Hysteria's Revisit

Alright valued readers, as promised here's a little revisit on Hysteria's Call.

Again, I'm really really grateful for the comments and feedback received for the narrative so thank you (I'm really grateful thus explaining the repetitive thank yous)

For this post however, I'll be talk about the various themes and aspects in which I considered to be included in Hysteria's Call. I admit that given a little bit more time (as well as resources for that matter) I would have been able to further refine the narrative both in terms of story content as well as theme specification.

If you're feeling a little lost ("What the hell is Hysteria's Call anyway?") be sure to revisit the links on the navigation bar to your right for all installments of Hysteria's Call, 1 to 3.

And with that, lets get things started.

General Commentary

With Hysteria's Call, I thought it would be really interesting to incorporate a mixture of the elements such as nature (represented as the torrential rain) as well as industry and society (the setting of the office building, the man having a high business position etc).

That obviously created a stark contrast for the story plot's development as well as room for the development of certain themes which I'll touch on later on.

I also thought that it would be a good idea to point out the vulnerabilities of even the highest of figures in society (ie. the man) that even they, being human beings, have their breaking point as well as their weaknesses as well. Certainly, no one in the world is absolutely perfect.

The reason why I chose to segment the entire narrative into 3 parts is simply indicating a transition between different settings and scenes. Part 1 sees the man's journey to the cafe, part 2 sees the events unfolding in the cafe itself while part 3 climaxes and concludes the story.

Throughout these 3 parts, we are also able to see and foretell the man's slow degeneration in terms of his mental health, the process of how from having absolute power to even losing control of himself.

Indeed, the irony is evident; a man of great status and power, with control over others, not even able to control himself in the end.

Theme of Hysterics, lack of Self Restrain

Certainly the theme of self restrain, or the lost of self restrain, more rather, is the main underlying aspect of Hysteria's Call. It is the basis of the plot's development as well the main gist of the entire concept, thus giving meaning to the title in itself.

The lack of restrain and mental disorientation causes the man dear as the plot reveals bit by bit, the process of mental corrosion that ultimately leads to his demise.

Here, we are also able to observe the adverse but powerful effects of the human mind. So destructive that it can destroy everything with just a tinge of doubt or uneasiness. This theme clearly portrays what will happen when one loses control and grip over his mind.

And when it is unable to take it all, it self destructs.

We see a transformation. As mention, the man degenerates himself from one of power to a being of lesser status and all that solely with the effect of his mind.

Paranoia is the first tinge the man gets (as seen in part 1) and it eventually evolves into something greater when a heighten sense of stress is achieved (as seen in part 2) where it led to excessive behavior as well as actions (of which he'll soon regret). This evolves into something even greater (as seen in part 3) and as if backfiring, the entire effect falls on the reckoning of the man, of which he deals with harshly.

This is also another fine theme of what power can do to a human being. The excess of power, more rather, draws to the man and makes him vulnerable to a huge blow for he was always obtaining everything that he demanded, worked for or wanted at any all.

And when he doesn't get the due results, a chain reaction starts that leads to the development of the story's plot.

Theme of Love

Love is an energy that exists in no fixed orientation but is evident in all things living, especially in that of human beings.

Though the theme of love in Hysteria's Call is not as obvious as other narratives, there is still a slight interpretation for the simple fact that this energy exists throughout the process of life itself; certainly no exception here.

I've tried to visualize love of the most common and simplest (yet troubling in a sense, as some would comply) form; of that towards the relationship type of love. And thus, I've decided that a simple date between this high and mighty executive and his girlfriend (supposedly) would articulate the point substantially.

With this theme, the power of love is expressed in its own unique fashion especially since it sources from the hard and cold mind of the man. It also shows that he has a softer side and that he is just human.

It is also this power of love that serves as a catalyst for the man's insanity, thus substantiating the grip and attachment within the man himself. It can be considered as the tipping force that pivots the man's mental state of health, from being sane to the opposite.

It was also his addiction and obsession to love that contributed to his ultimate downfall in the end.

Theme of Signs

The existence and presence of signs are largely ignored in our modern society mainly because many people not only do not believe in them. Most regard them as skeptical religious material but with Hysteria's Call, I thought it would have been really good to bring out this aspect and to create awareness.

Signs are tell tale signals, which usually presents itself in the form of events. With Hysteria's Call, I thought it would be a really good idea to start off with a very subtle sign, namely the rain, and slowly progress to the encounter with the taxi driver.

The man's recollection of his day (while he was in the room of the cafe, seemingly waiting for his date), tells readers of the man's entire day's events, of which seem to be trying to tell him something.

Again, I've tried to be as subtle as I can to simulate conditions in reality; signs are often concealed amongst daily events and happenings that we take a natural or "coincidence".

I did that through the rain to not only create an atmosphere for the plot of the story but also to visualize a barrier in the said circumstances, a barrier preventing the man from meeting the fate that unfolded in the story.

The epitome of this theme comes through the encounter between the cab driver and the man, where, by some strange twist of fate, the cab gets stuck and is unable to bring the man to the cafe.

A major hint is dropped in that encounter, where the cabby tries to shout and warn the man but trails off (as seen in part 1). But the mention of signs is also seen in part 2 though sparsely which the man in the story treated with "a pinch of salt".

Conclusion and Parting Commentary

Overall, I'm personally satisfied with the development of Hysteria's Call, and I really hoped that you guys enjoyed it as much as I did. Sure there are alot of other themes to explore in this short narrative alone but due to length constrains, I guess this is enough food for thought for the time being.

I would (as expressed earlier) have wished for more time to develop the ending as well as certain segments of the story but the themes came out ideally in my view.

The reason why I chose not to disclose the man's identity (ie. his name) till the very end was down to a couple of reasons. One being that I wanted to keep the formality and i didn't really see the need to disclose his actual name and the other reason was that I valued the suspense till the end.

Feel free to share your comments about Hysteria's Call as well as its various themes via comments (located just right below this post, click on the (number) comments link).

I appreciate feedback from my readers so don't be shy!

Till then, remember to check back for updates and articles. Cause here at metallic-stains, we deliver (ripoff much?).

Cya'll later.

Hysteria's Call, Part 3

Okay, the much awaited part 3 of Hysteria's Call.

The grand finale of the entire story will be centred around this instalment thus explaning its lenghty content and elaboration but trust me, it'll leave you thinking for sure as it has left me.

Alright then, with that said, enjoy the narrative and provide me with valuable feedback as you deem fit!


“...The door to the room creaked to life and gave the man a good hard jolt back into reality.

“I was thinking if you’d like some wine to accompany you while you wa...”

Another silence ensured and all was still once again.

A huge clash followed and everything blurred out of focus for quite some time, seemingly.

...

The man regained his composure and looked around. The entire room was in an utter mess and cold wind was blowing in, through a crack made in one of the window panes.

What the hell happened here, the man questioned himself, largely taken aback at his surroundings where plates and cutlery lay all round the place, much less of their former elegance, in tattered pieces while chairs where uplifted and overturned.

So much to the extent that the man was even surprised that the table was still intact. He was even more surprised to find himself down on his knees, apparently in a braced position, ducking and avoiding the entire ruckus.

He had little memory of what happened a few moments back and everything to him materialised itself in a blur.

Someone must have tried to shoot me, or something, he concluded.

Cold wind blew at the man’s back, revealing the broken window pane and this prompted the man to stand up and gain a better understanding of his surroundings. He dusked away the glass chips that gathered both on his suit as well as on his straightened business styled pants. He didn’t pay much attention to his hair, however, though it was wildly displaced at this point of time, as if someone or something had tried to dismember part of his skull.

This was also when he realised that a splitting headache had formulated and was throbbing dully by his temples, in unison to the rhythm of the rain outside, which ensured a steady stream of ice cold air circulating the room.

Damn this headache and the damn rain, where the heck is she, the man furious now, with fists on the chaos ridden mess, amongst the remains of the table.

A gust of wind howled just as if on cue and the man shivered down to his gut, as a fresh new gust of wind froze the air in the room, as if sending out a message to the man.

Evidently, the other people in the restaurant had heard the noises coming from upstairs (the room was on the second level of the restaurant), and not long, footsteps echoed in the hallway and voices of urgency signalled the arrival of the restaurant crew.

The man was one part relieved that help was on the way, but also furious to get some answers out of the employees of the restaurant. However, something made him look down at his shoes for he felt contact.

He gasped at what he saw.

There it was, a steady stream of blood flowing from...

The man’s heart skipped twice over as he traced the origin of that stream of blood.

There at the doorway to the room lay another man, smartly clad in white overalls which waiters in the restaurant usually dawned. The only difference was that his top was dyed a violent blood red which dripped all over his overalls and fresh blood was flowing even as the man looked on.

What the... the man could only mouth those words silently as his eyes made his way to the source of blood and the wound.

It was a gruesome sight.

A metallic object, which the man vaguely made out as a fork, was pierced and speared into the face of the waiter and blood was oozing out from which the fork made contact. The waiter was motionlessly facing upwards save the fact that blood was still flowing steadily.

The man almost belched at what he’s seen but another thought replaced the picture before him and fear began to instil itself in the man’s mind.

Out of a sudden spur of adrenaline, the man lunged himself out of the nearest window and out into the cold rain that raged from above.

That feeling of intensity within him was so extreme that he let out a cry of ecstasy as he flew out of the room and landed on a patch of soft, wet grass, behind the cafe where he dined.

With his suit already wet and his hair obviously nowhere near his standard of perfection, the man deserted his usual thought of tidying up and helped himself up, oblivious to the shouts that crept through the sound of the rain, from the cafe.

Without even looking back, the man gathered himself and ran, as fast as he could, as if something was hot in pursuit right behind him.

The cafe faded from view and the rain intensified to an impossible state, as if attempting to mask the man’s presence from the very thing that hunted him down.

-

“Good lord, Sir! You’re utterly soaked” the man’s chief butler remarked before sending the servants of the man’s residence to fetch towels and whatever they can to make their master warm and out of the rain.

The man arrived at his residence panting deeply and feeling immensely cold, due to the savage rain. Upon reception with his waiters however, he totally disregarded them and stormed all the way to his room, clearly uninterested in the towels, hot chocolate or biscuits being offered to make him feel better after running through the rain.

Bloody servants, he muttered before ascending the incredible flight of stairs that led to the place where he felt safest.

His house was huge and it took him quite awhile before reaching the massive doors that barricaded his comfort zone from the rest of the world and with another great deal of effort the man pushed with what strength he has left and stepped into the room. The door had never been heavier.

The man stripped off his soaked clothes as soon as the massive doors closed upon him, and prepared himself for a hot, long shower in the bathroom.

He glanced into the mirror that framed the bathroom and thought to himself about what had just happened.

Something’s not right, the man concluded.

He soon pulled himself away from the mirror and proceeded to start the shower.

There was a rap on the door to his room as soon as he turned the tap on.

There it goes again. The man turned the tap back off and fumbled for some clothes, with a slight tint of fear and a strange rush of excitement at the same time; no one has ever knocked on his doors nor intruded his room, not even his servants, they would usually call him on the intercom.

Its here to kill me, the man’s eyes wide and his thoughts running wild in his mind. He then ran over to his bedside drawer where he kept a revolver, which was always loaded. The man believed that it “never hurts to be safe than sorry” and he thanked himself for that given the current situation.

The knocking continued and with each rap of the door, the man’s heartbeat grew increasingly faster.

Step by step, he crept up to the door, literally on tiptoes as the knocking grew louder and more desperate sounding.

Let just get this over and done with, the man now sweating with trembling hands over the revolver, ready to pull the trigger anytime.

The knocking stopped and again, the rain seemingly stopped for the second time tonight and all was a still picture.

The door swung open and gunshots echoed the huge residential area where the man resided.

-

The revolver fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The man himself slumped in a corner on the ground, a rare sight for a man of his character, personality and position in life.

He sat beside a pool of blood though it wasn’t his and stared down at what he’s done.

There on the stone hard marble encrusted floor lay the chief butler face down in his own pool of blood motionless. A tray of cookies lay beside him, sprawled out as well as a mug of hot chocolate, in pieces all over the place with drips of chocolate lining the floor along with a red liquid that oozed from his body.

What... have I done, the man buried his hands into his wet hair and tugged at it, enhancing the pain from the headache as well as the pain of ripping out his own hair.

“So it was me, myself, all along.”

The hair, the cafe, the waiter and now the chief butler, it all fell into place one by one like a jigsaw puzzle. There was no assassin, there was no attacker, there was nobody wanting to kill the man, but everything sprouted from within him.

“WHERE IS SHE?” with rage in his voice as well as insanity, the man screamed his lungs out.

She has been the cause of the man’s rise to insanity, she has been the source of it all, she has been the one who caused all this, she... the man, unable to control himself released a torrent of rage and pumped his fist on the floor.

Indeed, the man was driven to insanity and everything he had would be drawn to naught. In the morning, the media would have already gotten news of the killing at the cafe which would point to the man, which will in turn, spawn further controversy. The chambermaid would also discover the lifeless corpse of the chief butler when she does her routine in the morning, thus concluding the murderer.

The man’s life was over and even as he stood on the ledge to his balcony, he thought of the cause of it all, the women that he was supposed to meet earlier on, the one that stood him up and most importantly, the only one he truly loved...

The man’s cell phone buzzed from within his wet pair of pants which he stripped off earlier on. The ringing soon stopped but a text message was received.

“Sorry Richard, I can’t make it tonight for the dinner due to the heavy rain and it was because of that, I couldn’t get to you all night. Sorry! I’ll give you a call when I’m safely home, don’t worry about me, I’m fine. I miss you, love!”

Of course dear Richard wasn’t there to read the message. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere at all. She never got to hear from him ever again, and he was never to be seen ever again.

But scribbled right on his bed was a note which read, “I won’t wait for you anymore” in a red ink, possibly blood.

The man never lived nor died."

-END-

With that, this narrative comes to a close and as I've mentioned, I'm open to feedback and comments to this series.

I will also be doing a followup post on the various themes I considered for this narrative as well as some references and influences I've drawn for this narrative.

Till then, keep a look out for metallic-stains and check back soon for updates.

Cya'll later.

Hysteria's Call, Part 2

Alrighty, second instalment of "Hysteria's Call". Certainly full of underlying meanings and what not.

I'll run through the list of themes which I considered for this narrative once I'm done with the entire narrative.

This instalment starts off where the previous instalment left us. For those of you who are slightly lost "in the rain", be sure to clarify and check back to the previous part of the narrative.

In the meantime, here goes...


"

Moist carpets and frayed curtains fringed the interior of the small cafe which the man arranged for the meeting and if not for the torrential storm that was raging wildly, this cafe would be a place where people usually “watch the world go by”.

Even the waiters and cafe staff seem affected by the continuous outburst of the storm as they scurried around quickly, darting from table to table, serving the seemingly large number of customers, some of whom had no choice but to seek refuge in this “fancy establishment”.

The man didn’t seem to care about his surroundings nor the increasingly heavy downpour that was happening outside, even though he was drenched up to his kneels and his hair slightly displaced.

He was ushered by his regular waiter to his usual seat, into the room that was usually reserved for high profiled guests and diners; they had it well prepared. And as soon as the man sat down, no more than 3 waiters gilded into the room and awaited his barking orders.

Of course, he was a regular at this fancy cafe, but being the high profiled personnel he is in society and some say even in the world, he would expect no less than the treatment he was getting.

“...and our chef’s special for today is the...”

God damn it, where the hell is she, he glanced nervously at the door, as if expecting someone to suddenly open and join him in the midst of his wait.

“...would you like to have some caviar to accompany you wait you wait, sir?”

With a simple gesture and a flick of the wrist, everyone left the room, except of course, the man. That was all he had to do for some quiet time alone and some even say that he can make high ranking directors crawl on all fours with a snap of the fingers; rumours which are of course, largely denied by the man himself.

Certainly, this was not ordinary appointment as the man pushed back his cuffs to reveal an exquisite time piece, which ranged in the hundred thousand region of value, neatly rested upon his right wrist.

However, no time piece no matter how exquisite would make its owner happy so as long as it showed the actual time and served its function; people tend to be deceptive and selective of their perceptions.

And certainly, the man is of no exception and he hated the fact that she was already running late.

Yes, the man has heard of the presence and has come to the knowledge of the signs, but as with the majority of the masses, tend to classify the matter as “superstition” and more often, blather-talk.

But what he doesn’t know that these so called, signs, exist in many forms and are very much part of reality, just unnoticed.

And since he had some spare time while waiting at hand, he decided to review his day’s activities; a common practice for him personally since he was young which developed into a habit over time.

The day started out ordinary, to the man at least:

The usual signing of papers, both for approval and decline regarding various multimillion dollar investments and the company’s strategic business movements. A particularly interesting piece of legal document about a inter-company dispute (this is something common in companies of the scale) as well as the authorization of certain funding aspects were all on the day’s “signing” agenda.

That usually took up the morning but today, not more than 3 hours elapsed and he was done with everything he had on his agenda for signings. Taking a walk in the morning might not seem to be an ideal thing to do, especially if you’re still at work, but that was exactly what he did.

Not a stone’s throw away was the state park and that was where he spent the rest of the morning, strolling down the pebbled pavements by the magnificently built lake which glittered in the morning sunlight, like pearls floating on its surface; it was a perfect morning.

Phone calls were common for the man, 24/7 but this morning saw an all time record high; from his doctor calling up for a check up he’d missed the other day to his caretaker back home calling to report that there was something urgent to attend to at home and that he required to be home immediately.

The cell phone served as a source of words for this little book called the organizer as schedule after schedule was noted down. But the man was especially cautious today and cancelled all other appointments, including a meeting with his main financial supporters (something anyone should NEVER do) just to make way for the appointment he had now.

Someone up there must be really emotional today, he thought to himself as he sat in the fancy cafe, recollecting his thoughts for the past couple of hours of the day.

Shortly after lunch that day, looming grim clouds gathered and collided in a massive display of lightning as well as an audio burst of thunder. Rain soon followed as nature demonstrated its powers, the same rain that was still relentlessly beating at the cafe’s windows as the man came back once more.

But at this point of time, the man started to feel touchy and as the rhythmic patter of raindrops collided against the glass panes, so did his mind as it started racing wildly.

He could feel the back of his neck starting to sweat and his fingertips drain of blood.

This isn’t right, he conformed in his mind as questions started to race through what was once the cold and aloof stronghold of the man.

She should have been here by now; what if she stood me up; where in the world is she; how is she getting here in the first place; is she driving here; what if she was stranded in the flood down south; why isn’t she here; what if...

A dead silence engulfed the atmosphere for a moment and even the rain seem to stop.

The door to the room creaked to life and gave the man a good hard jolt back into reality.

"

Hope you guys dug the first instalment as well as part 2. The final instalment will be coming up shortly so stay tuned (or check back, whichever) for various updates and articles soon to be posted.

Your valued feedback and comments about the various themes included in the story as well as the plot development is largely encouraged. Just drop me a comment as you see the need to.

Till then.

Hysteria's Call, Part 1

Alright, time for a little update.

Been pretty active these past couple of days largely due to the abundance of outdoor activity both for social purposes as well as personal lifestyle issues.

I'm in the midst of preparing for an upcoming article installment, thus have been doing the required amount of research these past couple of days as well. And don't mind the post's title; you'll be able to see the significance later on in this post.

Active and tiring as the days may be, it serves as an ideal reprieve from the late night projects and various tasks that would normally occupy the average media student. As I've mentioned, learning takes a different form once the holidays start.

Today has been especially hectic due to certain reasons not at my liberty to disclose. This period has also granted me to think about certain taxing issues that I'm sure everyone has in their mind, at some point of their lives.

I've also been looking around for various Universities and post-tertiary education sources. I guess that's what they call planning for the future, which is really, ideal and gives one a clear steer for their respective path in life.

I hold my considerations private to me but naturally, am free from advice from you, my readers. So if you guys have recommendations and better still, if you're in a certain university and would like to share the learning environment there, I'm eager to listen.

I seek further education (after my polytechnic studies in Media Studies and Management) in disciplines such as Media, Psychology, Mass Comm and various Legal aspects, just to name afew. So yea, just looking around for ideas and what not.

Of course, alot of hardwork will have to be invested and put in, in order for admissions to the best universities in the world. So lets all strive for the best and achieve what we seek to in our lives.

Moving on.

More particularly, moving back to the relation of this post and its title which relates greatly to the following narrative which I creatively thought about and through during my free time, just to occupy my mind.

As with my usual narratives, there are hidden meanings and interesting aspects to consider, so I hope you guys will enjoy and have a little food for thought.

So yea, here goes...

"

The man fancied a quick glance at his watch before he exited the building.

Outside, people in black raincoats and umbrellas were doing what they can to stay out and keep themselves as dry as possible, for that all important business meeting, or that exclusive date with a particular gorgeous chick.

Yes, this was the business district of in country and arguably the business capital of the world in itself. This is where high profiled personnel come in and out daily, to keep the economy going as well as to serve the nation; economics and finance was of utmost important.

The man was of no exception. He had nothing to gain in small business ventures but all to lose in big financial advancements and acquisitions of other companies. In essence, he held a high position in both his social ladder as well as his occupation.

He was labeled as the "cold-blooded" stereotype who often axed incapable or under par employees. He would walk into a hall full of the highest ranking officials and deliver a business proposal, messed up the first few lines, but still get the deal done; he was that highly valued.

However, as the rain poured and hammered its relentless fists upon the glass tinted windows of the building, to be precise the company's global headquarters, the man felt a cringe, as if the janitor suddenly decided to turn the radiator off.

Yes, it was time.

And for the first time in a long time, the man felt a very humanly fear creeping up upon him as he stood motionless in the hurried lobby.

Lets just get this over and done with, irritated at even his own cowardice, the man shook what fear was left within his hallowed mind and emptied it before making his move.

After paying the doorman a hefty tip, as with his usual routine, he stepped out of the building.

A sheet of grey enveloped his vision as he struggled for composure. The storm with getting really bad and the people who were out in the open were sparse, if not scattered, in the violent bedlam.

A pity, the man thought to himself as he hailed a nearby cab and signalled for it to drive.

"Going out in this violent storm, sir?" The cab smelled of dried leaves but the man had other things on his mind. Far more taxing issues.

"I hear that the south pier's flooded from all this rain and people are trapped. Communications have been cut off and people are stranded. I sure hope my wife brought her cellphone with her, been trying for ages to call her."

The man kept really quiet, clearly not interested in what the cab driver has to say, and not paying any attention to the conversation at hand as he fiddled with his coat and adjusted his cuffs, waiting in anticipation.

Around the sharp turn and the cab slowed to a halt as its engine fizzled to a dead silence.

Blast it, the man thought to himself and automatically dug up a 50 dollar note and literally threw it at the cabby before he could offer a remedy to the situation.

"Sir, wait! Remember the si..."

The man rallied his umbrella and walked in the direction of the cafe where he was supposed to have his appointment, cursing under his breath as the rain grew heavier, pounding upon his umbrella.

A beacon of light pieced the grim composure of the rainy surrounding as the man crossed another avenue two streets away.

He was there, and grateful to have even made it in this rain.

Now, she'd bloody be coming, he thought as he made his way across the street, the rain so heavy, masking any trace of his presence.

"

Okay, thats all for this first installment. I'm thinking of a 3 part series but yea, there is plenty to digest in this segment of the entire story so yea, hope you guys will have something to think about after reading this short part of the narrative.

Looking forward to comments and be sure to check back for article, updates and the continuation to this short narrative.

Cya'll later.