Last Night

February 22, 2013 at 9:15 am · Filed under Crazy stuff, Dark Side, Stories ·Tagged blood moon, brick in the wall, confusion, darkness, finality, John Mellancamp, life, life goes on, Pink Floyd, the light, uncertainty

Sometimes I like to step out of character and write something that makes people say, “What the… ?!” And what better opportunity to do that than Kellie Elmore’s Free Write Friday? Her prompt this week was a line from one of John Mellancamp’s oldies. This is what it inspired from yours truly. Enjoy!

Last Night

A car goes slowly by. The driver’s head bobs to the sounds from the radio and the words drifting from the open window remind you of times gone by, as John Mellancamp’s scratchy voice wails, “Oh yea, they say ‘life goes on’ long after the thrill of living is gone. You nod your head, thinking, I can relate.

It seems there comes a time—I don’t think it has anything to do with age—when we run headlong into that brick wall.

In the beginning, life seems to put its scaly hand on your back and push you; gently at first, just a nudge, then more forcefully until at some point in time you’re going at breakneck speed, trying to keep up with the Joneses—and everyone else—who seem to be going even faster than you are; grinning at you as they fly past.

Somewhere along the way, you start thinking you might actually make it, maybe even make a big splash on the canvas of this life, and that’s when you hit the bricks—brick wall, that is. And as you sit there in the alley, dusk slowly settling over your feeble attempt at living this crazy mixed up thing called life, you look around and realize you’re alone.

From a distance behind you, you hear tittering laughter, but when you turn there is nothing but a creeping wall of darkness edging toward you. You recall someone saying, “When the time comes, go toward the light”, and as blackness closes in, you look up, thinking that’s where the light should be.

A red moon hovers there, and appears to be slowly descending from the inky sky, then a scratching sound calls your attention to the wall, and when you turn to see what it is, a brick falls to the pavement and shatters. Stepping to the wall, you bend down and peer into the small opening left by the brick.

You see the light! But just as suddenly, it blinks out and the scream of a thousand youthful voices bellow in unison: TEACHER! LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE!

A buzzing sound… then a chittering, as the brick recomposes, rises, then slips back into its place in the wall… a snap of finality echoes through the seeping darkfall.

Then silence… the blood moon pulses… sighs… then dies… and the last night coddles you close as a cold, scaly hand touches your cheek.

Copyright © 2013 C Mashburn

I want to close this post with a simple word of encouragement: Though this little story may seem real to some, and though they may relate it to their own lives, it doesn’t have to be this way. If you need an encouraging word, I invite you to read my Daily Encouragements that I post on this blog each morning. I write them to help those who read them to see there is hope in a world gone seemingly mad. Mostly, they simply say, look at the good stuff!

Permalink