Settle For Less: Short Stories For Those Who Like The Little Things

Peace And Rebel

Tell me truthfully, when you where young did you ever really spend days thinking you were going to die? Did you ever sit there and say, well gee it’s going to happen someday. Well at least I hope you didn’t anyway. Life is a fantastic, versatile gift; one should cherish every second of it. Though when it’s just begun and it’s ripped from your small helpless hands you don’t know what to think or do. You freeze; your years are taken from you. You either make peace, or you rebel against it. Personally I think that to rebel is to waist, but there still can be no peace with such injustice. And so my story starts where it is also about to end.

            1:15am

            The alarm woke me but did not startle me this morning. I gently stopped its spastic tone and got up out of bed slowly. I almost laughed at that, if one had only 24 hours to live you would think they’d be in a rush right? I took to the kitchen snug in my cozy pajamas. My cookbook that I had left on the table was open to the breakfast section. Last night I had found a pancake recipe I’d never seen before, so I decided to make it this morning.

            Usually my morning menu would just consist of toast or cereal. (I’m not that fond of cooking at breakfast time) Though, today was indeed the occasion to go all out. They were mint chocolate pancakes drizzled with more chocolate. They really did sound just divine. Like I said I don’t like cooking in the morning, but that doesn’t mean I’m a bad cook. I’m actually quite good if I get it right, and today I did. The pancakes were fantastic, but there were some leftovers. So I just left those in the fridge, with a note saying take whatever you need that I stuck to the door. I wasn’t thinking how people would take that.

            5:00am

            It’s nice to feel clean and ready for the day. I had taken a terribly long shower and gotten ready. I looked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look sick at all, and for a second that made me angry. Why me? Why, with all those disturbing, terrible, people in the world am I thrown ahead of the line? It was unfair, but it only fueled my resolve. I grabbed my bag and headed for my car.

           

7:45am

            The ride to Denver was long, and I bit at my lip thinking of the time I was wasting in the car. The time I could have used to be with my family and loved ones. I glanced at my duffle bag; hanging slightly out of it was my video camera. This was how it had to be.

            9:10am

            Downtown Denver seemed quiet. I road along main street passing shops and restaurants, what I was looking for was a tattoo shop that would be open at nine in the morning. I strolled past anther road, expecting nothing, but to my amazement there it was! Sullivan’s Tattoo, a big burly man had just opened the door and flipped the closed sign over. I took a very unsafe and maybe slightly illegal turn into a close by parking lot.

            As I opened the door a bell chimed above me, I stuck my head in the door a little nervous. “Hello?” The man popped up from behind the long counter, “Who the hell…?” the man mumbled as he turned to face me. I quickly walked up to the counter, “Err, do you take walk-ins?” He blinked at me.

            12:30-2:00pm

            I glanced at my neck in the mirror again, the glossy cellophane that covered my new tattoo made it odd to move my neck. Luckily though it wasn’t that long of a drive to the hairdresser. I had picked the fanciest place I could find. It was much later in the day so of course they were open. I walked in and asked if they had any openings. The receptionist looked at me like I was a fool, I got a bit worried. Though to my luck (funny, I know) there was indeed an opening with the young bird nosed lady in the back. I thanked her and headed that way. The lady was nice, her name was Tawny. What I did next though almost made her cringe. “I want a girl’s Mohawk.” I said. In the end it was fantastic, she styled it for me and said it’ll last all day. She tried to sell me some product for it, but I refused. I said I wouldn’t need it.

            5:00pm

            I had eaten a late lunch at three, and then just prowled around the streets. I had needed to take a break before my final act. Though it was time now, so I headed to the restroom with my duffle bag. I stood in front of the long mirror looking at myself then I took out my body makeup. I took a brush and then started my work. The idea was to right what I thought about myself on my body. That’s why I had worn my tang top and shorts. I needed at much skin as possible. I almost broke down a few times; you see I needed to write both the bad and the good.

6:45pm

I started walking to a nearby park. As I did people stared, but it didn’t matter. I found a bench towards the middle of the park. I sat down and pulled out my video camera and stand.

12:55pm

I had been at the park for hours, just talking to the camera. Saying thinks to my family, to my friends. Telling it every idea I had ever had, for movies, music, books. You could almost say it was a last ditch effort to leave something to the world. I glanced at my watch and I suddenly realised I only had five minutes left. Five minutes. This was it, the time of reckoning. I looked into the camera, I smiled. Four minutes. I franticly said how much I loved everyone. Three minutes. I said how sorry I was for leaving everyone so soon. Two minutes. Then in my last seconds, calm came over me. It was blissful and it gave me courage for the unknown. A few more seconds left. I looked at the camera, “Well, I’ll see you guys later then.” I smiled, and then turned off the camera.

1:00am