She had come for me, I knew she would. I held her to me, I held her as tight as I could, crushing my cheek to hers, our tears mingling, I would never let her go again, the love we shared was too deep to be denied, the barrier did not exist that could keep us apart forever.
She was cold.... so cold, the heat flowed from my body to hers, sharing what warmth we possessed between us, balancing the difference, whatever we had, we would share.
I couldn't stop crying, the guilt, the pain, the memories, all washed over me like surf over shingle.
The last time we spoke was a year ago, almost to the minute.
“Please John, we'll get a cab, we can come back for the car tomorrow.”
“S'okay darling, s'only two miles, we'll be fine, I've only had a few glasses of wine, gerrin' the car honey, y'know I would rather cut my own legs off than let you come to any harm.”
I watched it all happen again, The bend, the skid, the tree.
Eventually the flickering lights, and the voices....
“She's gone.... he's pretty smashed up, but he'll most likely make it.”
Countless times over the last twelve months I had thought about taking my own life, I ached to be with her, my true love, my soul mate, my kindred spirit, but I waited for her, as I knew I must.
And now she was here...
The tears flowed even more freely.
“Oh.... oh honey, I'm sorry... I'm so sorry darling......”
“Shhh John, it's okay darling, we're together again now.”
I gripped her even more tightly...
We kissed tenderly as we began to drift upwards towards the shimmering light....
It felt good to lose the wheelchair.
©2011 Stephen. J. Green.
This is a powerfully whimsical tale. Loved it, especially the last line. I can imagine this.
ReplyDeleteLoved the imagery: 'the guilt, the pain, the memories, all washed over me like surf over shingle.'
Denise:)
My #fridayflash REVOLUTION
Denise, thank you for the very positive comment, I wasn't sure how this one would work out as it is a little bit different from my usual genres.
ReplyDeleteThe escape from the chair felt surreal, like it could have been some magic cure or his demise and a transcendence. Might just be my tired mind. I enjoyed it either way.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, demise and transcendence nails it, he was crippled in the crash, and then left the wheelchair behind when he joined his dead wife.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me so much of that old song, "Last Kiss" that I had to go youtube it. Great old song, (J Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers originally but recently covered by Pearl Jam!) and this is a great Flash Steve! Really liked that surf over a shingle line too!
ReplyDeleteI liked how I didn't know where this one was going, or even whether I should laugh or cry... until the very last line.
ReplyDeleteHarry, thank you, I have never even heard of the song, or the band, so I youtubed it, and listened to the J Frank Wilson version, and yes, you are on the button with the observation, once you have heard the song it definitely connects with the story.
ReplyDeleteRol, thank you, when I wrote this, I thought it looked good, then later I wasn't so sure, it is a step away from my usual horror or sci-fi writing, but basically in the same writing style, I almost posted another zombie story this week, but I am glad now that I decided to post this instead.
I really, really enjoyed this. Very well written and a great story, as a wheelchair user myself, your last line was especially poignant for me.
ReplyDeleteSam, thank you for the very kind words, your comment is a much appreciated confidence boost. Thank you.
ReplyDelete"Countless times over the last twelve months I had thought about taking my own life..."
ReplyDeleteI guess he finally put some actions to those thoughts.
This piece is filled with so much regret, pain and love, that it's easy for the reader to connect with the main character and to understand--with the constant reminder of the wheelchair he left behind--why he did it. Well done, Steve. A ton of character in a little space.
Very nice story...a love came back to reclaim what was hers. Sweet!
ReplyDeletePeople should never drink and drive...yet they always think the worst won't happen, not to them. I'm not entirely sure I'm glad they're back together since it was his fault in the first place...doesn't stop this being a great story though.
ReplyDeleteStephen, thank you, a comment like this tells me that I am doing something right, and gives me a good feeling of achievement.
ReplyDeleteGwen, thank you, it is very interesting how people will take different things from the same story, some people will see horror, where another will see comedy, and this diversity is a good thing in my mind.
Reading your comment I feel that your mind has homed in on the good parts of the character, and the love involved, and over-riding fact that he truly regretted his foolish error of judgement.
Icy, thank you, I agree entirely with not drinking and driving, yet so many people still risk their own, and other peoples lives on a daily basis.
I tried to convey in this story what his alcohol-related assumption had cost him, and how he had the time to ponder his regret, also a slght paranormal twist to the end, possibly hinting at some form of pact between them.
Thanks for leaving the comment on my blog. My story actually starts at ” The Introduction” http://gwennewpenny.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/a-h-i-p-chapter-1-2/
ReplyDeletein the sidebar of my blog. I am only learning how to use twitter for #FridayFlash. I actually need to be taken by the hand and shown how to do certain things.
You packed a lot to think about in a short story. The regret, the reunion and the healing at the end are a great mixture. Great story!
ReplyDeleteThe last line did it all for me. Steve, you really have a gift for creating fully fleshed out, perfectly written flash stories. Say that ten times fast.
ReplyDeleteGwen- You are very welcome, I hope to see you on #Fridayflash next week. :-)
ReplyDeleteChuck - Thank you, this short style is something that I kind of drifted into over the last few months.
Rachel- thank you for the compliment,and also for the tongue-twister, I now have lock-jaw. :-D
Thank you so much for the suggestions and help on my blog. Congratulations, you are my 100th comment. Yeah! :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome Gwen, posting the 100th comment is a coincidence isn't it? maybe some kind of good omen at play here.
ReplyDeleteOnce you start posting on #Fridayflash you'll reach a wider audience, and it won't take long to ramp that number up. :-D
Really enjoyed this, Steve. I agree with the comments about drinking and driving but if he's suffered for a year and she forgives him, perhaps we should too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca, one of the main aims of the story was to convey how even death could not keep them apart.
ReplyDelete