Monday, July 18, 2005

Cali-for-nia-ay

This is a short story I've been working on that I based on one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands. I felt that in a way, I could relate to this song and that's what inspired me to make a story out of it.(If you want to guess the song, heres a tip: I used word-for-wrd versus from the song in it and hint if you want to guess the band, think of soccer.)

I unlocked the door to my house and walked in as the creaking hinges echoed throughout the emptiness. I stood there for a minute thinking “What was I looking for? I found myself along in the darkness, as I always seemed to be nowadays. Walking into the living room and flipped on the TV to the to the news as I glanced over to a picture of my best friend in the world, Nicole. The picture was of us on a bench in a lush green park, our hands lying beside each other but not touching. Walking into the kitchen I could remember her voice “What’s on your mind?” Maybe it was my loneliness that made the memories of her come rushing back as I stood in front of the sink with my head bowed. Feeling a tear well up in my eye, I stopped myself remembering Nicole’s voice again saying “You’ll be alright.” but I just forced myself to shake it out of my mind by being distracted by listening to the TV announcing the 5 day forecast. “Another sunny day in Cali-for-nia-ay” the weatherman said trying to be cute with his signature saying. “Yeah and I’m sure back him they’d love to see it.” I said with a sigh turning off the TV again and opening the front door and looking over my shoulder to see the dump of a place I lived in the last couple years. The chairs were torn up, most likely why I found them in an alley, the carpet reeked and had a strange urine stain from the previous owner, along with fading floral wallpaper that began to peel off the wall. “Two long years and I’m still empty handed I’m afraid.” with another deep sigh I opened the door and walking into the over powering sunlight of the average California afternoon repeating the weatherman’s line. “Looks like another sunny day in Cali-for-nia-ay.” I walked along the cracked and worn sidewalk leading to the beach. I always liked taking the long way because it gave me time to think and if I timed it just right I could see the setting sun on the horizon. “Back home I always thought I wanted so much more.” I said kicking a can along as I walked. “Now I’m not to sure…” I said as I kicked the can with all my might, hitting a raggedy old poodle laying on a porch. “If only my parents hadn’t kicked me out of the house and forced me to live here.” The place my parents suggested me to live was a hell hole in the hottest city in practically the entire nation. The ad has said it was a clost community with many friendly people. But if you read between the lines, you could tell it was a cramped ghetto/slim where everyone owned a gun and it was not uncommon to hear one go off in the night. The big city wasn’t much better though. There are two types of people in the city, those who live their lifes of fear of falling out of line and those who tear lives apart and break lots of hearts just to pass the time. It made me sick just thinking about them. Balling my hand into a fist I could feel my anger rising. If only they could actually make use of their lives instead of finding pleasure in others pain or nothing but material possessions. What if someone took a baseball bat to their precious car? “Well….let’s just find out shall we?” I said finally allowing myself to unleash my rage. Picking up a good ten pound rock I brought it down on the windshield of brand new red convertible. But I did not stop there. I dropped it again and again on the hood and dragged it across the doors, and finally slamming it down upon the spot less red trunk. I slowly walked away, spitting on the hood as I passed by. I felt as if my eyes got red in the back of my head. I just couldn’t stop myself and did not care what happened. This place can make you blind and for once I allowed it to. Calming down, I put it all behind me and got to the edge of the beach. Slowly I walked out onto the sand, kicking off my tennis shoes so that I could feel the now cool sand between my toes. The sun had already set and all that was left was the tip of the red giant as the moon took its place in the sky, waiting for the sun to dissapear so that it could do its job. The lifeless smile of the moon made me wish even more that it would rain to wash the west coast dreaming from my eyes. All that I had been through, all the days that I had spent were nothing but a waste. The seagulls parted like the red sea as I got to the edge of the beach where the water met the dampened sand and foam. “They just don’t know that what you love is ripped away…before you get a chance to feel it.” I said to myself, the waves drowning out my voice as they crashed upon each other, spraying me with a cold salty mist. Only thoughts of Nicole ran through my head, so many chances missed, so many memories untouched as I had lived the last couple years in my hole, devoting all my time to try and make a decent living. ‘We could have married….we could have had kids….we could have spent ever waking moment together but I was to big of a dumbfuck to notice what was right in front of me for years.’ It’s strange how only when you look back do you notice things. All the subtle hints that she had placed and all her attempts at getting them alone, but he was so focused on the ‘important things’ in his life like worrying about his job, that he simply brushed her off. Sitting down in the moist sand I let the hours fly by as the sky above lit up with stars and the ocean froze my toes as the tide came in. Seagulls came over every now and then to inspect me but they weren’t interested and left me alone. The crashing ocean created a white noise which I concentrated on to try and keep out such depressing thoughts of the days that could have been. The sky darkened as the moon hid behind a dark cloud and the powerful shower of rain fell upon the city and all its inhabitants. Water leaked into the cracked windshield of the smashed up car, the rusty gutters of my home overflowed from being clogged by a dead bird, ferocious dogs became whimpering puppies hiding from the rain as I sat, allowing the rain to cascade over me. “It’s another starry night….in Cali-for-nia-ay.” I smiled, my tears camouflaged by the rain.

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