Chapter 3 (of 3)
I awoke slowly, a slight filter of light creeping through the slat in the blinds. A smile crossed my face as I remembered the night before, the night with Emily. After 10 years of regret, a few simple hours had turned my life around. I rolled over, casting my arm to fall over her sleeping form.
When I found empty sheets, I sat up. Still bleary from the night before, I looked around my room. Her clothes still lay strewn about the room, cast aside in a fervent urgency that both of us had succumbed to. I stood up, pulling a rumpled sheet free from the tangle in the bed and wrapping it around my waist.
I softly crept from my bedroom and into the hallway. My entire body felt alive, feeling the strands of carpet on my feet and the cool breeze of the air condition raising goosebumps on my skin. As I reached the end of the hall I stopped. Caught against the breaking dawn, Emily stood framed in the patio doorway. Clad only in my white dress shirt, the breaking sun framed her in a glow of orange and red. The oversized shirt was nearly translucent in the burgeoning light, casting her body in shadow. I watched silently as she took a drag from a cigarette, her hair rustling softly in the morning current. She never turned around, just staring into the morning, her arm perched on the frame of the door, one foot bent slightly. That picture, Emily aglow in my life, set against the dawn, burned deeply into my heart.
I turned around and walked slowly back to my room, not wanting to break her reverie, not wanting to ruin a perfect moment. I laid down on the bed, pulling the covers against my skin and drifted back off to sleep. I had all the time now, life was perfect.
Later that morning I awoke and read the note she had left for me. We all had regrets she said, and her regret was that I had waited 10 years to tell her something she had always known. I had broken her heart those years past, and now she had broken mine.
End of Line.
Gerrad!
Showing posts with label The Reunion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Reunion. Show all posts
Monday, April 21, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
Flash Fiction: The Reunion
Chapter 2 (of 3)
Emily and me fell fast into conversation, almost as if 10 years hadn't passed. We talked of college and careers, about the welfare of common friends and our families. She told me of a failed attempt at marriage and even more failed attempts to break into music. I talked of working at a job I was trapped in and my own failed attempts towards becoming a writer. We talked of relationships won and lost, of the places we had been and of the sights we had seen. The best times were the moments of shared laughter or the brief spark of a light touch that came when our hands brushed.
Other people came and talked to us that night, but I only remember Emily. As the evening wore on and we shared drinks, those brief touches became electric the longer they lasted. All those years of pain and heartbreak seemed to melt away when I was with her. We talked of everything, though my thoughts turned dark reflecting on our last meeting together. Recalling the choice I made, my greatest mistake. Though even that thought couldn't last now that I was with her again.
It was easy to fall into that same routine, to fall under the same spell that once held me so completely. Before I was ready, the night had already grown cold and the party had dwindled to just a few stragglers and us. We sat at that table, looking into each other's eyes, quiet for the first time all evening. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither not knowing what to say. The same as all those yeas ago, when I had chosen to walk away, the words unspoken laying between us. When my courage had failed and I let her walk away without telling her everything. Yet here I was, caught in the same fear that haunted me 10 years ago.
Finally, Emily stood up and peeled her name badge from her chest and let it fall the floor wordlessly. She rounded the table as I stood up, peeling my own name off, flicking the sticker off of my fingers. She at me and held both my hands, drawing me in close, into a kiss that exploded like a thousands suns, sweet and burning, extinguishing all around me. As we pulled apart, I whispered what I had had been to afraid to say those years past.
"I love you Emily."
End of Line.
Gerrad!
Emily and me fell fast into conversation, almost as if 10 years hadn't passed. We talked of college and careers, about the welfare of common friends and our families. She told me of a failed attempt at marriage and even more failed attempts to break into music. I talked of working at a job I was trapped in and my own failed attempts towards becoming a writer. We talked of relationships won and lost, of the places we had been and of the sights we had seen. The best times were the moments of shared laughter or the brief spark of a light touch that came when our hands brushed.
Other people came and talked to us that night, but I only remember Emily. As the evening wore on and we shared drinks, those brief touches became electric the longer they lasted. All those years of pain and heartbreak seemed to melt away when I was with her. We talked of everything, though my thoughts turned dark reflecting on our last meeting together. Recalling the choice I made, my greatest mistake. Though even that thought couldn't last now that I was with her again.
It was easy to fall into that same routine, to fall under the same spell that once held me so completely. Before I was ready, the night had already grown cold and the party had dwindled to just a few stragglers and us. We sat at that table, looking into each other's eyes, quiet for the first time all evening. We stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, neither not knowing what to say. The same as all those yeas ago, when I had chosen to walk away, the words unspoken laying between us. When my courage had failed and I let her walk away without telling her everything. Yet here I was, caught in the same fear that haunted me 10 years ago.
Finally, Emily stood up and peeled her name badge from her chest and let it fall the floor wordlessly. She rounded the table as I stood up, peeling my own name off, flicking the sticker off of my fingers. She at me and held both my hands, drawing me in close, into a kiss that exploded like a thousands suns, sweet and burning, extinguishing all around me. As we pulled apart, I whispered what I had had been to afraid to say those years past.
"I love you Emily."
End of Line.
Gerrad!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Flash Fiction: The Reunion
Part 1 (of 3)
I arrived at my old high school well after the reunion was in full swing. It had been over 10 years since I stepped on the campus, and very little had changed. Oh some of the buildings looked newer and the paint fresher, but the old under currents were still there. All the old memories came back once I set foot on the grounds, the good times, the bad times, the triumphs.... and the regrets. I walked closer to the gymnasium looking at the tacky decorations and the garish Class of 95 signs adorning the buildings. Our original 10 year reunion had been canceled due to lack of interest, but someone had worked up the idea the reschedule it for this year and apparently enough people had decided to come.
I still wasn't sure what i was doing here. Most of my time in high school had been devoted to getting out of it and moving on in the world. I hadn't exactly been picked on while in school, I just was there, occupying space. Neither important enough to remember, nor lame enough to not be forgotten. The only person from high school I still talked to was my friend Jess, and he sure wasn't coming tonight.
I sighed as I pulled open the door to the gym and walked to the greeters table. One of the classes student body was there handing out name badges. I didn't remember him, even after reading his name card and I guess I didn't strike a bell either, he numbly handed me my red rimmed Hello, My Name Is badge and I scrawled my name on it. He turned and started walking to a girl I recalled being a cheerleader and ignored me. I affixed the badge to my shirt and headed toward my usual gathering point at any party, the wall nearest the drinks table.
I had just poured myself a plastic cup full of lukewarm punch when I saw her. Or rather, heard her. That throaty laugh hadn't changed in 10 years, and I turned toward the sound. I couldn't kid myself after I saw her, I knew the reason I had come, I knew the reason I had returned to this place after all these years. I had come back to see her again.
I tossed the punch back in a single gulp and walked towards her. Whatever jackass she was talking to had turned to greet someone else and I knew this had to be my chance. I came up behind her and said,
"Hello Emily."
She turned around and a smile filled her face. "MIKE!"
Emily threw her arms around me in a hug and at that moment, I knew I could die happy.
End of Line.
Gerrad!
I arrived at my old high school well after the reunion was in full swing. It had been over 10 years since I stepped on the campus, and very little had changed. Oh some of the buildings looked newer and the paint fresher, but the old under currents were still there. All the old memories came back once I set foot on the grounds, the good times, the bad times, the triumphs.... and the regrets. I walked closer to the gymnasium looking at the tacky decorations and the garish Class of 95 signs adorning the buildings. Our original 10 year reunion had been canceled due to lack of interest, but someone had worked up the idea the reschedule it for this year and apparently enough people had decided to come.
I still wasn't sure what i was doing here. Most of my time in high school had been devoted to getting out of it and moving on in the world. I hadn't exactly been picked on while in school, I just was there, occupying space. Neither important enough to remember, nor lame enough to not be forgotten. The only person from high school I still talked to was my friend Jess, and he sure wasn't coming tonight.
I sighed as I pulled open the door to the gym and walked to the greeters table. One of the classes student body was there handing out name badges. I didn't remember him, even after reading his name card and I guess I didn't strike a bell either, he numbly handed me my red rimmed Hello, My Name Is badge and I scrawled my name on it. He turned and started walking to a girl I recalled being a cheerleader and ignored me. I affixed the badge to my shirt and headed toward my usual gathering point at any party, the wall nearest the drinks table.
I had just poured myself a plastic cup full of lukewarm punch when I saw her. Or rather, heard her. That throaty laugh hadn't changed in 10 years, and I turned toward the sound. I couldn't kid myself after I saw her, I knew the reason I had come, I knew the reason I had returned to this place after all these years. I had come back to see her again.
I tossed the punch back in a single gulp and walked towards her. Whatever jackass she was talking to had turned to greet someone else and I knew this had to be my chance. I came up behind her and said,
"Hello Emily."
She turned around and a smile filled her face. "MIKE!"
Emily threw her arms around me in a hug and at that moment, I knew I could die happy.
End of Line.
Gerrad!
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