A Story About My Friend

I have heard many stories from many people but the story of my dear friend is the most disturbing to me. What he went through must have been quite demeaning and stressful, hence I have to share with you his awful experience. It all began last year when he met this girl whose name was Susan. He had been single for quite some time but she was an atmosphere of hope to him. He had been rejected by women left, right and centre, but Susan filled him with confidence.

They went out together often, and after dating for six months, he knew she was the one. But before he could pop the question, he decided to introduce her to his parents. My friend knew that Susan was an orphan which is why he needed to ask his father to walk her down the aisle.

But on that fateful day, when he brought Susan into the living room, he was disgusted with the unhappy expressions on his parents faces. They outright disapproved of what was going on, stating that there will be no wedding. They said that Susan was a nobody and could not be part of the family.

But my friend faithfully put his foot down and said that he will never leave her. That day, even though his parents begged him to stay, he packed his bags and left his parents house. But that was only the beginning of his dilemmas.

At his workplace, things began to become concerning. His boss who recently bought a crimson Range Rover, began following him. For weeks, while he drove to the mall, or the shop, or the pharmacy, he would notice a crimson Range Rover tailing him, or passing by, or parked in the distance. He knew he was being watched all the time.

He would go on social media and find photos of a work party that was at the office. He was never invited to one, no none told him about it. My friend suspected that they were trying to work him out. He knew it wasn't worth staying here any longer so he gave his resignation in. His boss was surprised at the letter because he had beaten him to it. He resigned before he could get fired.

On an errand, a hijacker attacked my friend at a robot. My friend who was enraged, fought back, grabbing the gun from the assailant and knocking him out with the butt of the pistol.
My friend knew something was up. How is it that on the same day he resigned, there was an attack on his life?

Seething with anger, he sped to the office and barged into the boardroom with the gun which was trained on his boss. He had intruded a corporate meeting where all his colleagues and a few clients were present.

"Was not my resignation enough?" my friend spat, "Do you also have to kill me?"

"What's going on?" asked the boss with an embarrassed look of surprise on his face. A flash of fear could also be seen.

"You think I'm stupid?" he screamed, "First you've been following me, trying to work me out. And when I resign, that's not enough for you? You want to kill me?"

"Calm down," replied the boss.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" my friend protested, he pointed at the receptionist, "Call the cops! Do it now!"

It wasn't even five minutes, the place was surrounded by five squad cars. The police came in but before my friend could protest, he was shot with a taser and taken to the precinct.

His boss denied everything that he was accused of. Seeing that he believed many of things that didn't agree with what everyone was saying, he was taken to a mental care facility.

I felt bad about what happened to him, they made him feel like a crazy conspiracy theorist. But of course, I had to do my own investigation. Why would everyone in my friend's life turn against him. I had to do something since I was the only person he had in his life.

I first met his parents, there in the same living room they rejected Susan.

"Why didn't you like Susan?" I asked with a confronted tone.

"Susan," replied the father, "Wasn't real. She was a figment of his imagination. Susan never existed. We didn't say that she was a nobody, we simply said that there's nobody sitting next to you."

Dumbstruck about what I had just heard, I decided to visit his boss.

"I wasn't following him," said the boss, "There are many who own the same type of vehicle I drive. There's probably a hundred crimson Range Rover in my suburb alone. And I can't be driving all of them now, can I?"

"What about his exclusion from work parties?"

"He was sick on the day of the surprise party. That's hardly my fault!"

"And the hijacking?"

"You think I did that? I was having a meeting with high rank clients in my boardroom when he barged in with a firearm! Do you still think that's my doing?"

When I arrived at my place that night, it seemed as though my friend had got it all wrong. Either he had assumed everything or his imagination had got the better of him. But of course, Susan is pure evidence that he needed some help.

From the last I heard of my friend, he had been assigned a room in a psychiatric ward where he is being treated. They gave him a computer to write blogs about his thought processes which are monitored carefully before it's published.

It's a sad way to live but my friend wanted me to share his story but never his name because it could happen to anyone. But for the life of me, I can't remember his name. That's because I have never had friends, even after I came to this padded cell...