Short Stories

Glazed Earth & Crackling Noise

In my home, I hear crackling just outside my ear yet nowhere around. It does not end, no matter how long I wait for it to cease. I look over at the clock, I should really hurry. I hurriedly put on my attire, firstly my dress shirt then my thin trousers. I lastly put on my dress shoes. I quickly make my way to the kitchen. The crackling follows. I prepare myself a snack of sweets and carbs, the healthiness of my later meal matters not.

I step outside, the crackling is much louder, the sky is grey and the ground beneath my feet are glazed in sporadically places of white so packed together it might look like a thin sheet. I begin walking to my next destination, and as I walk for no more than seven minutes, my ankles begin to give out. I feel slower than I should, taking much longer to get to where I need. The crackling increases in volume. I finally reach the place I need to be, now I must climb.

My feet feel as if they are tied down, I can barely make my way up without damaging myself. I slowly climb my way up, painfully. As I make my way to the top, I hear my need of transportation come and go before I could even get near. I curse the continued crackling, the white that glazed the earth, and whatever ball and chain that tied me down. I carry myself to where I must be, waiting for another transportation machine that runs on tracks, and thus I wait in the crackling noise for several minutes. It feels like hours, my feet still in pain.

My way of transportation finally comes, and so I enter. I take a lonely seat, my body sighs in relief as I've escaped the crackling and can finally hang my feet without weight bringing me down. I take the time to document my horrific morning, feeling as if I've found a new monster.

When I arrive at my next destination, I hurry down a tower of steps in order to get onto a long automobile that will take me to the last stop. Once I've exit the tower of stairs, I come outside. The crackling did stop, the ground is no longer glazed.

I can move at my normal pace again, and I smile internally as I wait for my ride. As I wait, I notice the earth is wet, as if it rained, but it had not, I swear! I wait longer, and I look down at my hands. My hands, infront of me, I see a white quickly fall onto them. Startled, curious, I look around to see of the white water has started falling onto others. It had not.

Once on my ride, I sit alone with my bag as a barrier. I notice the uneasy morning faces of people, specifically of an older woman who looks up from time to time at my direction but not at me. I avoid even glancing at her. I notice the skies still grey, and the trees still dead after many months. I sit patiently, waiting to get off.