the friend had a hard time falling asleep. laying awake for hours. and when he did fall asleep at the early hours of the morning, his dreams were relentless, merciless.
the red dining booth at night,
two orders of fries
and strawberry milkshake,
and a lot of sauce packages.
"i can't believe you never tried it.'
i said in surprise.
he was sitting across from me,
his hands playing with the string
of his favourite hoodie.
i waited a few seconds for him to answer,
but all he showed me was a proud grin,
his eyes locked with mine.
i had to look away.
oh, c'mon, don't knock it 'til you've tried it."
i was smiling daringly,
composing myself,
trying to ignore his gaze.
i started waving a thin fry
in between my fingers.
"live a little, my friend."
and i dipped the fry in his milkshake,
handing it to him.
live a little. live a little.
live
a
little.
the words echoed in his head. the dream turned black, the restaurant they had sat in vanished and transformed into a dark road. two cars, driving at high speed, the tires squealing when they took a sharp turn. trees flashed by and quickly disappeared from view. the windshield wipers turned on. rain trailing off to the side, falling onto the road below. headlights. bright and sudden. they emerged from the dark in an instant, he saw the car in front of his swirl, but it was too late. it happened within mere seconds.
*
he shot up.
his body covered in sweat,
his breathing rapid and shallow.
"live a little."
that restaurant was were it started.
those words were what started it all.
if he hadn't said it, perhaps it would
have ended differently.
YOU ARE READING
𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄
Short Storyan almost decade old story. * "one tragedy changed their lives." a story with dialogues and minimal description, in which a boy ends up in the hospital after a car accident and his friend slowly collapsing under the weight of his tortured mind. but...
