We sat side by side, watching an uncomfortably raunchy Adult Swim program that he loved, until a storm rolled in. The skies darkened and rain beat oppressively over the house all at once. I felt apocalyptic black energy and a lack of safety, superstition, something. We got up without needing to say anything, gathered my belongings and ventured outside the very second the rain slowed.
Our drive was mostly silent, a normal and mutual status in our friendship, but even that was laced this time with uneasiness, as if some movie was about to roll the credits. I blurted something about being afraid, about change looming. I asked him if he knew what I meant and he reassured me in an emotionless tone that my new job wouldn’t be too hard, I would be trained sufficiently and patience would be administered as I learned.
I countered that the change felt bigger than that, and I didn’t know what would happen. I wondered what the new climate would mean for us as friends and as human beings. And then I finally asked, “What if I change?”
My greatest fear, and this time the silence that settled over us was suffocating.
By Kendra L. Saunders
To learn more about Kendra, click here!
Our drive was mostly silent, a normal and mutual status in our friendship, but even that was laced this time with uneasiness, as if some movie was about to roll the credits. I blurted something about being afraid, about change looming. I asked him if he knew what I meant and he reassured me in an emotionless tone that my new job wouldn’t be too hard, I would be trained sufficiently and patience would be administered as I learned.
I countered that the change felt bigger than that, and I didn’t know what would happen. I wondered what the new climate would mean for us as friends and as human beings. And then I finally asked, “What if I change?”
My greatest fear, and this time the silence that settled over us was suffocating.
By Kendra L. Saunders
To learn more about Kendra, click here!
3 comments:
Kendra L. Saunders is a novelist, poet and freelance writer. Her work has appeared in Snakeskin magazine and Premier Bride, and she is currently promoting her novel "Inanimate Objects." Visit her website at www.kendralsaunders.com for more information.
Awesome piece, Kackie! Is this style of prose-poem (almost a short story) new for you, or a style you've been working in for a while?
I've been experimenting with flash fiction for the last year, mostly from the inspiration of how songwriters can say things in a way that couldn't be described better with MORE words. It's been a chance to learn about the economy of words. And this was inspired by true events, so it was also somewhat cathartic.
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