Chapter One: Starry, Starry Night

To wake up daily to the thought of life’s unbounding brilliance is a surreal thought that too few are lucky enough to share. To the thought that each being is an ant on a speck in an endless abyss of unknown space and time. That when you first sit up after the confusion of the previous night’s dream, where upon realising that this is the reality you are in, you are again reminded of the seemingly magical force gravity holds to you. You feel drawn to the earth’s core, yet look up and long to detach from it. You wonder what the percentage would be for these kinds of people. You would automatically need to subtract any religious based minds, which sadly is the denser half. After all the right variables are subtracted, you would most likely be left with a startlingly small number, one of less than a percent.  
Daton opened his eyes and moved his hand to hover just a few centimetres from his face, feeling gravity’s pull slightly tugging it to the floor. As he marvelled at what would be meaningless to many others his age, for a brief moment he felt upside down, as if his jet black hair was reaching towards the cosmos as a rope continued to wrap tightly around his ankles, keeping him firmly planted. His same hand reached for his phone on the bedside table where there lay a number of birthday cards, ranging from ‘Happy 16^th Birthday!’ to an admittedly surprising ‘Happy 21st!’. He chuckled silently for a moment at the thought of how so few people knew his age, and proceeded to grab his phone. Yet another message from Claire Aaltonen appeared, an attendant at his old high school, with lines upon lines of apparently never ending text. Glancing starry eyed, he began to read.
“DATON!! It was SO unbelievably good seeing your radiant face and being able to finally have our overdue catch-up last night!!!” " Daton had lived in Brisbane for the year after he had graduated, and was quite frankly glad to have an excuse not to catch up " “I had such a good time and am thankful to God for all we got to talk about. I believe your own experience is closely around the corner. God knows your heart, your hesitations, and your curiosities. He knows ALL and is calling you close to him. It will be a privilege to have you beside me someday soon in church. Thank you for being so honest, so open, and so trustworthy as a friend. I can barely wait for our next reunion. Tomorrow morning? NO PRESSURE! My siblings and I are hitting the church again. I felt the Holy Spirit TWICE last night! If you’re not sure what that is, its God as a spirit that lives in you and-“
This felt an opportune time to cease reading and, rolling his eyes, he locked his phone and fell back upon his bed. When talking with Claire the night previously, he found it infinitely easier to just pretend to be a Christian like her, as he came to the conclusion that there is little point in fighting a losing battle. He was amazed to find how well he pulled it off, to be honest. But most of all, he felt saddened that the remainder of her life will be built around a story, one only brought to life by people like us, and like us, these people lie. Daton thought the situation similar to scoffing at one who lives solely through their movies and TV shows, reciting quotes and dialogue left right and centre. He thought how many people would believe him to be bias, but he nonetheless felt content in accepting that the original characters in the bible probably did see and hear all these things. These people who have probably been stranded and desperately hungry at times, who would jump at the first morsel of food they laid their eyes on " a mushroom perhaps - not knowing that this is where these psychedelic experiences originated. Combine that with a complete non understanding of the wider universe in which they occupied, what else were they supposed to think? The answer of ‘God’ made perfect sense, and mankind finally had an answer to life. ‘Who wouldn’t want to believe that?’ Daton pondered. He thought back to the days prior to Christmas the previous year, where he remembered purchasing a Richard Dawkins novel entitled ‘The God Delusion’, with the sole purpose of sending it to Claire, but later realised no good could come from it. He often found himself sympathetic for those who would close the door on limitless more questions when they answer feebly with a resounding ‘God’. But as he pondered this detriment to society as he has done many times over, he heard movements on the landing below his bedroom. Noticing it was fairly late in the morning, he decided to leave his room. He pulled his favourite maroon dressing gown over himself and proceeded down the stairs and through the narrow hallway into the kitchen. Standing over the stove was Daton’s elder brother Charlie. Much more muscular in comparison to his own slender build, Charlie had an immense air of optimism about him as he jived to a solely indie playlist of music, cooking his infamous tuna and avocado pizza, to which he seemed to live by.
“I would make you one, too” he said
“but I only have enough ingredients for two more days, and I’m piss broke”.
Daton hardly minded. In fact, he rarely eats breakfast and doesn’t truly understand its appeal.
He could foresee Charlie’s movements over the next few hours as easily as one could predict the days of the month. After his pizza left the oven, he would then proceed to set the days tablets out on the desk in a perfect line, increasing in size from left to right. Starting on the right, as always, would be two fish oil tablets, one vitamin C, and lastly an ecinecia for good measure, and without fail, Daton would arrive home hours later to the wretched smell of melted fish oil, as Charlie could never face their sheer size. He would then consume his meal to the days trending Reddit videos, then lay on his floor mattress, eyes closed, listening to a lengthy Terrence McKenna lecture, who would reveal his many psychedelic experiences in great detail. As Daton observed this routine unfolding before him, he realised how much he owed Charlie. He was the one who essentially opened the door to the beginning of Daton’s greater understanding of our existence in this ‘thing’ (he liked to call it). In the midst of this appreciation, Dalton became startled as something brushed past his leg, quickly glancing in relief to find the cat he had adopted merely two weeks prior. Adamantly named Willow after his sisters apparent life altering obsession with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Daton was initially hesitant with the creature, finding little love in her eyes which vastly differed from the many dogs he had known as a child. Yet as he observed her grow, he found her very intriguing " watching her discover her environment, and her ultimate ability as a predator. It was how she was designed to act, wary of her owners and the world, which to her only extended to the outer perimeter of the unit. To her, the house is her planet and the subsequent world her universe. Daton wondered if there was really any distinction in this difference of perception. Yet because she is unaware of this world, she reminded Daton again of the church’s grasp over Claire, and how she adamantly turns a blind eye to our origins of evolution and wholeheartedly accepts a life which was made especial for her and humanity. For her, there is no greater universe, as there is no planet to Willow. As he left his brother to live out the days inevitable events, he adhered from the kitchen and proceeded to the bathroom situated right at the end of a second, slightly narrower hallway. A ping of annoyance struck him as he again noticed the various cracks, dints and marks on the walls, as well as the tattered edges of the cheap, short grey carpet, which he cannot remember having ever been clean. As he subconsciously said his goodbyes to the bond he was sure to never collect, he heard the inarguable muffled sounds of gunfire and frantic screams coming from the third bedroom to his left, which was home to his third and last roommate Andy Wilkes. If he were to stray from his path and enter the room now he was sure to find an admittedly overweight and shirtless chain smoker reclined in an deep armchair adjacent to his bed, with glassy eyes fixed to one of three monitors situated less than a metre away, with eyes darting quickly yet equally between each. The centre monitor would play host to this week’s gaming addiction, the left being home to tabs upon tabs of the weeks shows he has yet to catch up on " illegally of course -, and the third sporting what Daton could only presume to be Andy’s favourite adult sites, which for some unknown reason happened to switch off the moment he entered the room. Once his eyes would eventually stray from what can only be described as the world’s most cliché gamer, he would notice no bare carpet when looking down, only ash stained clothes and empty pizza boxes. He would then have chuckled at the sight of a pristine and un-used ash tray he had received from his father for his 18^th birthday, as the centimetres that occupied its surroundings were not so void of ash as the expensive glass tray. Yet, as Daton continued down the hallway he nonetheless appreciated Andy’s presence within the only-functional-to-them household, as rarely does one find a genuinely positive and easy to talk to person, especially one whom shares your house. On this thought, he made a mental note to share a cigarette with Andy on the balcony once he eventually left the confines of his room. Daton checked the time on his phone and upon realising that it was nearly midday, Andy would not make his company for at least another three hours. Daton had some time to kill. He reached the end of the hallway and, after boycotting the bathroom and promising himself he will floss later, he opened the door to his bedroom, emerging minutes later in changed attire. Moving again down the hallway, this time turning right in the direction of the glass slide doors, he yelled his goodbyes to the two residents, and after hearing distant grunts of dismissal, Daton stepped into the light of day.