So here I am, sitting at the edge of the Santa Monica pier at three in the morning. Kids laughing running by me. Couples mocking me with their obnoxious public displays of affection. I stare out into the dark abyss, tracing the line where the sky meets the ocean. Wondering how it got to this point. I’ve played it safe my entire life, and the one time I go out on a limb, I end up falling off the damn tree.
Four years ago I was laying in my bed this time in the night. Playing my favorite play station game, eating hot Cheetos. Life was simple. I had no cares and no worries. It was just me and my cat juju. I got my degree in English straight out of high school. I started writing short stories for a publishing company. Mostly children’s books and fictional suspense stuff. The two do not go hand in hand, I realize that. I was and am a pretty successful writer. I’ve done pretty well for myself. At the time, I was a twenty three year old bachelor, maybe not very eligible, but a bachelor none the less. I lived in a small one bedroom apartment with my beloved Siamese cat Juju. I’ve had her since I was twelve. This cat just wont die. She supports me and loves me when she’s not scratching me and biting me because I don’t pay her enough attention.
Sometimes I think back and wish id never walked into that café that specific Wednesday. But out of habit, I did. It was my usual spot to grab coffee before heading to the office to struggle with writers block and stare at pictures of imaginary talking dogs. Amy’s café employees were always kind to me. They knew me by name at this point and knew my simple order of a tall black coffee with a double shot and a raspberry scone. I was running twenty minutes behind schedule that day but didn’t let that stop my routine. Who knew what a difference twenty lousy minutes would make. As I opened the door to the café a breeze of auburn hair blew by me. A little offended and taken back I stared at the curvy auburn haired figure that stood in front of me in line. As she turned around to apologize and stating she was in a hurry and running late the rest of what she was stating was unintentionally ignored. Reason being, as she turned, she hypnotized me with the sapphire jewels on her face that most would call eyes. Hers were more like priceless gems. I felt my jaw drop slightly but couldn’t do anything about it. I saw her lips moving but couldn’t hear a word she was saying.
Short Stories