It's a knife in the gut... No.1
It's a staple in the heart.2
How could he do this to me? Go off with that girl, when I've given him my life, so much of my life, of me.3
To him. Him.4
Too much... yes, too much. He treats me with contempt. He's thrown me away, me. Me. After all we had. All the trust we had, how could he -5
No, I must be quiet. Quietly, check my pocket. Here's the key - no, that's not it. The other one - it has his key chain, the one with the "M".6
Quiet now. Surreptitious. Stealthy. Secret. Furtive...7
No not "furtive". Emboldened.8
NO!! Not now, this pain, this icicle, penetrating, my heart, exploding, crushes the lungs against my ribs. Fills my chest. All this, this agony, the physical residue of joy. All that is left... my heart, my heart, I can't breathe, searing down my arm, my life is over, and it's her fault, hers, nothing was wrong until she looked his way, seduced, caught him when he was vulnerable and I was away.9
How could he? Do this to me??10
To me? A lifetime of loving, what hope is there now? For me, now? Who will ever love me again? Hold me, now? How could he...11
Oh, God, I'm going to faint. Pass out... here...I can lean against the door for just a moment...12
Find the narceine... crystal... sharp, bitter on my tongue... and then the relief, the warmth.13
Fine.14
Now, the key, quickly, into the lock. Turn, slowly - QUIET! Make no sound. 15
I'm in.16
Down the dusty hall. Spot the black case by the door, silent, silent, silently I stand beside it as I take out the other key, the silver one, the skeleton, not the Yale.17
The key to His house, where they are sleeping, together, in the bed we, He, I shared. The other side of this door is another hall, narrow, low, painted white, and beyond it, the room.18
The bed. Our bed.19
Oh, God, it is so commonplace. So vulgar. I have fallen, fallen. Forgive me...20
There is a scent of violets...21
I fit the key into the lock, there is a small scraping sound as it catches the tumblers, then triumph blinds me, stabs me in the throat as the door creaks and swings inwards, now they will know, will understand, will feel, "he who does not learn will feel", what it means, really means, to die of a broken heart.
Author notes
An Sharepoetry writer called MojoJames wrote a piece called "You" in which he coined the phrase "the residue of joy" - check it out at
http://sharepoetry.com/poem/27768
This piece was written in response to that.
Vocabulary notes: from Dictionary.com
Solipsistic: adj
Pertaining to extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; to egoistic self-absorption.
He was not so much sensitive as solipsistic.
Psychosis: n
a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality.
She opens the door - but does she find a goal or her psychosis within?
Narcissism: n
Erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.
He was self-absorbed to the point of narcissism, never perceiving needs beyond his own.
Narceine: n
A bitter, white crystal alkaloid derived from opium and acting as a muscle relaxant on smooth muscle.
Amongst the useful compounds derived from poppies, narceine is one of the least known.
Irone:n
a colorless liquid of isomeric, unsaturated ketones, C14H22O, obtained from orris root: used in perfumery for its odor of violets.
Irone delivers the illusion of violets, but traditionally its scent was associated with death.
A contest entry
- FAST, FRESH AND FANTASTIC FLASH FICTION by tallblondie.
1750 points, ended September 3, 10 entries
Honorable winner
• next story in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
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I enjoyed the style of this piece. The short and one word sentences really added to the insistency of the flow of this - almost as if to induce a specific beat or rythmn in the reading. Sort of like it represented the character's heartbeat and breath. Great descriptions also leant a powerful atmosphere in this piece.
Thank you for your entry and good luck.
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