The Momentary Moments : A Book Of Short Stories

Strong

"So how did you get here?" She asked me. I could tell she was just trying to be polite by the way she asked. I studied her a little bit before responding. Her hair flowed carefully down her back like snow falling down on a cold day. Her eyes were a piercing emerald color.

"It's a long story," I replied, "And it's still all settling in." She shifted slightly as she crossed both her legs and arms.

"Does it look like I'm in a rush?" She spat. Normally I would have blown up into a child throwing a fit but today all my anger had been drained profusely.

"No I'm sorry, it's just been a long day," I sighed as I began to lean my head back against the wall. My eyelids began to drop like dead weight. My brain began to screen another one of my dream productions as I felt my body drifting. She popped in my head. My body began to melt like a popsicle as drips of sweat dripped abundantly from my pores. As I looked around I felt at peace. I was surrounded by a body of water. I used my hands and feet to feel the place around me. I dug my feet into a soft material as my hands grazed a silky material near me. I felt confusion and anxiety rack my body. Then it hit me, I was on a boat. Suddenly, I felt at home.

I walked over to the edge of the boat and stuck my hand in the water. A cool sensation washed over me as the gelid water scoured over my clammy skin. I reached over to the other seat and grabbed my shades as I carefully placed them over the crystal blue circles on my face. The second thing I reached for was my blue baseball cap with the black nike swoosh on the front. I placed it carefully backwards over my frumpled mess on top of my head. I look out onto the water and there she is, frolicking in the clear crystal nature. Her eyes lock with my as she goes under once again. I watch her carefully as she floats like a light feather. For once, everything seems perfect.

But of course perfection can't last forever. As I'm watching her, her body begins to sink like a stone and less like a feather. Her pretty little smile began choke as she fell underneath the water. No longer was the water clear, it was now dark. I can hear her muffled screams as I extend out to her.

"Hello?! You never finished telling me your story!" A voice yelled impatiently.

"Look, do you have any respect? It's been a long day and you just almost made me piss my pants!" I raised my voice a little this time to get my point across. I guess I hadn't drained out all my anger today.

"Hey I'm just saying, the hospital isn't an ideal place to spend your fourth of July," She said with a slight smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"It's my wife okay? Something happened this morning and she hasn't been very well since."

"Oh let me guess, firework accident. You know they have those warning labels on the big ones for a reason," She mocked.

"It's not like that."

"Seems like that to me."

"She's dying!" I blurted out and suddenly she was speechless.

"She's-"

"Dying. Yes that's correct," I replied calmer this time. I guess I had finally become fully aware of the situation. Was I okay with it? No, definitely not, but now I had finally stepped out of that trance of shock.

"I'm sorry," She said softly.

"Eh it's okay. I understand. Fourth of July is like the day meant for accidents. I don't blame you for assuming," I responded quietly. We were both silent for awhile after that.

"Do you mind?" She asked as she broke the silence. I was confused.

"What?"

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to her?" She questioned. I thought for a moment. What was I supposed to tell this stranger? It's not like we had all year. This was a long story about our love, it couldn't be best described in only a few words.

As I thought more about it, I realized that if I wanted her embodied legacy to last on, I was going to have to sum her and us up in just a bunch of short simple words. Cause honestly, in this cruel world, no one cares. As harsh as that sounds, it's true. When somebody you love dies, people only stop for a single second to share their sorrows and condolences, and after that second is over they get over it and they keep moving on as if nothing had ever happened while you're stuck there mourning over the loss. You try so hard to share with the world what a beautiful person they were but everyone else decides that their daily life is more important and they only have a few hours to spend at a funeral. You just want to spend the rest of your life showing them how much they mattered and how beautiful they are but once they're gone, everyone stops caring.

"To sum it up, she was my lifesaver. When I first met her I was depressed and suicidal. When she came into my life I finally had something to live for. Today, she was drowning and I couldn't save her. I guess you could say I was never strong enough."