Kissed Me Goodbye

A DAPPER MAN in his mid-thirties, clean-shaved, well-dressed and smoking enters the room hurriedly with a happy face. He slams the door closed swiftly and turns back to darkness in the room. The white smoke from the cigarette in his lips slowly fills the room. He goes around the room with a wicked smile in his face and then sits on the floor.

A masked man with a similar build like the dapper man comes running from the other side of the door and tries to stop the closing door but fails. He screams in anger. RYAN takes his mask out and throws it away. He is look-alike of the dapper man but beardy and scruffy. Unlike the dapper man, Ryan looks terribly disturbed and worn out.

The dapper man takes a deep puff of his cigarette and gives out a loud evil laugh. The room is full of smoke now. Ryan, in the next room, kicks a chair in rage and screams again.

Ryan shouted, "You bloody coward. Come out and face me, son of a bitch." Tears are rolling down his cheeks.

The dapper man sarcastically makes a sad face and speaks in a soft voice, "Coward... who is a coward? Me?". His face turns cruel again. "No. I'm not. Look at your business-magnate face Ryan. You'll understand the truth."

"Truth. Huh. You're hiding behind my identity, scumbag. That's the truth."

"I'm not hiding. I don't need to. You're hiding Ryan... You're hiding behind me."

Ryan falls down on his knees. He starts crying loudly. "You can't do this to me."

Ryan's tears seem to have moved the dapper man and his face becomes gloomy. He states, "Trust me Ryan. I never wanted to hurt your emotions. But... I'm really helpless." He takes couple of puffs and looks at the door. Then he continues, "Even today... I tried my level best to control my urge but... You didn't help me."

Ryan turns furious on hearing this. "Me? You're telling me? What did I do?"

The dapper man continues in the flat tone, "I warned you so many times. I begged you to move out of that place but you never listened to me."

Ryan is still on his knees and sighs, "So what? Is this the reason you give for what you did? You can't simply kill someone for sport."

The dapper man makes a displeasing face. "That's me, buddy. That's my weakness. I've been with you since our birth and you know it very well." He gives a pause before continuing. "In fact it's you who failed to stop me every time I ended up killing someone."

Ryan gets mad now. He stands up, turns away from the door and screams, "Bullshit!"

The dapper man throws off his cigarette and takes a deep breath. He raises both his arms, "Okay okay. Calm down, my boy. I agree you tried, but you couldn't. But past is past. Look Ryan. I have a plan for us... if you are interested."

Ryan turns around and looks back at the door eagerly. The dapper man continues, "Just learn to enjoy what I do. Let's become one mind one soul. Look at the world through my eyes. It's full of sin and killing is fun."

Ryan is dejected with a dry smile in his face. He wipes his tears off. He acts as if he has decided what to do. He goes close to the door and asserts, "I have a different plan.", in a firm voice.

The dapper man shrugs and moves towards the door. "That's cool, buddy. Tell me. I always listen. Not like you."

Ryan looks around and moves to a reading table in a corner of the room. He explores the table and finds a sharpened pencil. He picks it up and says, "You were right. It's me who is hiding behind you. Because you are my true identity. And I want to erase it."

The dapper man chuckles and says, "Don't you need an eraser for that?"

Ryan doesn't acknowledge his humor. He nods his head sideways in displeasure.

The dapper man understands his frustration. "I'm sorry. I'm all ears. Tell me your plan."

"I'm going to kill you."

The dapper man laughs out loud and his laughter lasts for long this time. Then he controls himself to say with a smile, "Silly kid. How can you even think about it?" However, his smile fades away quickly and wide opens his eyes in fear as he understands what Ryan meant. He runs towards the door and stutters, "No Ryan. Stop... Stop it, idiot. Don't do it" . He starts knocking the door heavily.

Ryan smiles at the dapper man banging the door hard. He slowly brings up the pencil and stabs his neck himself.

The dapper man, in the other side of the door, is shell shocked as blood spatters out of his neck and he starts crying in pain.

Ryan holds his neck with the half-inserted pencil on it, gives a painful smile and looks up THE DOOR. As he looks up, the door dissolves and deforms to a mirror. The dapper man inside the mirror fades away and Ryan's reflection appears slowly.

Ryan talks to his reflection in the mirror, "Goodbye, Ryan." Then he falls down and his soul departs. The room fades to black.

Every beautiful soul has an ugly side in the hide. Every ugly soul has a beautiful side in the hide. The side you choose becomes your identity and the rest remains a secret.

Few hours later...

Ryan, with a smiling face, is sitting on a chair in the same room. The siren sounds are echoing in the room. He looks at the cop car's blinking lights through the half transparent window doors. Then he looks down at his cadaver lying on the floor as yet. He speaks to himself, "I died as a business man and that's going to be my identity forever." He gets up from the chair, moves towards the same mirror, walks into it and disappears.

Ryan has sacrificed himself to bury his ugly side in the secret. His beautiful side becomes his eternal identity.

THE END.