| General Flash Fiction posted August 4, 2020 |
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400 words. The shattered lives our actions leave behind.
The River
by papa55mike
.JPG)
Like my thoughts, the swirling current drifts continually down the Obion River - always surging toward its unknown destination. The wind through the Cyprus trees and Red-wing Blackbirds greet me when I sit down on the edge of the old railroad bridge. There's a special kind of quiet here, far from the grinding sounds of life.
Many a day, I've sat here pondering what people think when they hit the icy water trying to take their lives. Several people have succeeded on this bridge, but a few survived. Maybe, when I pass, I'll ask my Mother what she felt when the murky water swallowed her whole.
It was a tragic time in our little town. The cold north wind whipped the rain, but we searched and searched the riverbank, then looked some more. The law didn't find Mama's body until she showed up in Hayti, Mississippi - a hundred miles away. The water was rolling that day.
After she took her life, we all seemed to float away.
My sister, Rebecca, married Jacob Doyle and moved to Covington. He works at the big car plant down there, and Sis has two kids now.
My older brother, Sam, works third shift at a factory in Jackson. He has a small apartment just off Parkway Avenue.
I can't remember the last time they visited. Sis told me the pain was too immense, and she didn't want to see Daddy that way.
That leaves me with the burden of living with our Father in Gadsen. Somebody has to drive him to the liquor store and back. Since he parked his truck inside the Highway Seventy convenience store, we can't let him drive anymore. Thank God it wasn't open.
It's hard sitting here watching him drinking from sunup to sunset. But the pain won't let Daddy stop. I wish she would have left a note - it's the not knowing that's killing him.
If Mama could have seen the hole she left, would she still have done it? The Mother of my childhood wouldn't have, but something had recently changed in her life. Nobody ever knew what.
The cold gray sky lets the sun peek through for a moment. A shaft of light pierces the mist rising from the water - a small rainbow forms at the edge of the cattails.
It gives me a little hope. Maybe, one day soon. I'll have a life of my own.
Like my thoughts, the swirling current drifts continually down the Obion River - always surging toward its unknown destination. The wind through the Cyprus trees and Red-wing Blackbirds greet me when I sit down on the edge of the old railroad bridge. There's a special kind of quiet here, far from the grinding sounds of life.
Many a day, I've sat here pondering what people think when they hit the icy water trying to take their lives. Several people have succeeded on this bridge, but a few survived. Maybe, when I pass, I'll ask my Mother what she felt when the murky water swallowed her whole.
It was a tragic time in our little town. The cold north wind whipped the rain, but we searched and searched the riverbank, then looked some more. The law didn't find Mama's body until she showed up in Hayti, Mississippi - a hundred miles away. The water was rolling that day.
After she took her life, we all seemed to float away.
My sister, Rebecca, married Jacob Doyle and moved to Covington. He works at the big car plant down there, and Sis has two kids now.
My older brother, Sam, works third shift at a factory in Jackson. He has a small apartment just off Parkway Avenue.
I can't remember the last time they visited. Sis told me the pain was too immense, and she didn't want to see Daddy that way.
That leaves me with the burden of living with our Father in Gadsen. Somebody has to drive him to the liquor store and back. Since he parked his truck inside the Highway Seventy convenience store, we can't let him drive anymore. Thank God it wasn't open.
It's hard sitting here watching him drinking from sunup to sunset. But the pain won't let Daddy stop. I wish she would have left a note - it's the not knowing that's killing him.
If Mama could have seen the hole she left, would she still have done it? The Mother of my childhood wouldn't have, but something had recently changed in her life. Nobody ever knew what.
The cold gray sky lets the sun peek through for a moment. A shaft of light pierces the mist rising from the water - a small rainbow forms at the edge of the cattails.
It gives me a little hope. Maybe, one day soon. I'll have a life of my own.
 Recognized |
With suicide rates skyrocketing, I wrote this story for anyone thinking of taking their life. I wanted to show them how their life connects with so many others. When that life is taken away, it leaves devastating pain in the ones left behind. No matter how bad your life is, the world needs you. Reach out and find help.
Many thanks for stopping by to read!
Have a great day, and God bless.
mike
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Many thanks for stopping by to read!
Have a great day, and God bless.
mike
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