I lay in the tub scrubbing away all meaning with a flannel and letting the warm water dissolve my worries. So many layers of unnecessary complication are hard on the soul. Surely there comes a time when we tire of it and simply let it all go?
There’s a knock at the bathroom door. I rise from my mountain of bubbles straight away, and open the lock before I’ve even thought of putting a towel around me.
It’s him! He looks different now, but then it has been twenty years. He still wears black but for the white scarf around his neck, and he still has dark shoulder length hair though now it is speckled with grey. With longing I look into his eyes – just two dark and endless craters, pulling me in and taking me beyond.
“I have made my decision,” he croaks. “I want to be with you always. Come with me and stay by my side?”
Hearing the words I have longed for all these years makes me instantly weak, as though I’m melting from the inside.
“That is all I ever wanted,” I say, falling into his arms. “I accept.”
He is cold and expressionless, but I don’t care. I know that he hasn’t reached his decision lightly, and I know that he really means it. I know this is how my myth ends. And so I let out all the water. I watch it swirling and glugging away down the plug hole. Then, with his hand to steady me, I climb back into the empty bathtub to lay down and close my eyes. The very next time I fall asleep must be the last.
Your desired effect was caused…a shudder I did.
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“Surely there comes a time when we tire of it and simply let it all go?…” Yeah, I’m pretty much at that point now. But don’t worry! Not gonna sit in the tub…I’, gonna sit in my chair, blog, and read bloggers like yourself. Maybe take a walk and have a cigar now and then. Nice story! Thanks!
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Thanks for reading, I’m pleased you enjoyed it 🙂
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You’ve managed to leave me with a lot of questions and feelings for such a short piece. Hmm… so the man is… death? Or is she death, and he decides to be with her always i.e. kill himself? Or are they two fractions of the same person, coming to an internal understanding and compromise?
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I’ll let you decide on the interpretation you like the most 😉
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Aw, now that’s just wicked 😛
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Not really, it’s just the way I like to write. I want readers to make it their own, and my personal interpretation could spoil that ☺
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“I want readers to make it their own, and my personal interpretation could spoil that.”
Amen. Hooptedoodle and minutia ARE death. To fiction, anyway. High fives for that one.
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I’m glad you agree ☺
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What!!
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Holy shit. Caroline, this is pure genius. Wow.
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Thank you so much 😊
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