breakups
When it comes to breakups, pain is inevitable, but Humans thinks that suffering is optional.
There she goes.
I press his tiny body against mine, bouncing my heels off the floor and circling the small room as I pat his back firmly, shushing him with each stroke of my hand. A simple wish on my lips; something I took for granted before his birth and even now I agonize over all the missed opportunities, the naivety of somehow thinking I could make up for lost time. Sleep, sleep, sleep. It’s the rhythmic dance of mother and newborn, and although I was warned, those warnings were cushioned with loving idioms of miracles, love at first sight, and adorable tushies. Nobody— not one mother— adequately warned me of this. And the thought sends a hard shiver down my spine— tearing their hair out wouldn’t suffice as punishment.
By Anais Margolis 6 years ago in Humans
Living For Your Goodbye
As I sat my phone down, I exhaled a huge sigh of relief, though I knew it was just another habitual impermanence resulting in equivalence with every other past occurrence. I had done my weekly routine of checking the county jail for one specific new inmate, and like all your copious past incarcerations there was your mugshot, except this time, in this mugshot, your appearance was abhorrently abysmal. Your disconcerting image was now etched onto my soul, that sloven, disheveled, and atrocious physical appearance made it blatantly explicit that your self care and hygiene had become inconsequential to you and was no longer an essential priority to you. I was able to bypass your mangey, unkempt look, but I couldn't bear the all-encompassing, inevitable pain that would instantaneously invade and assailment the fibers of my emotions knowing that your safe haven in the county jail was only but a temporary habitation and yet again you'll be out. Out again and on your one goal mission to self destruct by any means that you could draw up in a syringe and inject into your veins, this always being your first and only priority. Your lack of self control, respect, and careless actions have exasperated not only myself, but your mother, of whom is not deceased and you are most likely oblivious to the fact she is gone, your father has told me to tell you to never contact him again, and I myself am saying goodbye to you as well.
By Angela Gay6 years ago in Humans
Jay and I Fall in Love Part II
In the time between deciding to cut them out of my life and turning eighteen, there were countless times that I thought I would see a glimpse of Jay somewhere and I would be devasted all over again. I even tried calling his old phone number to see if it was still his. When we would drive past where he lived when we last spoke, I would try to catch him in the yard or walking to his car. These were the glory days of Myspace and the very beginning of the Facebook world take over and I had not had the internet since Dad had died so I was clueless on where to look next. I saw his sister twice, but I was way too nervous to say anything to her.
By Krysta Kurves6 years ago in Humans
The Sex and Colour of Justice
Sun, sand, sea, a subtropical climate, a diet, and lifestyle to die for. I almost did indeed die. The paradise I had craved for for so many years turned out to be nothing less than a living hell. It was a place in which a very large part of me passed away as sylphly as a pupa turning into a chrysalis. It was a passing from sweet innocence to harsh experience in a foreign land. Had I known what the future seventeen years held in store for me I would have run a thousand miles to get away from it. To this day I often wonder why I didn't just pack my bags and head for the hills of some other far away terrain.
By Liam Ireland6 years ago in Humans
Florida Heat
Even though it was early February, the Florida heat was still nothing to be played with but for the best brisket in the tri-county area, Veronica and Diane found themselves sitting in an airconditioned barbecue joint. The kind where you aren’t sure exactly how it’s still in business because the food is so cheap and the atmosphere so rustic.
By Beau Finch6 years ago in Humans
The Unexpected Perfect Date
Today was a gloomy day; I had been feeling down all day, after my recent; very unexpected breakup of 10 years I could not get out of this rut I was in. I was headed home when the sun peeked out just long enough to shine down on me before disappearing without a trace behind the clouds, I blushed taking it to mean I could look forward to a brighter day.
By MirageLove6 years ago in Humans
The Perfect Pairing
"The only thing left for us, is entropy." These are the last words you said to me, Olivia. You broke it off over text, which is something neither of us understood how people could do that. As if relationships meant so little they could be ended without being face to face. Neither of us could have known until then a relationship could also mean too much to be done in person. I'd try contacting you. I knew you hadn't blocked me, and that you wanted that channel open in case of an emergency. Except I didn't leave it open for emergencies, I filled it with generic pleasantries that barely disguised the pangs I had had for you. I missed you, I missed your son. You always thought of him as a burden, a step I wasn't ready for, but I loved him as I loved you. You hadn't known a man with that much space in his heart up to that point, and everything you experienced taught you not to trust it. I stopped messaging you, following the advice of a relationship coach. I was desperate, and willing to try everything in my power to be back with you. I know there are a lot of people out to make a profit by preying on the broken-hearted ones that can't accept a relationship is over, but the coach I found was nice. She was brunette, and her voice was calming, like yours, Olivia. It was always in the back of my mind that all the goal chasing, working out, and various miscellaneous self-improvement she coached me through was designed to increase my dopamine to the point that I either attracted you back, or had the more likely outcome of being able to accept the end of the relationship. There was an ultimatum, if I hadn't heard from you after no contact and improving, then it was time to move on. Except, I couldn't improve. I decayed, as you anticipated.
By Sean Houston6 years ago in Humans
Philophobia
Although it doesn’t appear in medical dictionaries, philophobia is the term used to describe someone who is scared of being in or falling in love. It is a type of anticipatory anxiety, something in which can present itself before a situation and outcome has occurred. It is draining (trust me) and can last for months in the lead up to an event, in this case, love.
By Danielle Mills6 years ago in Humans
Betrayed
He kept thinking he could smoke the monster out. It was an impossible feat, but he kept trying. What was left there with him was some rage filled shell of a woman. Sometimes she wondered if she would spontaneously combust at how mad she became at him. She kept him hanging there in the balance, wanting to torture him as he did to her. Not entirely sure what to do with him. She wasn’t quite ready to let him go, but she also didn’t want to keep him past the time it would take to hurt him. It was her only consolation, now that he had betrayed her. I guess it had never been fully agreed upon that they would not betray the strange agreement they had come to, but to her mind it had been engraved in stone. The man had built a life without her, behind her back, and now he didn’t even have the courtesy to pretend that he wanted her to be a part of it. She knew exactly what she was to him… an addiction, a whore, a living doll, and nothing more. She gave up the hope that he would ever have any respect for her, or any woman for that matter. And so, the hot nights with the man down in the city were a silent fuck you to him. She began to go more often than not, and she no longer felt even a bit of remorse afterwards, in fact she felt better… exhilarated even. She began to look forward to her secret more and more as the days grew longer and longer. She decided that would be enough for revenge, for now, for her being in the arms of another man is the thing he most feared. He had bought and paid for her before she even knew she had agreed to such an arrangement, and she had lost any sense of herself, or normalcy, or any real stability a long time ago. She only stayed for the money. When was the best time for one to walk away from thousands of dollars? And easy dollars. But she never had thousands, did she? She had just enough for the water, or electric, or the restaurant, or new pair of shoes she wanted and maybe a little bit more. But he always kept her wanting. He had the means to make all her small dreams come true, but doing that would foster an independence he desperately tried to avoid. After all, where would he be if she didn’t need him? If she didn’t depend on him to live? And so he flashed his fortune in front of her and made promises he never intended to keep. And she flashed her prettiest smile and made promises she never intended to keep. What a pair they were. Both lying to themselves and each other, and secretly praying for love. But love had failed here. And all that was left was the hate. The burning. The want for revenge. But this wasn’t a movie or a song, and revenge was a silly, juvenile dream. And so she drank her wine, and she smoked her cigarette, and she made her plans for the next day. And he woke up and tried to smoke the monster out again. He wasn’t even sure why he did it, it was though he was under some spell. But he kept trying. What he couldn’t understand was that Alice was long gone, and the monster is the only thing that remained. If he succeeded in smoking her out, there would be no one left.
By Lolita Libra6 years ago in Humans
