Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Short Story

Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

He sat on the roof, feet dangling over the side. The moon glowed behind him, illuminating the space around him and casting his face in shadow. Beneath him, the bustle and noise of sidewalk slowed as people began to trickle away, like sand from an hourglass, ticking down seconds in a slow stream. The lights of the shops flickered out one by one, candles blown out, leaving only a wisp of smoke to show their past splendor and light.

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk alone

They pass his perch, again and again, too caught up in their own little world to ever look up, to ever see the dark shape sat on the edge of the rooftop just above their heads. They hurry home, to shelter and warmth and comfort. Behind them, as the night wears on, a streetlight flickers, bulb exhausted, plunging a corner of the road into darkness.

I walk a lonely road
The only one that I have ever known
Don't know where it goes
But it's home to me and I walk alone

He watches as they come and go, in their own tiny bubbles. Perhaps this is what the moon feels like, every night for years, watching all the little pieces of the bigger picture forget what they make as a whole. Her light crawls across the street, fading in and out of intensity and strength, yet persevering all the same.

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a

The walkway below him is dimly lit, the streetlamps' light weak, yet another of them extinguishing like a small flame faced with water, leaving behind the dark glass bulb of a light gone out. His shadow, cast by the moon, stretches over the surface of the rooftop and vanishes over the side of the building, puttering out against the faint light of the lampposts.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

He stretches out a hand, merely to test, but cannot see a difference in the shifting shadows on the sidewalk. It was as if he had not moved at all, as if his shadow did not exist. Perhaps he was merely a figment of his own imagination, born from his own nightmares. The faint, sputtering glow on the streetlights crawl up the wall towards him, chasing his shadow up the side of the building upon which he is perched. The light touches his foot with its last remaining strength, but cannot put out his darkness, illuminate his body.

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah
Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah

The stars watch him, speckled throughout the universe, turning points of light that glow so faintly they are barely visible. They are surrounded in darkness, dots of brightness swimming in the midst of a vast, impenetrable lake of inky black that swallowed up all traces of light but the dim pinpricks of stars.

I'm walking down the line
That divides me somewhere in my mind
On the borderline
Of the edge and where I walk alone

The cool stone of the rooftop chilled his skin, the cold seeping into his skin past his flimsy sweatpants. The night wind swirled around him, sending goose bumps down his arms. He tucked them closer to his chest, watching as, with a last flicker, a lamppost died, obscuring some more of the street.

Read between the lines
Of what's f*cked up and everything's alright
Check my vital signs
To know I'm still alive and I walk alone

He sat on the roof for hours, every bone and muscle having locked into place long ago. He barely felt the breeze anymore, only heard the faint whoosh of it passing by his ear as it ruffled through his hair. It swirled around, tossing dried leaves into the air like an excited toddler playing in a park.

I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk alone
I walk a

The blackness of night had slowly seeped down the street and now lay beneath his feet as a lamp from the top window of the house across from him blinked out of existence. The whole world was sleeping, still, a delicate sort of frozen, as if any small move would disturb the spell cast upon the road. It was silent, as if in a waking dream or frozen in time.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

He eventually shifted slightly, sliding his hands backwards to rest his weight on his palms. The chill of the roof bit into his hands, and his breath fogged the air in front of him, barely visible in the night gloom. In the corner of his eye, the dying light of a streetlamp flickering out, having lost its final battle.

Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah-ah, aaah-ah
Ah-ah, ah-ah
I walk alone
I walk a

He shifted his weight closer to the edge of the roof, looking down, trying to make out any shape, any sign of movement, but all was silent and still. He slipped forwards, dangerously close to falling, before lifting his head, looking across the abandoned street, no longer loud and bustling, all the shops' lights gone out, and watched the final streetlight as it flickered once, twice, thrice before blinking out, dead, leaving no trace of having ever been lit. Light gone out forever. The darkness swept across the street, swallowing any last vestiges of light. It was utterly black. He breathed deeply, letting the breath pass over his lips and fog the night air, barely smudging the black of the world around him. He casually swept a lock of hair from where it was dangling in front of his eyes, but could see no change in the shifting darkness surrounding him, as if he was truly inconsequential, as if he didn't matter, and neither did his actions.

I walk this empty street
On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Where the city sleeps
And I'm the only one and I walk a

He sat on the rooftop, immobile, alone, and watched the sun rise.

My shadow's the only one that walks beside me
My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating
Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me
'Til then I walk alone

Word Count: 1163 words

So... I was bored and uninspired and I listened to Boulevard of Broken Dreams and this happened... how'd you like it?

Peace out!

MapleRose150 🍉