Stories you know by heart
A collection of short stories from my tarnished mind.
Saturday, July 10, 2021
and the silence was deafening
He thought for sure he would have heard something by now, but the quiet remained.
Life was surreal nowadays. Nothing had been the same. The laughter was a little forced, the smiles fake. The pills made him go through the day, numb unfeeling. He just went through the motions, the process of being alive.
As he lay there, he realized he would give everything up for a laugh. A giggle. The twinkle in her eye. Instead, he found nothing. Just clicking of a keyboard.
Silence.
The memories just never went away, like she was in his bloodstream, in his head, in his heart. But unattainable, like trying to hold the moon in your hands. It seems possible until you try, then you are left with nothing.
Silence.
He never understood why. He knew the reasons, logically, but his heart just cried. And cried and cried.
He found another and tried to pretend, but realized that he couldn't ever fill that hole that she left.
Silence.
It was deafening. Maddeningly quiet and still. He felt insane. The pills only numbed him, they didn't remove the desire. They didn't quiet the monster. It screamed to be realized, to be released, to taste her. Her moisture, her desire, her seductiveness. He longed for the days when hours would go by without a word only to break the silence with a hello.
He dreamed of her in his arms, of things they did, the closeness they shared.
Silence.
Life was a dream now, maybe a nightmare. It was full of misery and sadness and longing. His life was full of regret. And only she could solve it.
Silence.
It was all he had now. All he knew.
Better to fade away into the night, his desire wouldn't be controlled.
Good night, sweetness. Good bye, kind heart.
He wished he could see her smile, hear her laugh, kiss her mouth and hold her tight and never ever let go.
Instead, silence reigned.
It was deafening.
Sunday, February 3, 2019
The silence screams the loudest
I squeezed the trigger. Nothing happens. Just like the last time. And the 100 times before it. It didn't work. I've tried.
A simple thing really. A stretched out spring. A broken connection. Minor things that I could repair. Then bang. The end would be sweet. Sweet relief from myself. Freedom from the world that no longer desires me. Freedom.
Click. Nothing happens.
I could try this a thousand times and nothing would change.
Click.
There are other ways. Messy, brutal. Nothing quick. Nothing quiet.
My long term desire have come to fruition. I stopped caring about my health and am slowly dying.
Click.
The tragedy is that it won't happen fast enough.
Tragedy.
That is my life.
Click.
Some get a comedy, some get happiness, some get satisfaction.
I get the emptiness. I get the loneliness. The desire to belong without ever letting anyone actually know me. I'm too good at goodbyes. I never say them. I just disappear.
Click.
There's no leaving except this way now.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Insanity, my old friend, I've come to walk with you again
That which was,
or that which was never meant to be.
What was, isn't.
What will be remains to be seen.
I am the ghost in the silence of the night, forever wandering.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
End of my rope
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Missed occasions
Did you see me today? Standing behind you in line at the coffee store? I heard you order your skinny mocha latte with no foam. I tried to pretend I hadn't. The instinct to flee the situation rose hard inside me. Maybe that wasn't you, maybe it was my imagination.
It wasn't though. I'm not that lucky. I had buried my face in the paper, slowly moving forward like the rest of the sheep, hoping that i was wrong. And then you begin berating the poor guy who made your drink wrong. Why can't you be normal, why can't you just order a coffee?
I left, I couldn't stand it any more. I didn't need the coffee anymore anyway. I was awake now. The blood pumping through my veins, ice cold, like the breath of death was on my skin. I could feel death laughing behind me, rejoicing in my discomfort; he does this often.
I thought a walk would clear my head, I didn't have to go far, but it was far enough. Three blocks in and I regretted my decision. There you were ahead of me getting on a bus, looking sad as wistful. My heart ached and I wanted to go to you. But I didn't move. My mind refused to listen to the impulses of my heart. My body continued walking.
I don't know why I'm tormented with the sight of you. Every time, my heart skips a beat, my pulse races, and my mouth goes dry. Am I that afraid to have to speak to you?
The walk was short, yet seemed an eternity. How was that even possible? How does time stop yet move forwards at the same time? I saw you every where I looked. The woman on the bench resting. The old man feeding the pigeons, they were all you. How could i be surrounded by you, yet feel so very alone?
I entered my building, hoping my task would ease my sorrow. I was wrong. You can't escape your heart, you can't escape your demons. You can't escape your past. I rode the elevator in silence, refusing to make eye contact with anyone, I didn't want to see your eyes staring through my soul. I rode past my floor three times without realizing it, so lost I was in my sorrow. I couldn't take it any more. I walked past my desk and stared out the window. I wonder what it would feel like to fly through the air. Would I feel the stop at the end?
I realized that the tears were streaming down my face. You have broken me. I can't anymore.
I didn't remember reaching the roof, I didn't remember stepping over, I just hoped the pain would end quickly.
Sunday, June 11, 2017
On a leash
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Alone
He had never known what it really meant to be alone. But this was it. Truly and utterly alone. No one cared anymore, he had burnt all his bridges, eschewed all company. And he found himself here. Utterly alone.
He could hear the voices through the door, the laughter, the chatter, they knew not he was outside, he hadn't even been invited. But he had garnered that there was an occasion. He knew if he walked in, all conversation would stop. Like a shot fired, everyone would freeze and turn towards the door. He wasn't supposed to be there, he hadn't invited and they knew it. And he knew why. He was diseased in the mind, something wrong with him. No one wanted to say it out loud, but their stares, the silence spoke volumes. He was adapt at resting the body language. He knew he had become a pariah. So many years he had been on top, guiding the future. But once he fail, he no longer existed. They had all prospered from his work, grown rich and fat. But it was all forgotten in a moment.
He turned and walked away. They were right, he was nothing. And like nothing, he disappeared into the night. He was alone, it was his destiny, he never deserved anything different. That was what was meant to be. He embraced it, threw it over his shoulders like a cloak.
It was what was meant to be