face invisible, but the bluish haze that rose from a point of light gave away what he had in his mouth. The smell was sweet and thick, ”that's surely marihuana” thought the man with the headphones. ”Or indo or whatever they call it nowadays...” The boy passed the man, not showing any signs of recognisement, mentally completely in another world.

The song ended. This time, nothing followed, the whole playlist had reached its end. A depressing silence fell and the man slowed down his walking pace. Somehow, the whole atmosphere changed from calm and steady to notable anxiety. The man, on his guard, walked very slowly now. Then, out of the blue, a striking BANG broke the silence. The sudden sound seemed to explode the whole world for an instant, and then died just as quickly as it had initiated.

The man? He existed no more.