In an alleyway riddled with trash laid a man barely conscious to this world. Beneath his back, seeping all around him was his life. He reached his bloody fingers up to trace the edges of a nonexistent face. "Serenity," he rasped. "Serenity," he rasped again.
The imaginary face became a full-blown body. The woman's hands reached for his hand. The illusion seemed to clasp around it in mid-air. She brought it to her lips, kissing it. He could not see her eyes. "Do you think you can make it to me. I need to know what happened. Don't make me wait, Papa." The illusion spoke as she started shaking out of existence.
He nearly lost consciousness. "Yeah, Serenity, Daddy's coming. I will be over tonight as I promised." After speaking he exhaled, releasing a long, painful grunt. Sharp stabbing pains erupted throughout his body. His already heavy joints felt weaker. The man struggled to sit up, forcing his weary body to respond. Every second felt like an eternity. He can do it, the man thought.
The bloody wound in his midsection continued to leak profusely. His breathing accelerated. Every breath consisted of sharp intakes and painful releases. Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.
The vision of his daughter appeared again. This time she was standing with her back to him. "You are going to die. You know that, right." The illusion faced forward as she talked.
He somehow positioned himself on all fours. His bloody hand reached out to the vision. "Stay," he rasped, while pushing himself off the ground, only to fall back down.
The vision walked away. The man forced himself to try again. This time he struggled to gain footing. The man stood wobbly, slightly rocking back and forth. Blood from his wound leaked down, staining his pants and the ground. It dripped as he leaned against a dirty gray brick wall.
Every wobbly step he took absorbed every ounce of energy he possessed. His legs buckled against the wall.
The man used one hand for his support, pressing it against the wall. Blood trailed behind him at two different places; one trail on the ground, the other on the wall. He kept thinking that he will not fall, he will not fail. The man made it to the end of the alleyway. His trembling frame buckled slowly toward the ground.
The vision of his daughter appeared once more to urge him on. "Come on, Papa. Come on, Dad." She laughed playfully. "You can do it." The vision covered the ground. He began reminiscing, memories flashing before his eyes.
A sad realization stung deeper than the constant, bodily aches and burning sensation. "You are not here." His vision became even hazier. "You aren't even here!" The man managed to scream as he slammed his hand against the wall. He pressed his head to the ground, his shoulders shaking as he wept.
He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Come home, Papa. Come home, Dad." His vision kept repeating itself.
Slowly but surely, with tears filling his vision, the man stood and took a step forward. With his overexerted body and exhausted mind, he nearly collapsed. To him, everything burned.
The vision of the girl ran away from him.
"Come back, wait, come back!" He yelled after her. He tripped as he tried to run. The man hit the ground and then pushed himself up. He did not want to be alone—anything but alone at this point. He tried to hurry as panic set in, causing him to forget about his condition. The man ran, gasping as he went, with spit sliding down his mouth.
He could see her now, relief flooded his veins. It slowed him down. Here he could rest. The man rested on a street sign. As soon as he stopped, the vision of Serenity ran. He darted into the street chasing after her. Cars beeped and braked as he crossed. He collapsed, dragging himself through a park toward an apartment complex, leaving trails of blood as he slid along the ground.
People rushed to the dying man's aid; some snapping pictures, others trying to get him to stay still. He ignored the hubbub surrounding him. He kept pressing forward as more people surrounded him. Some of them screamed at him to stop moving and remain calm.
People tried blocking him from crawling any farther. All he could see was their feet. His head moved side-to-side. "Get out of my way!" he screamed as he continued. "I need to make it to her!" He tried changing his route to press forward.
Finding no escape route, his hand fell on top of someone's boot. "Move! Move!" he screeched, lifting the top half of his body up. The people jumped back. Someone tried to force him to remain still.
The man wasn't having any of it. He found a way out from the group and continued. His vision became a dull blur. He wanted to give in. He needed to give in, but he was so close to her.
He crawled toward a set of stairs leading up to the second-floor apartments. Sirens rang in the background. Just as his hand fell on the first step, his daughter came from her apartment talking with someone. "I can't wait for you to meet my dad."
The man heard her voice and his head perked up. "Serenity, Serenity." His voice at this point was no more than a whisper. "Serenity."
The woman she was with stopped her from going down the steps. "Look, there is a man down there."
Serenity blinked, frowning. Finally, looking down the set of stairs, she recognized his face. The pain etched on it burned in her memory. Serenity dropped her purse and ran down the steps. "Daddy!" Tears were collecting in her eyes. "Daddy, what's wrong?"
He lifted himself up for the last time. Her father managed to roll away from the stairs.
Serenity finally left the stairs and sat beside her father. Her hands hesitantly reaching for him. She saw the damage and pulled back. Her eyes were wide with tears cascading down her face. She looked at the ground. The person with her earlier was on the phone, calling an ambulance.
"Serenity," the man rasped, "Daddy's sorry he won't make it to dinner."
He reached his hand up.
Shaking, Serenity managed to grab it and kiss it. "It's alright. It's alright."
She then placed his head in her lap. "Daddy, it's alright." After he heard her voice, his world went black.