Chelubai

A Short Story by Daniel Verastiqui

"So, what circle of hell do you find yourself in today?" Caleb ignored the question, merely sighing heavily in his chair.

"You know, people are starving all over the world, some live in poverty, some are disfigured." The man in the dark rimmed glasses and death-white lab coat was trying to cheer Caleb up. But Caleb didn't even bother to sigh this time. His mind was elsewhere and he didn't feel like talking anyway.

"Tell me about the dream, Caleb." Caleb's eyes flickered, the doctor noticed, going quickly to the doctor's eyes and then back to the floor. Caleb watched him scribble something in his notebook.

"You don't want to tell me about the dream?" Caleb became aware of the silence in the room, broken only by the swift cutting of air by the fan in the ceiling. He couldn't even hear the people in the hall; though he saw their disembodied heads float past the small window in his door.