There were no doctors in the end, nor morphine or cream to soothe their rashes.
Even the janitor wouldn’t walk within six feet of the beds in which they lay.
They shared a room; two strangers, united in their fate, withering further with every cough.
“You an addict too or…?” one questioned.
“Dancer,” the other winced.
A mutual judgement lingered in the silence that followed.
“Well,” the addict said, “Must’ve been one hell of a dance to do that.”
They laughed.
Like men.
Like people.
And though they never saw it, that day, the world took a wary step closer.
About the Creator
J. R. Lowe
By day, I'm a PhD student, by night.... I'm still a PhD student, but sometimes I procrastinate by writing on Vocal. Based in Australia.
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Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Comments (12)
Well written! Good job!
Intimate, powerful & epic, all in but a few words.
I aspire to this level of eloquence. You paint such a clear picture in so few deft strokes. Thank you for sharing your work with us.
I love this beautiful, powerful moment you've created here; soo well done! An incredibly strong entry :)
Well done, J.R.! This one was certainly powerful and thought-provoking!
My interests most certainly are piqued J.R. I'll definitely be ruminating on this one for some time! Thank you for the food for thought!
Damn, dude. This is amazing.
Damn, that was great. Wel done, as always.
This challenge is spawning some pure brilliance and this piece ranks high amongst them! Well done.
Oh wow, this was excellent!
Absolutely beautiful.
Oh wow, this is really nicely done. 👏