Humans logo

The Light

...

By Amanda LyonsPublished 4 years ago 7 min read
4
Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

As Brianna wiped off the sweat tickling her nose for what seemed like the hundredth time that day while out shopping, she stopped at the familiar intersection just like the day before. She had made this trip a lot and this time was no different. Brianna took out her new crystal fingering it while letting the chain dangle down her pale wrist. While holding it up to the sunlight to help the amethyst charge she admired the facets inside the clearish purple beauty. It almost looked smoky inside. Just then she felt something tickle her nose again. Blast this heat! And this hat! She placed the necklace carefully back into the little brown bag getting a waft of sage as she did so. Momentarily hanging the bag off her wrist, she ripped off her wide-brimmed black hat she just had to have because that's what Stevie Nicks wore. It was a clumsy thing but she managed to stuff it between her legs as she took the hair tie from her other wrist and attempted to tame her wild red mane.

“...you see your gypsy...to the gypsy that remains...you see you-” she sang to herself while managing to win the fight against her hair.

“Mom, oh mommy look! LOOK MOM!”

Brianna had a feeling something would ruin this delightful walk. She tried to remain positive while touching her black obsidian that was dangling around her neck. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes as an annoying child ran up beside her almost knocking into her.

“Ashley, ASHLEY! Don’t run, I told you! You almost ran into this nice lady,” the woman looked at Brianna apologetically while taming her child, “I’m so sorry, she has a habit of running off-”

“Nasty habit.” Brianna replied curtly.

The woman gave her a quizzical look before apologizing again.

Brianna sneered inside and replied, “Don’t worry about it.”

The woman gave a weak smile while making sure she held onto her child’s hand tightly.

All three of them waited impatiently for the light to change, none more so than the child. Seems so long today. The child prattled on about what she wanted at the toy store once they got there and as Brianna side-eyed them she noticed something. She had seen these two before, in her shop just now. It wasn’t Brianna’s shop per se, it just felt like a home away from home because that’s where she bought all her spiritual necessities. Her mother was right though, that child did have a bad habit of running off. Brianna had to wonder why that woman even went into the store, she didn’t buy anything and she let her kid run around getting into everything, even the fragile crystals in the baskets that were neatly all in a row. Stupid lady. Brianna discreetly studied her for a moment. Bleach blonde hair, khakis, white tank, and a pair of Ray Bans, not typically the type to shop at a metaphysical store but Brianna didn’t want to be prejudiced so she stopped thinking about it.

To drown out the incessant droning of the child, Brianna took a page out of the mother’s book and took out her phone to check Facebook. After scrolling for what seemed like forever, Brianna wondered why she even bothered. For one thing it hadn’t drowned out any of that little brat’s musings and demands upon its mother and there were no positive posts anyway.

Nothing but sadness, anger, outrage, and injustice. Brianna was sick of it all. Humanity was a disease spreading too close to her. She couldn’t relate to most of society, at least the mainstream part of it. And even the part she could relate to, she never truly felt a part of. It angered her to see how people treated each other. Hate crimes were going unpunished, animal cruelty was rampant, people acted crazy in grocery stores now, and the president was a buffoon who’s followers acted with no conscience.

Yawning while waiting for what seemed like three hundred years for this damned light to change, her jaw clicked loudly. Her hand shot to the right side of her jaw and rubbed it. Her TMJ was getting worse. Hopefully she could have that operation after her hysterectomy. The hysterectomy is what she wanted above all else. She found out earlier that year that she had two huge cysts and a bunch of little ones in both her ovaries. There was also the adenomyosis, this was similar to endometriosis but instead of tissue growing outside it grew into the muscle of the uterus, and she had a messed up fallopian tube. Since she had never wanted children it was the best option. Brianna was elated to find out she’d be getting a hysterectomy. No more excruciating periods and mess.

When she told her friends and family they all had the same reaction, because they knew her so well! Most of them offered condolences that she wouldn’t be able to have kids. Brianna looked at them trying to hold back anger. She took the time to explain to them, yet again, that she had never wanted kids anyway. In the end she just sighed feeling defeated after hearing too many “you’ll change your mind” phrases.

Humanity just sucked, even her own family and friends didn’t listen to her, what was the point? What was the point of anything? Why would somebody want to bring a child into this shit world anyway? Brianna couldn’t fathom it. Nobody paid attention to her until they needed her advice and then they didn’t even follow it. Her friends claimed that she gave great advice though. Odd.

One friend had asked her one day how she remained so positive all the time. Brianna didn’t tell him that it was a lie, that she felt empty inside or out of place. She told him it was the crystals. And she wasn’t necessarily lying, they did help a fraction but they were no match for the seething mass of humanity’s negativity that affected her daily with her work. She was a therapist specializing in people with depression and similar mood disorders. Brianna spent all day convincing people that life was good, worth living, and to not kill themselves when that’s all she wished she could do. Being the baby that she was and not wanting to hurt friends and family she abstained from that act.

“Oh mommy LOOK! A PET STORE!!”

Brianna jerked her head toward the child as she was yanked out of her thoughts. Sighing loudly she put her phone in the back pocket of her black jeggings and eyed the street light suspiciously. Sneaking a peek at the woman she noticed she was deeply engrossed in whatever tragedy the social media on her phone was enlightening her with.

Suddenly there was a terrifying screech. Then someone screamed. Brianna turned just in time to see the number 26 bus careening sideways into the intersection. Taking a step back she saw something moving a couple yards ahead of the bus. It was the child! She heard the woman let out a scream only other mothers could understand. Before Brianna could realize what she was doing her feet took her straight into the intersection. Damn kid. She felt the softness of the child's fragile back on her palm then there was darkness.

Pain. All pain. Nothing but. Brianna managed to open her eyes, albeit slowly. They burned, there was something obstructing her vision. There were shadows around her moving. More pain. All over. She felt really tired. Crying, there was crying. Hysterical crying. The pain started to fade, so did the sunlight. At least she wasn’t hot anymore, if anything, she was beginning to cool down. Brianna sighed contentedly. She knew what this was. Something soft touched her hand, held it. She couldn’t make out what this person was saying but she felt gratitude. Brianna smiled a bit, that damned kid, I dropped my necklace. Oh! My hat! The light had been so long.

humanity
4

About the Creator

Amanda Lyons

Eclectic stream of consciousness and dark surrealism. What photography does for life I do for thought, emotions, and experiences. The genres can range from romance to horror but my favorite is suspense.

[email protected]

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.