I've decided to make a compilation of short stories I've written only from this year (2020) and onwards. Some of these are created from looking at a picture or from a word prompt.
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The boy came to his senses when a drop of water tickled his forehead. Sitting up on the cement floor, he contemplated his surroundings as well as himself.
His bare and jagged feet were covered in dried dirt that was beginning to peel off, a dry and dehydrated feeling clung in his throat, and cuts and bruises etched onto his body.
After a moment, the boy shook his head, yanking and tugging at his curly hair with his hands.
I don't want to wake up. I don't want to wake up. I don't want to wake up.
Because.. when I wake up again, I'll just be reminded by the fact that you're not here. Then.. I'll have to experience that pain once more. You left me. You left me.
--
"How would you describe me, Elliot?" The boy with lustrous golden hair asked him.
"Well," Elliot paused, tapping his finger on his cheek. "You're kinda.. I don't know, outlandish?"
"What?!"
"Nonononono, uh, I meant, outstanding. You're really outstanding."
"Well damn right," said the boy. "I'm your older brother, 'course I gotta be."
"Sure..." Elliot mumbled. "Anyways, are you okay? That shopkeeper hit you pretty badly."
"What do you mean, Elliot? This is just a scratch.. Although I doubt it'll just disappear. It's probably gonna be there for the rest of my life. You could say it's a badge of my bravery!"
Elliot knew it hurt even though his brother didn't mention a word about it. It probably stung so much. That's why he got up randomly at night, that's why sometimes he stopped talking all of a sudden, that's why he put up a wall of lies, fabricating it into make-believe nerves of steel in order to pretend everything was fine when nothing was.
Elliot looked away from him.
"What's wrong, Elliot? Look, you're making that face again."
Elliot didn't respond.
"Y'know Elliot, each time I look back at your face, I feel like all the weight from my shoulders lifts off, and I can't even feel the wounds anymore. You're like my shining light."
Lies.
"No matter what, even if it's just the two of us in this gigantic family, I'll never leave your side. I could never, you hear me?" He said.
Lies again.
--
But today was different. Much more different. It was quiet. There were no chatters of people, there were no beeping of the cars, nor the hammering of the construction sites nearby. There was no one to be seen. The silence in the air was too quiet, almost deafening.
