A short story
I wrote this not too long ago and want to do more with it:
The hall was clogged with bodies; none of them hers, but who could be sure? There was no way he could navigate through this mess of people to find her. Instead, he was stuck at the back, hoping that he would get a sign of her. It was futile, though, and he was ready to give up. As he turned to leave, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry honey”, she said, “I got a little lost in there.” He breathed a sigh of relief. Crowds had always bothered him, and seeing his love caught up in that one had scared him more than a little. “That’s okay, sweetie”, he said, turning around, “I was just wor-“ His sentence was cut short as he turned and saw no one there.
He didn’t think he was crazy, but how had he imagined something so weird? It was something straight out of the movies - the crazy person who hears voices and feels hands that aren’t there. It wasn’t that surprising, though. He always had flashbacks when he came here. It had been years since his love disappeared so suddenly. It had been in a crowd like this one, too. That’s probably why he was so afraid of crowds. The thought of losing something so dear to him had always been terrifying to him, and to have it become a reality all those years ago…it was just tough.
He walked out of the building and sat down on the front steps, putting his head in his hands. The feeling of uncertainty from the whole situation caused him to have horrifying nightmares every night. Dreams in which he would find her, for a brief moment, and then she would be taken from him again. The pain of having to relive the experience over and over toyed with his sanity. He hallucinated often. Every time he was in a crowd, he examined the bodies, hoping one of them could be that of his love. It was never of any use, though. He simply looked like a crazy person, and perhaps for good reason. The once rock-solid man had become weak over the years. The pain had done a number on him, and it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. He couldn’t get over her, he just couldn’t. That was the first and only girl he had ever loved. Why did life have to be so cruel? He just wanted answers, and after all these years, he was losing all hope of ever getting them.
He stood up and prepared to leave. As he walked down the steps, he heard the door open behind him. He turned around hopefully, but it was just a group of young men. As they left, joking casually with each other, he saw a bit of his old self in them. It hurt to be such a shell of his former self, but it was something he had adjusted to over the years. No one wanted anything to do with him in this state, and who could blame them? Truth be told, he didn’t really want to have anything to do with anyone, either. It hurt far too much to experience good times, as they just reminded him of the good times he had shared with his love. As little sense as that made, he was willing to live like that. He couldn’t get her out of his mind anyway, but he assumed it hurt less than it would if he was happy and succeeding without her. Besides, deep in his heart he still believed she was out there. If he stopped looking for her to partake in stupid, meaningless ‘fun’, then how devoted was he to their love? He didn’t want to stop for a day. He didn’t even want to stop for a moment. He wanted to continue to spend every waking hour looking for her. She really did deserve it, and no matter where he went in life, he knew that feeling would never change. The man took a couple more steps toward his car and looked back at the door longingly one last time. There was nothing. He turned back, nodded his head acceptingly one last time, and headed home.
The hall was clogged with bodies; none of them hers, but who could be sure? There was no way he could navigate through this mess of people to find her. Instead, he was stuck at the back, hoping that he would get a sign of her. It was futile, though, and he was ready to give up. As he turned to leave, however, he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry honey”, she said, “I got a little lost in there.” He breathed a sigh of relief. Crowds had always bothered him, and seeing his love caught up in that one had scared him more than a little. “That’s okay, sweetie”, he said, turning around, “I was just wor-“ His sentence was cut short as he turned and saw no one there.
He didn’t think he was crazy, but how had he imagined something so weird? It was something straight out of the movies - the crazy person who hears voices and feels hands that aren’t there. It wasn’t that surprising, though. He always had flashbacks when he came here. It had been years since his love disappeared so suddenly. It had been in a crowd like this one, too. That’s probably why he was so afraid of crowds. The thought of losing something so dear to him had always been terrifying to him, and to have it become a reality all those years ago…it was just tough.
He walked out of the building and sat down on the front steps, putting his head in his hands. The feeling of uncertainty from the whole situation caused him to have horrifying nightmares every night. Dreams in which he would find her, for a brief moment, and then she would be taken from him again. The pain of having to relive the experience over and over toyed with his sanity. He hallucinated often. Every time he was in a crowd, he examined the bodies, hoping one of them could be that of his love. It was never of any use, though. He simply looked like a crazy person, and perhaps for good reason. The once rock-solid man had become weak over the years. The pain had done a number on him, and it wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. He couldn’t get over her, he just couldn’t. That was the first and only girl he had ever loved. Why did life have to be so cruel? He just wanted answers, and after all these years, he was losing all hope of ever getting them.
He stood up and prepared to leave. As he walked down the steps, he heard the door open behind him. He turned around hopefully, but it was just a group of young men. As they left, joking casually with each other, he saw a bit of his old self in them. It hurt to be such a shell of his former self, but it was something he had adjusted to over the years. No one wanted anything to do with him in this state, and who could blame them? Truth be told, he didn’t really want to have anything to do with anyone, either. It hurt far too much to experience good times, as they just reminded him of the good times he had shared with his love. As little sense as that made, he was willing to live like that. He couldn’t get her out of his mind anyway, but he assumed it hurt less than it would if he was happy and succeeding without her. Besides, deep in his heart he still believed she was out there. If he stopped looking for her to partake in stupid, meaningless ‘fun’, then how devoted was he to their love? He didn’t want to stop for a day. He didn’t even want to stop for a moment. He wanted to continue to spend every waking hour looking for her. She really did deserve it, and no matter where he went in life, he knew that feeling would never change. The man took a couple more steps toward his car and looked back at the door longingly one last time. There was nothing. He turned back, nodded his head acceptingly one last time, and headed home.