The day everyone disappeared. I was
lying in bed, awake, as usual. Every night for the past week I would lay down
and my thoughts would start to run away. Insomnia can be a real killer. Each
day starts to blur together, and time doesn’t feel as real as it used to, two days
ago could seem like weeks; a month ago, only yesterday. I would sit there and
wonder if this was some type of omen. I would leave the window open and stare
out at what few stars I could see. It seems no amount of words can really
explain feelings.
Finally the sun was coming up. I
figured I would drive over to her house and wake her up with the present of a
Red Bull; she was always on my mind. Anywhere I would go, something would
remind me of her. A plastic flower in another girl’s hair, a scent would drift
into my car, as I would drive at night to try and tire myself out, a random dog
sitting on the street corner, a glittering object in the distance, every thrift
store and bookshop. Anytime I would see something I knew she would like I would
be sure to go out of my way to acquire it for her, cost or trade, it didn’t
matter.
Even the car had a scent of her
lingering from the previous night. Just hanging in the air as a reminder of the
possibilities, the dreams, the joys to come. Key in ignition, it started as it
always had, a click, a sputter. The engine jumped to life. I was excited; I’m
always excited to see her. My heart skips a beat just thinking about it. Calm
down, I tell myself. I put the car in reverse and begin the journey to her
home.
Traffic seems exceptionally light,
in fact, I don’t pass a single other car. Is it a holiday? No, I think I would
have remembered that. But then again, my memory is kind of shit at times.
Perhaps there’s a motorcade coming through town today, and I missed the bulletins,
but then there would be police blocking my progress. I turn on to her street.
Her car sits just outside her home. I know I’m just moments away from seeing
the girl I adore beyond any I have known before.
Drinks in hand, I mount the steps of
her porch and knock on the door. There is no reply. I try again, but this time
I bang on the door, figuring she is just asleep. Five minutes go by, then ten,
then twenty, and no response. I am getting concerned. I know she keeps a spare
key tucked away in a fake rock hidden around the back of her house. Her and I
are not quite to the point of really being in each others houses without the
other present, and certainly not uninvited, but something feels really wrong.
What if she fell while taking a shower and is lying there by the bathtub, life
leaving her, and I’m the only chance she has of survival. I figure, in this
case my trespass can be safely excused if I’m wrong.
-V-
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