His visage blurs and fades, Through a veil of shimmery haze, Disappearing altogether every dream, Leaving tired eyes agleam.
His existence is ephemeral like a shadow, Why does my heart feel so hollow? Chest tight, breath tight, Why the same vision every night.
I reached out my hand, to take his in mine, His profile became clear, it was time, He turned altogether and smiled, I woke up, as the clock chimed.
He sat near the well, dreaming of something to wish, Something fragile, something fresh.
Nothing came to mind, though he rattled his brains, No ideas, none to avail.
He rolled the lucky penny between his thumb and finger, Whistled a little ,and lingered.
He had everything he could ever dream of, Which, was unheard of.
He decided to help others who were very needy, Why be greedy?
He held the penny in his hand, and wished a wish, Truly grand.
To all those who came to this magical wishing well, Either in sickness or in health.
He hoped their heart’s desire would come through, The penny’s magic held true.
“I don’t want to do this.” Mandy whispers nervously. “ Oh, come on! It’ll be fun.”I joke, poking my sister in the ribs. She lets out a small giggle and bats my hand away. They had been coming to this cliff ever since they were little kids, marveling at the vast ocean and wishing they could sail on it forever. “You can’t get scared now. Remember what I taught you?” I ask trying to boost her courage. She nods looking at me with unwavering trust in her eyes. I take a huge breath and beckon her forward with my fingers. I wasn’t going to let anyone hurt us anymore. One leap and both of us would be free of the hell that we call home. This was the only way. I grab my sister’s hand and pull her towards the cliff edge with me. She nods slowly in my direction. Then we jump.
The eerie silence that emanated from the bare rocky landscape was pressing down on his ears with a dull ache. He heaved himself onto the plateau, and surveyed the stark empty terrain before him.
The sun beat down on his head relentlessly, making beads of sweat slide down his brow and sting his eyes. The sheer nothingness of the landscape hurt. All brown tan colors, seemingly innocuous but life threatening and bare. He took a swig of water and sensed movement to his left. A lone tree with sharp branches and no leaves stood on a rocky slope creaking in the hot dry air.
He better get a move on if he wanted to find some sort of shelter for the night. The thought of navigating the vast rugged terrain in the dark was a daunting one, but he’d make it out of here somehow, he had his wits and supplies to help him. He was going to survive.
The strong wind rustled his beautiful leaves, Causing its heavy strong branches to heave, It stood straight, proud and tall, Respected and saluted by big and small.
Little did the mighty oak knew that something was amiss, A strange little intruder found,within its roots, deep bliss, It was living in luxury, like a king, Dining, thriving, day out and day in.
The tree was oblivious, it was happy it was content, Until one day a sharp wind, left it bent, The shock had him searching for a cause, It was too late, his roots were in the invader’s jaws.
God. Kill me now. Hal thought to himself. The woman sitting across him opened her mouth in a wide grin, salad bits stuck between her teeth. He barely concealed his grimace. “You’re not eating anything?” She said between large bites of her food. I think you are, for the both of us, he almost said. “I had a huge lunch. I’m not that hungry.” He answered. She slurped her diet coke, snorting as she tried to control her laugh at his reply. Did I say something funny? He wanted to ask, but decided against it.
He had spent the past half hour listening to her regale him with stories of her achievements, social life, family, cat, dog, parrot and her damn hamster chippy.
His friend was going to die for doing this to him and the bastard wasn’t even calling to check up on him, like they had agreed. He was going to make a run for it. There was nothing else he could do. One, two, three..
Her phone rang. Saved! At last. Uh oh. Why is she crying? No, please no. She turned tear filled eyes to him and said,” There’s been an accident, its chippy. Can you please take me home?”
“I’ll put you in a cab?” He tried. “No, please.” She sobbed. “Okay. No problem.” He answered. Chippy is going to be the death of me. He thought asking for the check.
Where were you last night? Took a walk in the moonlight.
Alone? I find that hard to believe, Really? At least let go of my sleeve.
I’ll rip you apart in little pieces, That’s why husbands die of diseases.
Who is the home wrecker, your sweet honey. Don’t get mad, but it’s your sister Sonny.
I am a surgeon. Man’s salvation in extremely hazardous times. Disease has, and always will be the human race’s Achilles Heel. That is where I come in. A hero with a rapier or in my case a scalpel.
My question to that someone who decided my life, is simple and direct, “Why me?” I don’t want to do this. Day in and day out. I don’t want to deal with oozing bodies and festering wounds. I simply hate the cries of pain, the hopeful questions, the dead lifeless bodies. The worst of all is the pacing feet, the wrenching cries of relatives and my stupid stoic face with the useless words, “I’m sorry.”
