Written by Elianna Gregory
1/20/2020
Hugo knew he wasn't crazy. His doctors agreed with him, except-
"There are no bells."
They were lying.
...Except, they weren't. Not on purpose anyways. It wasn't their fault they couldn't hear them. In fact, Hugo was kind of envious.
RING. RING. RINGGGGGGG
-Because the bells were loud. Extremely so. Which is why he knew he didn't have tinnitus. Which is why he knew he wasn't crazy.
It had all started two months prior, at noon. He'd been sitting in a cafe when he'd first heard them, and it was so jarring a sound he'd almost fallen out of his chair. His friend had laughed and asked what was wrong...but when their face turned blank at the mention of bells, Hugo knew something was wrong.
Little did he know that incident was only the beginning of his troubles.
The second time Hugo heard the bells, he was asleep...
RING. RING. RINGG.
Was.
With the same alacrity as before they relentlessly assaulted his ears with horrible clanging. And yet again, when morning came, nobody but Hugo seemed to notice.
From then on the bells were an unwelcome, constant companion. They announced themselves without arrival and disappeared at will. Which is why, on the 41st day, after constant research and bell induced sleepless nights, Hugo sought help.
Although it didn't do much, help.
They tested him for tinnitus. They combed his family history for mental illness. They insinuated he had a religious-based phobia. All untrue.
And besides, there were no churches in a 20 mile radius anyways. Hugo would know. He'd checked.
...So the bells continued their onslaught. And that was fine, for awhile. He coped.
Until the 98th day...
RINGGG. RINNGG. RINGGG.
...When the bells got louder. When they didn't stop. When it became unbearable.
"There are no -RING- bells!" the doctor yelled exasperatedly. "-It's all -RING- in your -RING- head!"
Hugo curled into the floor in pain. He covered his ears and seethed. Everyone had said the same thing.
It's all in your head.
It's -RING- all in -RING- your -RING- head.
Wait.
That's when clicked.
An idea sprung to mind.
With lightning speed, Hugo lunged for the doctor. Or at least that's how it seemed, until his hands found the desk behind the frightened man and landed on their true target.
The scissors.
He plunged the blades into his ear canals.
There was something squishy. And then, pop!
If the scissors made any noise when they hit the floor, Hugo couldn't tell.
He could see the shocked faces of the nurses. He could see their mouths open to scream. But he didn't hear them.
He didn't hear anything.
Just silence.
The sound of freedom.
Closing his eyes, Hugo's mouth curled into a relieved, triumphant smile. For the first time in three months he was at peace.
It was glorious.
...
And then, a faint chime.
ring.
He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came.
Just. Ring.
Ring.
Ring.
