Ch1
There is a moment. A moment that you realize you missed something very important; when you have this realization, it is too late to change. You thought you had always known how important it was. You heard about it all the time from other people, books, television and movies, but yet you did not truly know with your heart how precious it was… until you lost it. After that moment you think, Why have I not done anything about it? I should have done something! But like I said, everything was too late. It is over. There is nothing you can do.
I wasted it. My one life. Drinking and stuck. Stuck in that stupid black hole of depression. I gave it all up that day. That day I went to the swamp. I ran away. Ran from the hurt, the pain, the numbness. When I stopped and looked back, there was nothing left.
-R-
The thunder storm was raging outside. It was windy, and the trees creaked with every gust.. It was a little after noon, but Robert was still asleep. The living room was dark. Beer bottles and trash were all over the place. The T.V was on. Some kind of travel show was playing. Robert was sleeping on his couch. Knock, knock, knock. He thought it was the sound of rain or a tree scratching his house. Knock, knock, knock. The second set of knocking woke him up. He was still not sure if he had a visitor or not; he had a hangover from yesterday. It was a familiar pain. He wondered, What day is it today? Do I have to go to work? Oh, right, today is Saturday. Robert felt relieved.
Knock, knock, knock.
Who could that be? Robert rarely had visitors. He combed his hair with his hand, took his glasses off, and massaged his eyes. He slowly stood up and walked to the door. When he opened the door, it creaked. In front of the door, a young girl with dark brown hair was standing with a smile.
She was soaked from rain. Her green eyes glowed. “Hi. I am Sara Hale. I just moved next door,” she said brightly.
“…Ok.” Robert nodded. She immediately looked apologetic.
“Oh, I am sorry. Did I wake you?”
“You are...fine.”
“Well. Hi. I am Mrs. Olvermann’s granddaughter. “
Robert nodded without saying anything.
“Could you lend me your hammer?”
“Hammer?”
“Yes. The one with the remover on it. We have a problem with nails.” Sara was smiling and he started walking away. “Ok, wait for a minute.” Robert went to the garage. Who was Mrs. Olvermann? That name sound familiar. He tried to find the light switch in his garage. Ah! The old lady who lives next door. She needed an ambulance the other day. She seemed much older than me’ He turned on the light in the garage. The garage was messy. There were many broken items. He realized that he broke most of the things when he was mad and drunk. “Shoot…” He cleared his way and tried to find the hammer. His claw hammer was in the back corner under the broken shelf. He grabbed it and walked back to the door.
“I will bring this back as soon as I’m done,” Sara said with a smile. Robert just nodded and closed the door. He came back to his living room and turned the DVD player on. ‘My Fair Lady’ started playing. He had seen this movie so many times, but he liked the classics. He smiled when he saw Eliza on the screen. Tap, tap tap… The sound of rain came through the windows.
Knock, knock, knock. He thought this had happened before. He wondered if he was dreaming.
Knock, knock, knock!
Yeah, right, someone came. That smiling girl. Robert realized, half asleep. He went to the door. The rain had stopped and it was sunny outside. Robert opened the door and Sara was standing with the hammer and a plate of brownies.
“Here is the hammer. Thank you so much. Mr…?”
“It’s Mitchell, and you’re welcome.”
“Here. I made some brownies. Eat it with your family.”
But I don’t have family… “Thank you,” he said. He found that taking the plate was easier than explaining everything.
“Ok. Have a great day, Mr. Mitchell!” She chirped as she bounced away. Her hair was reflecting light in the spring sunshine. Robert closed the door and dropped the hammer in the corner. He put the plate on the table and sat down on the couch. The beer cans clanked. He took out the cans from the couch and dropped them on the floor. The movie was still playing.
He felt hunger. He stared at the brownies. He did not have a sweet tooth, but he grabbed one from the plate and took a bite. “Wow…this is sweet.” He reached his hand out and found a new beer can and opened it.