Of All The Stories I've Written, I Share With You, Stranger, These Few

A Slowly Dying Town

*modified for Wattpad's mobile format*

There's something about a slowly dying town.
Seen only in person, never marked by a state map.
Tourists forget they passed through
before they even cross the borders,
for why should they care
about a town of no celebrities?
Of no fancy and famous tourist attractions?
Why should they care
about a dying stranger
they've never met?
The locals would disagree.
The small grocery store owner, with his big mustache and thick accent,
would tell you that there was a small singer that was born here,
but you don't like country,
so why should you care?
The high school science teacher,
with his wide eyes filled with curiosity,
would bring you to the diner in the center of town,
it's booths collecting dust
and it's waitresses cupping their exhausted faces in their unworked hands.
Their faces would light up as you and the teacher walk in.
You might order a coffee or even a donut,
if you like that sort of stuff.
The waitresses will whisper about you as they watch you and the teacher eat.
Will you stay?
Or will you be like every other customer they'd had?
Will you tip them well and ask for their names?
Will you stay?
The town would hold
its suffocating breath
as you pondered your answer.
Before you could disappoint them,
the lonely chef will emerge from their quiet kitchen and
tell you about how, when they were a child,
the streets were never empty.
The air was filled with laughter and cheers.
The town watched its people
with light in its eyes and a smile on its face.
The town could breathe back then.
But years went by,
and the town grew older,
waking each morning
with a glass of water by its bedside
to clear the loneliness from its lungs.
Years would go by,
and soon enough the town was struggling and wheezing,
praying for what it had taken for granted
all those years ago.
You would tell the lonely chef,
and the bored waitresses,
and the wide-eyed science teacher
that you would do your best to return.
They knew it wouldn't happen, though.
You were only saying that to appease the poor locals.
The town watched you climb into your car, wiping tears from its face
as it waved you farewell.
You remembered that town
until you reached your destination,
with its bright lights and loud restaurants.
But then the name slipped your mind
as your coworkers asked you about your travels, and the town was forgotten once more,
left to suffocate on nothing.