Filthy logo

Elsa May Green. Chapters ten, eleven, and twelve.

A tale of want.

By Peter CulbertPublished 3 years ago 29 min read
Like
Elsa May Green. Chapters ten, eleven, and twelve.
Photo by Vladimir Yelizarov on Unsplash

Chapter Ten.

Devilish dreams.

We sauntered hand in hand along Jacksons Row, a side street that led to huntsman road opposite my apartment. The distant sound of music crept into our ears as we walked closer. Elsa stopped and took my hand under a dimly lit lamp. I stared at her as she looked deep into my eyes before gyrating slowly in front of me.

I followed her every move as the song 'Three times a lady played', changing her tempo as she moved in close and resting her hands on my shoulders. I wasn’t sure what was happening, but I knew I would be in it for the long haul as we turned and twisted in a strong embrace oblivious to our surroundings, just the two of us and the melodic sounds that penetrated our minds and souls at that moment. I placed my trembling hand against the curvature of her spine, moving it up and down gently as we swayed together on the cobbled street.

I could feel the locks of her lustrous mane brush against my skin, sending electronic vibrations through my being. The soiled surfaces on the buildings surrounding us tumbled to expose a land of blossoms and butterflies. I inhaled her womanly essence as she slipped into my grasp. I shivered as her body squirmed against mine, her groin pushing strongly against me. I clutched the back of her jumper tightly, craving the taste of her. We swung round and round, intertwining like a tornado gliding across the ground. She looked up at me as the melody ended, her eyes searching my soul, her mouth thirsty. I surrendered to her visual command, edging in closer to her and seizing my chance as our lips touched. I encouraged my tongue into hers, quenching my thirst as she responded in kind. My senses fired up, each strand of hair standing to attention as our tongues wrestled against each other as if two wild beasts seeking domination over the other.

For each mouthful of her I devoured, my appetite increased my hunger for her insatiable. I pushed myself against her, holding her from escape, my hands massaging the denim that concealed her curvaceous rump. We were one again; we were whole.

As quickly as the moment began, it stopped with a jolt; I stared at her, unsure of how she would react. She clenched my hand, looking across the road at my apartment.

‘Shall we?’ she whispered seductively.

I felt like an excited child on Christmas morning running down the stairs to see the gifts that laden the base of the tree as we ran across the street and stumbled up the stairs to my apartment before crashing through the front door.

Elsa pulled me in near, the expression in her stare immense, her face yearning as she urged her voluptuous lips against mine in pursuit of my tongue. I moaned as her frenzied hands ripped at my belt buckle and her fingers yanked at the buttons offering her complete access to me. I swiftly dragged her jumper over her head, exposing her naked shoulders and heaving breasts. My jeans dropped as she excitedly explored me. I tugged at her bra, revealing her soft and succulent skin. I lifted her, biting and sucking at her chest as she surrendered allowing me my consumption. She sank to the floor and found my hard shaft, rubbing and pulling at me as I entered her mouth. I stumbled backward against the door as she licked and sucked me, my limbs shaking with each motion. I picked her up and pressed her against the wall. She wrapped her legs around my torso. The air was sodden as I snatched at her silk panties, tearing them from her, casting them to one side. She groaned and gasped as I groped and gnawed at her sweet flesh. Pressing my hardness against her moist and inviting groin in exploration of her, she placed her hand on me and guided me.

I trembled, she wailed, clawing at my taught tissue as I opened her and pushed deep. I looked intensely at her, eyes wide and locked onto my glare as I thrust at her, forcing myself further with each lunge forward. The room was foggy with her animalistic scent as she repeatedly ran her talons across my spine, cutting deeper and sharper with each slice. She bit down on my neck causing a tsunami of waves through my core as I erupted inside her, her body arched back before letting out a cry, squeezing me tight with her thighs as she gyrated against my pulsating shaft. We spasmed together, grasping each other’s bodies tightly before slumping to the ground, wet and breathless.

‘Thomas, wake up, come on you drunkard, it’s time to go!’ I opened my eyes to see a blurry Elsa. My cheek damp and the surface cold on my face. It confused me.

‘What happened, where am I?’

‘I started dancing Thomas, and you collapsed against the wall, I think it is time for your bed,’ giggled Elsa.

My moment was nothing more than an alcohol-induced dream, a sexually electrified trance, and yet it seemed so real.

I felt robbed of my moment, so I edged in closer to her, my gaze fixated on hers. She looked hesitant but held her stance, her eyes dragging me into her embrace as our lips touched for the again as they had all those years ago at Badger’s rest. My body shook, an explosion shot through my core as my tongue found hers. I could taste the booze on her breath, and I guzzled it in. She shuddered under my grasp as I moved my hand up her bobbled jumper, stopping at her breast and gently kneading her. My groin screamed for release as my crotch pushed against hers.

‘Thomas, we cannot do this!’ she cried, pushing herself away from me.

‘We can Elsa, you wanted it as much I did, I could feel it,’ I said.

‘It's complexed Tom, me and Ruben are trying to see where things go, you know. We are close now!’ she said.

Finally, the truth was out. Close meant that they were an item, and part of my subconscious knew this all along. Elsa had gone. She attached her heart and soul to another, and I lost the chance to be with her at that moment. I wanted to get resentful, but I couldn’t, I had waited around for years and left her open to attack; it was my fault, not hers. I felt broken and calm at the same time.

‘Elsa since that day...’

She stopped me in my tracks, ‘Thomas please just stop. Whatever you have to say I do not want to hear it, what we did a moment ago was wrong and I need you to understand that and deal with it like a man, be the adult I know you are. I am going home to bed, I will hopefully see you tomorrow, I am sorry truly am.’

I knew I fitted the description of a man but right there and then did not know how a so-called man in her words would deal with it, so I remained mute and slowly nodded my head.

We wandered the rest of the way to her house, bereft of eye contact, and encased in silence. I observed her as she walked down the pathway to her house and closed the front door behind her, neglecting to look back at me.

I felt robbed as I crashed through my apartment door, falling into a heap two inches short of the sofa.

Chapter Eleven.

September 22nd, 2007.

My eyes ached as I became conscious of the bright lights that glared through my bedroom window, bringing with it the dawn of a new day. The sheets under me soaked from perspiration and my body ached. I lifted myself and grimaced as the memory of what happened last night took centre stage in my mind. I knew that what had happened was because I was drunk, but I also knew it was not right.

Dragging my carcass into the bathroom and throwing my damp clothes onto the marbled floor, I washed away the airport luggage that had taken residence under my eyes. My peripheral vision caught the reflection of my back as I passed the mirror and shuddered with fright as I noticed a deep red cut eight inches long running parallel to my spine; My mind baffled, but along with the scar on my face, these impressions that grew ever-present on my skin left me worried. I stood there for ages, examining every part of me for further marks and lesions. Whatever these dark happenings were, they were now affecting my body, tearing at my flesh, and leaving their footprint. I gave up the examination and wrapped myself in my dressing gown and headed to the kitchen, lusting after the Brazilian ground coffee relief to propel me into the world of humanity. I sat and listened as the percolator bubbled, preparing the medicine to start the day.

10:04 am Elsa ‘We need to talk Thomas.’

10:04 am ‘Yes sure Elsa, I hope you are okay xxx.’

10:09 am Elsa ‘What you did last night was so wrong Thomas, it should have never happened, I have been getting closer to Ruben and now I feel guilty.'

The kisses on her message disappeared. This was not a good thing, and I felt a distinct notion that the day may be one of fireworks and even emotional explosions. I recognized they were close, but I never realized the degree of their intimacy until last night. I did not hold myself responsible as I did nothing wrong, unaware of her situation. It should be Elsa who is remorseful.

10:09 am ‘I am glad it happened, it was magical Elsa, even though at some point I will pay for it I am sure, I would not change last night for the world xxxx.’

10:11 am ‘What we did last night was wrong, we are friends, and I am with Ruben, we have ruined everything.’

10:13 ‘Elsa can we at least talk, try to clear the air, I am sorry if you thought last night was a mistake! xxxx.’

10:14 ‘I will be over in fifteen minutes, Thomas!’

‘Chance to perfect myself so I am ready for her.'

I rushed into the bedroom, rummaging through my bedside drawer in search of clean ones before rushing into the shower. The water was chilly as I had not switched the emersion heater on, there no time to worry about that, time to grin, and bear it. I scraped and scrubbed at my body to remove any trace of last night, and yet the scent of her on my mouth remained impenetrable to the flow. The doorbell rang as jumped and slipped across the bathroom floor, before composing myself, slipping into my robe, pulling my hair back, and turning the handle to the stark light that flooded my sore eyes. Elsa just stood there staring; arms crossed.

'Hey baby girl, how's you?' I asked in a tone similar to a seventies porn star.

'Don't 'hey baby girl me' Thomas,' she snarled pushing past me.

‘What happened last night was an error, a stupid mistake, Thomas!’ she stated, tapping her foot on the ground nervously. I always agreed with Elsa on pretty much everything, not because I believed what she said or did seem justified, but because I never wanted to hurt her.

‘No, no, it was not a mistake, I loved the moment, I wished for years in silence, since the first time we kissed, down by the river at Badgers rest. I craved to repeat the magical experience and last night we did, and the feeling was magnificent Elsa,’ I replied before cowering back a little.

Elsa looked beautifully vexed and walked toward me, closing the front door behind her.

‘Now listen to me Thomas, you need to let that solitary kiss go. We were teens. I have been single for all my life and I am not getting any younger, I want to find happiness only two people together can offer. What happened last night was nothing more than a stupid mistake. Which part are you struggling with to understand?’ she snapped.

I wanted to scream at her. She had confused me once again, saying one thing and doing another, I didn’t agree with her; I knew at that moment I wanted to scream my love for her, however, if I did, she would believe it was a way of getting her and Ruben to split and not even the malicious side of me could justify that.

‘Look, I do not want us to fall out Elsa, that is the last thing I would like, but I think you can do a lot better than Rube!’

My comment had lit a fire within her, a torrent of anger that was burning behind her eyes, and I knew at any moment she would exhale flames and turn me into a pile of ash.

‘Ruben is a good man Thomas, he has consistently been there for me to provide me support and advice, he has an enormous heart and what's more, he is your goddamn friend!’ she snapped.

‘Whoop-de-doo!’

‘Is that it Thomas, is that your reply, Whoop-de bloody- do?’

‘Might be!’

The fact is, I just didn’t know what to say, I recognised whoop-de-do was not a fitting comment, but it fitted the moment for me at least. Here stood the woman I loved, the lady I had let get away from me, nothing I said or did would change that. I was heartbroken.

Elsa just gave me a stare. You know the one, the face of disapproval a woman gives when disappointed. The expression that makes you want to run for cover. The look all men feared.

'I thought you were growing up, Thomas, my mistake! she snapped.

‘Am.'

‘Am what?’

‘Grown-up!, sort of,’ I mumbled.

‘You enjoyed the kiss,’ I mumbled quietly

‘Pardon me?’

I knew by the look on her face it was time to concede and back down; I did not stand a chance; she was ready to tear the flesh from my bones, but I could not.

‘The kiss, you liked it, I could tell that you did.'

‘Stop Thomas!’ she said like a stern schoolteacher.

‘As I say, I..’ she said.

‘As I say, I...’ I interrupted.

‘Are you repeating my words, is there any part of you with a mature outlook, it's time to grow up, Thomas?’ she snapped.

‘Might’ I mumbled.

Today was the day we planned to meet down by the river for our yearly trek and drinking marathon, however this occasion I felt it would not have the same air of hilarity. This time I feared things were going to turn out differently. Elsa just stared at me before placing her hand on the front door handle.

‘I am sorry, but I have to leave, I need to get back to Ruben’ she said offering me a last look of disapproval before turning and walking outside.

‘Fine, go, go running back to Ruben, you, you harlot!’ I shouted.

Elsa stared at me, arms folded, shaking her head.

‘Grow up, Thomas!’

‘Oh, I will, I have’ I snapped slamming the door in her perfect face.

I felt alone, that feeling of sad solitude consumed me as I stared at the back of the door in complete disbelief, lost for words, I craved to chase her but wanted to run from her at the same time.

I sighed, turning the door key before walking into the kitchen to prepare my mind for the battle I was surely about to face with her later that day. Each sip of coffee added another piece to the armour that was developing within me.

I felt despair at Elsa’s reaction and worried about the backlash I may endure from Ruben. It wasn’t long before my wristwatch hailed the set off time of ten minutes to noon as I picked up my keys and left my apartment.

I dawdled that day, worried about the potential fate awaiting me, the street bustling with the usual misfits going about their business. I turned the corner and headed across the market square, head down, hands in pockets, walking to what could be the battle of all battles.

‘What if she had spoken with Ruben, told him about my advances toward her last night, how would he react?’ I thought.

I spotted Michael and Gabriel in the distance, sitting on a bench. They were laughing and taking turns rubbing their eyes and holding their heads.

‘Fellas, you made it!’ I exclaimed, trying to hide my emotions.

‘Well?’ asked Gabriel.

‘Well, what?’ I asked, wondering what the hell he was talking about. My stomach churned at the thought of Elsa spinning a yarn about last night.

‘The challenge did any of you complete it?’ he replied, much to my relief.

‘Oh gosh yes, both Elsa and I did it. She took Ruben back and joined me in the bar. We were victorious!’ I announced proudly.

I could see Elsa and Ruben walking in our direction in the distance. His face tormented, his eyes wide and fixed directly onto me. My stomach flipped as a sensation of fear and nausea took hold of me. She was gripping his arm and looked nervous; I knew this moment did not bode well for me as they walked closer. What I did not understand at that point was how disastrous things were going to end.

Chapter Twelve.

An arsehole by any other name.

I knew he was angry; his fists clenched and his reddening face becoming more contorted as he rushed towards me.

‘Ruben, let me explain’ I said, but it was too late. His fist smashed against my jaw as the bright sunshine turned to temporary darkness before waking face down in the gravel. I was bleeding, my mouth sore and my pride knocked. I lifted myself to my feet, stumbling back against the fence behind me. His actions shocked me, and I felt saddened and betrayed by Elsa.

‘Ruben, I need to explain, please.'

‘I don’t want to hear your explanations, you are an absolute arsehole Thomas, you are a devious and manipulative arsehole.'

‘Tell them, explain to them what you did!’ he screamed, lunging at me to hit me again before being dragged to the ground by Gabriel and Michael.

‘What the hell is happening here, someone please bloody explain?!’ shouted Michael, pulling Ruben to his feet and holding onto him.

Elsa did nothing. She was mute, choosing instead to stare at the floor, hands in jean pockets.

‘I will tell you what's going on Mike, Him, that vile traitor, that’s what, last night as I slept, he forced himself onto Elsa, she didn’t stand a chance, why, why would you do this, who needs enemies with friends like you!’ he screamed lunging at me again, knocking me to the ground, before being restrained and grappled to the ground.

In fairness, the way he put it across made me sound like an utter cad, but that’s not what happened, at least not in my eyes. It takes two to tango as they say and last evening, I had a more than willing dance partner for those brief moments in the alleyway. Also, I didn’t even know they were as close no matter what Ruben was screaming for all to hear.

‘Tom is this true?’ asked Michael, towering over me. His face was sad and confused.

I paused for a moment staring around me before directing my gaze towards Elsa who remained head bowed and silent. There was nothing I could do, I had to man up and swallow the vile pills that were being tossed in my direction, and yet I felt wronged by her. I didn’t regret last night however the usual burden of lament was weighing me down as I lifted myself to my feet.

‘Yes, yes, it’s true but can I say in my defence, we were drunk, and a regretful moment of madness took over us, Ruben I am sorry mate, it’s clear to me now Elsa wants to be with you. Had I known yesterday how serious you two are, then I would not approach her in that manner,’ I replied nervously.

‘Why Tom, why would you, after all, we have been through together, after everything you hailed as a concrete and unbreakable group in the past, using remarks such as loyalty amongst others, I cannot believe you would risk our friendship, I am lost for words!’ said Michael, not angrily but in a way that felt like he was saying goodbye to me for the final time.

I demolished decades of solidarity for a minute of lust. All the years of closeness we built, all the joy and pain we experienced together at that very moment disintegrated.

Each occasion we supported each other, every time we made each other laugh, all that we had done before washed away by a tidal wave that finished itself by crashing onto my body and leaving me broken. There were no words, no defence, I just stood and looked at them all, hoping for a reprieve, but it never came. My actions devastated Ruben, my best friend, my ally, and no matter what I said, nothing would change this. My act of madness had cost me everything I held dear.

‘I am so sorry, Michael, Ruben please.'

‘Sorry doesn’t cut it, Tom, you call yourself a friend and you do this,’ scorned Michael. His comments tore at my heart the deepest as to me he was the father of the group, the one who talked sense. I did not know what to do, what to say, where to stand. I stood in front of my jury without defence, hoping Elsa would come to my rescue, but she did not.

‘Come on Ruben, let’s go!’ said Gabriel

‘Elsa are you coming with us?’ asked Michael, placing his arm around a forlorn-looking Ruben.

I could not believe what I was seeing, Elsa was part of what happened last night and even though I came onto her, she didn’t resist.

‘Yes, Mike’ she replied sheepishly.

My past, my present, and my future disappeared at that very moment on the river and it was my fault, all because of a stupid kiss and a love I had foolishly harboured for so many years.

‘Well, I will be fine on my own, go, I would rather be alone than with you lot, I am not all to blame, no matter what you say, Ruben, stick your group up your arse!’ I shouted as they became ever more distant.

In a moment of sheer anger or madness, I lifted my mobile phone from my pocket and threw it into the river, something I regretted quicker than finishing this sentence.

‘Oh, my god, you idiot!’ I mumbled.

Walking alone by the river felt foreign to me, as it had never happened. The last time I walked banks with people other than my friends was as a child when my parents brought me here. My father and I used to make boats out of old newspapers and set them on their maiden voyage against the torrid waters. The excitement I experienced back then setting our vessels afloat remained a magical memory in my mind.

‘Ready son!’ he would say, setting both boats into the river at once.

‘First past the elm tree wins!’ he would shout excitedly.

I would watch in awe, my little hand fitting into his as our paper ships swiftly sailed through the crashing waves of this imaginary ocean we created. My mother would always cheer my boat on, much to my father’s hilarity.

‘Come on H M S. Thomas!’, she would yell as the boats crashed against each other, fighting for the lead.

My father would always say my boat won the race, even when I convinced myself it hadn’t. Apart from those memories, I didn’t remember much more about him as he worked away a lot and the haunting nights that set me paralysed with fear quashed by my mother. She held me and reassured me; she was the one I remembered as a child.

I sat down at that very Elm tree that stood as a winning post in the father and son race but now nothing more than a hanging station for my soul. I scratched my head, trying to make sense of what happened both yesterday and a few minutes ago. It crushed me; I had lost it all.

The problem was, even through all the despair I would not have changed what developed last night, I couldn’t, I needed to be true to myself. The clarity of my feelings toward Elsa was absolute still irrespective of the fact that she just abandoned me both in friendship and place. She left me to fend for myself, and I didn’t understand why she would do it. The girl I knew always defended me no matter what the circumstance.

A barrage of thoughts crammed into my head that afternoon, I didn’t understand the series of frightening events visiting me, plaguing me and getting darker and more haunting with each ghostly occurrence. I could not be further from the moment of declaring my love for Elsa than at any other point in my existence, I had to come to terms with the loss of them all and the fate awaiting me in my future.

Inside of me sat a molecule still convinced that what happened last night had to take two people and thus it could not be my fault entirely. However, the pain radiating through my jaw informed me that only I received the punishment for said event. I knew though, no matter how many times they would lay me to the dust via a clenched fist, I would not have changed the moment for anything, not even if it meant I had lost them all forever.

My paranoia stalked my mind as I ambled.

‘What type of chatter was being passed around between them, perhaps I took centre stage as the conversation sought to tear me to pieces?’ I thought.

‘They are probably rinsing away my very existence and looking for a new person to join the gang. Perhaps Camilla was already on their RSVP friendship cards.'

There was a part of me that wanted to accept their judgement and yet a deeper, stronger sense of survival unwilling to go down without a fight.

‘Maybe my mobile phone floated pinging on the riverbed. Maybe they were dialling to apologise or to beg me to catch them up. Perhaps I was just deluding myself, like most things in my life, the pact, Elsa, our friendship, my love for her,’ the list is infinite.

I lifted my sorry self from the hanging post that was the Elm tree and made my way along the dusty pathway next to the river in the opposite direction. I knew I didn’t want to go home, to cower away. The anger fuelled moment that developed had happened, and nothing was going to change that? All of them passed judgement upon me and hiding in the closet would not make things any better. I felt determined to put the events to the recesses of my mind and have a good day.

The afternoon heat seared my soul as I trudged the riverbank. A myriad of tourists and locals filled the riverbank whether picnicking, fishing or just taking a gentle stroll, they chose the perfect day for it.

I passed Badgers rest, stopping for a moment to take in the gentle breeze that glided from the cool waters and chilled my senses. The weir looked torrid, with white sprays crashing against the banks wildly. Fortunately for me and my then four seagoing friends, the council erected a fence many years ago following an accident.

I walked without a care, no longer paying attention to my surroundings, choosing to wallow in pity, reminiscing about my past. I had never been this far down the river as all the major points of interest such as the pubs and cafes were back the way they, my so-called friends, walked.

Trudging aimlessly and stopping now and again to reach into my rucksack for a sip of water from my flask. I wasn’t sure where this journey of self-reflection would end, but the fact I was moving further and further away from Ruben’s anger gave me a sense of safety and relief.

An eternity later, I stopped and sat down against an old wooden fence to rest my tired legs. I opened my rucksack and reached in, pulling out a tin foil square that unearthed a selection of soggy cheese sandwiches. The filling was warm and sweating, not the most appetizing of savoury delights, and not to Elsa’s standard. I munched away hopelessly staring into the abyss of trees and foliage feeling sorry for myself. I would usually share her lunch, which was fine dining compared to my efforts. I think over time I had just knocked together awful fayre so I could sit close to her, devouring her offerings, living in her space, sharing a moment. But now there was only stupid me, and these sodden sodding bread disasters, I wanted to cry.

As I sat and battled to devour my hopeless attempts at a picnic, I wondered what the four of them were doing right at that moment. Perhaps they clapped at my departure while dining on Elsa’s contributions, lauding their liberation from the appalling me and my barbarous practices. Their relief must be palpable.

Something distracted my thoughts for a moment as I watched in wonder as a tiny little robin swooped down and landed a few feet away from me in search of breaded offerings.

‘Well, Robin, my little friend, at least you don’t mind my company,’ I whispered.

‘There you go, my little friend’ I said, tossing a few crumbs of bread toward it.

As soon as the bird had stuffed its face, it flew away, leaving me alone again, to reflect on my life and my situation. I lifted my hand and pressed it against my aching jaw, I could not work out which hurt me most, my mouth or my heart I just sat there, like the fence, broken and twisted as a plethora of thoughts began swimming around in the muddy pool of my mind.

‘What have you done, Tom?'

‘Will you never learn?’

The fact is, I would probably never learn, I hadn’t up till now and climbed the first rung of the thirties ladder; I am not grown up; they are right.

A familiar atmosphere of torment washed my wandering consciously backward to realism as the whirling current plummeted, becoming brisk, sending with it a sense of dread. I glared around me with a grim prediction of what would occur at any minute. I could just about make out what looked comparable to a cross rising from the drudgery in the distance as the sunlight shifted to blackness. I forced the remains of my sandwiches between the crumpled foil and hoisted myself to my feet. My frame shuddered as I edged in nearer to the rotting effigy, noticing words scraped into the timber. My focus interpreting them as I neared. I read what I deemed to be the letters I, S, and R. I. P, I didn’t identify what this meant, but my gut churned. My spirit felt heavy, a colossal force pressed down on my shoulders, thrusting my body toward the edifice. I sought to lift myself but my energy exhausted; it captured me, the icy air chilling me to the core, I pushed again, but it was no use I slumped to the dirty ground helplessly. Then, nothing, the soil warmed, the sunshine penetrated the surroundings, and the darkness ebbed away. I gasped in relief that the occasion was short-lived.

The scribe made little sense, and yet somehow familiar, I did not understand why. My mother passed away a long time ago. Maybe this was a message from her to me. Perhaps this was an omen I should take notice of, just like all the other ghastly events that had happened in my life, whatever the meaning I felt I needed to solve the clues.

After a while, the feelings of dread and fear disappeared, and in their place, my mind met with a sense of warmth, an essence of calm. I could smell the scent of my Mother in the air and I felt her around me. She was right here with me; I just knew it.

‘I love you, Mum.'

‘I wish you were alive, just to hold me once again,’

‘Thomas, you must come to me!’ whispered an angelic voice on the breeze.

‘Come to me, Thomas!’

‘Mum, is that you?’ I asked in desperation.

‘Thomas, please come to me!’ It echoed again, and then nothing. Silence surrounded me, leaving my soul saddened. The voice that floated on the breeze was the gentle tone of my mother, I could never forget the way she sounded.

‘Perhaps she is telling me to go back to my friends.'

I lifted myself from the ground and dusted off my jeans, taking in my surroundings a few moments more. Whatever the meaning to that moment, I knew it was for me. I could feel my mother with me and it left me with a sense of warmth that wrapped around my body and mind like a thick woolly cardigan.

‘Maybe I could piece all these moments together and it would leave me with a complete message,’ I thought as I began my walk back to town.

The sun was glaring down on me and I buried today’s troubling events with my so-called allies to ruin my day, so I made haste to the King’s Head as I knew the others would probably choose a drinking spot along the river. To be honest, I did not care; I was fifty percent of an embrace and now sported an aching jaw and a lack of friends. Elsa had taken off with them, and in doing so, she cast the guilt at my feet. This hurt me more than anything. I decided that whatever happened today, whether I saw them, I was going to stand my ground, I would not let Ruben or anyone else throw sand in my face ever again.

fiction
Like

About the Creator

Peter Culbert

I am a fifty three year old father of three. Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder late in life I have struggled at times with the road on which I tread. I have a real passion for writing, I may not be very good at it but this will never stop me.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.