Short Story

Authors Note: Creative writing response for the end of the semester.

A lone man stood upon the rotting linoleum floor in heartache, peering down into the rippling water of his New York motel sink. He looked into the grimy mirror and in return he saw a man unfamiliar to him. Covered in dirt with a head of long greasy hair, he was an image of failure. However, failure he did not see; instead, he saw a slight glimmer of hope within himself.  Without work and without hope however, the future was dim. On the other side of the dark room sat his wife and two kids. Their clothing was tattered, their stomachs shrunken, and by the moonlight they toiled at their homework. Except for the occasional question, no one spoke. The old floorboards, weak with age, creaked at the slightest movement. Life was rough and the times were tough in the midst of the great depression. The family had lost their house and was on the verge of being tossed from the motel. However, they had one thing going for them; they knew how to work.

On the other side of town there wasn’t a poor family in sight. Large plush homes filled the landscape. One of the houses was occupied by a big businessman’s son and his wife. Life was good, and they had no problem with living off of his father’s money. Days were filled at the office, taking calls and sipping coffee. It was any poor man’s dream. The wealth gushed out of the man through his custom tailored suit and Cadillac convertible. He cruised the streets in style sporting his dark sunglasses no matter the time of day. Nights were filled roaming among the best of New York. As all the beautiful lights glimmered among the brisk city night he sighed to himself, and felt as though something was missing, something that would complete his perfect life. Little did he know, things were about to change.

Kevin and Bill were two young inspired boys ready to take on the world when they first met during the summer, going into fifth grade. Bill had just moved into the fine neighborhood across from the trailer park where Kevin resided and they spent all day, every day, meandering about their two homes, playing games with the neighborhood kids and having an overall blast. Kevin was thoroughly amazed the first time he walked into Bill’s home, but there was something wrong, something missing, he just didn’t know what it was. Nonetheless the two went about dreaming of how they would one day be partners in business, making them both filthy rich.

As Bill sat down in the lawyer’s office that day, however, he did not feel the slightest bit of contentment, nor did he have much more than the money left in his wallet and his house. As the lawyer read his father’s will it slowly became apparent that Bill was not to inherit the business as he had hoped. Rather, it was his father’s business partner who would be handling the multi-million dollar corporation. As Bill Smith looked out the window of the fifth floor office that afternoon, all he saw was the grey sky, and his only feelings were of self-pity and remorse for his father. An hour later, as he exited with his wife, his eyes opened to another world. He saw the jewelry store across the street and the bank on the corner but instead of thinking of what he could buy or how he could invest the little money he had left his mind turned to other options. As his consideration, which was there to cause impact within him, was burst into the mortal man’s conscience rather than expelled from it, his future fell into the hands of poor decision.

The night was young and Kevin was sitting down to a substantial meal with his family. They all squeezed into the little card table that they had set up in their room, because tonight was not to be sad, for the first time in months good news was reaching the Wilson’s dinner table. After settling down to a homemade meal, Kevin proceeded to deliver the good news to his family. Just that day his boss at the car factory called him into his office. His boss proceeded to inform him that he had been observing the workers the past week in order to hand pick a supervisor. Due to Kevin’s work ethic, he had been selected. He knew this was directly correlated to the immense effort he poured into his work on the assembly line each and every day. Not only did this mean he would be relieved of the monotonous labor, but also he would be receiving a substantial raise. So as smiles grew and hopes began to reemerge, the family understood that they would be able to keep a roof over their heads.  

Darkness began to blanket the city as Bill left his house in upstate New York. The lights slowly turned out one by one and the small street became enveloped by the eerie quiet of a late city night. Shadows came and went but one remained. Life seemed to stand still as the hands of the clock ticked across the vast plain of the white circle. A lone shadow slunk across the road, and with a swift crash, the jewelry store was breached. Within seconds the sharp pang of the alarm was stopped, without the slightest stir among the residents of the street. At 3:30 that same morning Bill Smith slid into bed, assuring his wife that he had a typical Friday night on the town.

1.      A man stood upon a railroad bridge in Northern Alabama, looking down into the swift waters twenty feet below.

2.      Excepting the group of four at the centre of the bridge not a man moved.

3.      As these thoughts, which have here to be set down in words, were burst into the doomed man’s brain rather than evolved from it, the captain nodded to the sergeant.