Burning the Past : a story

I put tulips under all the pillows, and then I set fire to the house. It was a ritual that I had often dreamt of, symbols of the love I once had for this place. But that feeling seems old now, a burnt flower is already where my heart used to be. The happy times are like a movie reel playing through my mind and I no longer feel any connection to them as real events.

Crouched down the street I watch with fascination as the fire takes hold, spreading from room to room, slowly consuming the whole place. I want to watch for as long as possible, to make sure the job is done. If I see this place reduced to ashes perhaps the ashes inside me could finally be cleared away.

A girl is walking along the street and she stops directly in front of my position. She seems to sense something is wrong, and she casts her eyes around searching for whatever her instincts have alerted her to. Why did someone have to come along? Couldn’t I just have a few moments alone to enjoy this?

Another Day: Fiction

When I wake up, it feels like the world has stopped. No movement, only my breath. Stale air in, stale air out. No change, only stagnancy.

From my point of view, nothing much does change. The same journey every day, the same job, the same tasks. “Clean this, move that, do it better, do it different”, says the boss. Yes, even all in one sentence.

All I want is a surprise, just something small,along the way. Someone to treat me differently, a chance encounter or even an adventure. Wouldn’t that be nice?

I honestly don’t think that I have ever had an adventure. Even when I was young, my parents were so careful. And now, that seems to be ingrained in me. Approaching 30 and still treading water. I spend so much time thinking, and worrying about it. But it seems so hard to make the change. I can only watch so many motivational videos before I have to think, maybe I am just one of life’s failures.

We are told we are all special, but I don’t believe it. We are certainly unique. But what can we do to make ourselves exceptional, to shine, to be remembered? Well, people will remember this day. They will remember my name. I will not disappear.

Standing here, looking out of this window, I can already feel it. Maybe I won’t be around for much longer, but I know that I will finally be noticed today. Click.

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© Neil Hayes and neilhayeswriter