about two and a half months ago, during a couple of exceptionally cold winter nights in japan, i wrote my first short story since high school. it was for "three-minute fiction," a short story contest by NPR. there were only three rules i had to follow: (1) a character must tell a joke, (2) a character must cry, and (3) it must be less than 600 words. since i didnt win the contest, ive decided to post it here for the world to read. check out the results of the contest and the more-talented writing of the winner here.
Together to the End
The world pouring through my eyes seems to slow to a crawl as my brain adjusts to the chaos happening around me. The screams of terrified passengers begin to drown my senses. My right hand instinctively shoots out to find Ashlyn's trembling hand. I grab it tightly. With the violent descent our bodies are experiencing, I barely even notice something hard digging between our locked fingers. I decide to ignore the throbbing pain for now and take stock of our situation. This plane - what once was our means to starting a new life together - is falling to the ground and taking our hopes and dreams down with it.
With wide eyes I look deep into Ashlyn's and notice that tears have already started falling down her pallid cheeks. My heart drops faster than a broken plane ever could. Through her eyes I can sense right away that she isn't entertaining any naive hopes for a fairytale ending either. We both know these will probably be the last moments we ever share together.
As I squeeze her hand tighter, my mind races to think of ways to ease her suffering. "No matter what happens," I choke through clenched teeth, "I want you to know that I will always love you." As I force my mouth into the shape of a "U", she stops crying long enough to reciprocate with an equally strained smile.
The passengers all around us become even more frantic and hysterical as the plane dives faster to the ground. In a last-ditch attempt to put a real smile on her face, I recall one of my favorite memories. "Hey Ash," I shout trying to get her full attention. "Remember the first thing I ever said to you?" She doesn't respond, so I squeeze her hand just a little harder and continue. "At Cleary's... in Boston... after making eye contact all night..." I pause to push back some of the hair covering her forehead to reveal a small scar above her eyebrow. "Remember the bandage you wore that night to cover this up? I thought I was so witty with that cheesy pick-up line..."
The plane lurches forward sending many of the people around us into the chairs in front of them. In the corner of my eye, I see an unfortunate flight attendant thrown down the aisle towards the cockpit. But during these hectic seconds of free fall, Ashlyn and I continue to hold hands and try to replay the moments we first met in our heads.
Returning to my story, I ask, "Remember how I pointed to your bandage and asked if it hurt," pausing briefly, "when you fell from heaven?" My heart melts almost instantly as I see a genuine smile appear across her face. It contagiously spreads to mine, and before I know it, I'm smiling too.
The last few moments of terror are quickly washed away by a wave of calming joy that only two people truly in love can ever experience. "How fitting," she finally responds as we both begin to smile bigger than before.
The sight of ground through the windows approaches faster now, but we continue to look into each others' eyes and relive the memories we shared together. Even when fears of the impending crash eventually take hold again, our hands remain locked tight. In my last few moments I realize something is still painfully digging in to my hand. I glance down to see what it is, and notice her new wedding ring driving into the bones of my fingers.
Together to the End
The world pouring through my eyes seems to slow to a crawl as my brain adjusts to the chaos happening around me. The screams of terrified passengers begin to drown my senses. My right hand instinctively shoots out to find Ashlyn's trembling hand. I grab it tightly. With the violent descent our bodies are experiencing, I barely even notice something hard digging between our locked fingers. I decide to ignore the throbbing pain for now and take stock of our situation. This plane - what once was our means to starting a new life together - is falling to the ground and taking our hopes and dreams down with it.
With wide eyes I look deep into Ashlyn's and notice that tears have already started falling down her pallid cheeks. My heart drops faster than a broken plane ever could. Through her eyes I can sense right away that she isn't entertaining any naive hopes for a fairytale ending either. We both know these will probably be the last moments we ever share together.
As I squeeze her hand tighter, my mind races to think of ways to ease her suffering. "No matter what happens," I choke through clenched teeth, "I want you to know that I will always love you." As I force my mouth into the shape of a "U", she stops crying long enough to reciprocate with an equally strained smile.
The passengers all around us become even more frantic and hysterical as the plane dives faster to the ground. In a last-ditch attempt to put a real smile on her face, I recall one of my favorite memories. "Hey Ash," I shout trying to get her full attention. "Remember the first thing I ever said to you?" She doesn't respond, so I squeeze her hand just a little harder and continue. "At Cleary's... in Boston... after making eye contact all night..." I pause to push back some of the hair covering her forehead to reveal a small scar above her eyebrow. "Remember the bandage you wore that night to cover this up? I thought I was so witty with that cheesy pick-up line..."
The plane lurches forward sending many of the people around us into the chairs in front of them. In the corner of my eye, I see an unfortunate flight attendant thrown down the aisle towards the cockpit. But during these hectic seconds of free fall, Ashlyn and I continue to hold hands and try to replay the moments we first met in our heads.
Returning to my story, I ask, "Remember how I pointed to your bandage and asked if it hurt," pausing briefly, "when you fell from heaven?" My heart melts almost instantly as I see a genuine smile appear across her face. It contagiously spreads to mine, and before I know it, I'm smiling too.
The last few moments of terror are quickly washed away by a wave of calming joy that only two people truly in love can ever experience. "How fitting," she finally responds as we both begin to smile bigger than before.
The sight of ground through the windows approaches faster now, but we continue to look into each others' eyes and relive the memories we shared together. Even when fears of the impending crash eventually take hold again, our hands remain locked tight. In my last few moments I realize something is still painfully digging in to my hand. I glance down to see what it is, and notice her new wedding ring driving into the bones of my fingers.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011 |
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