The alley is dark and claustrophobic. The walls seem to close in on you as you move towards a dim light ahead. The canal holes' steam covers everything with a mist, giving the whole place an ominous vibe. You hurry along your path, without looking back, terrified that there might be someone behind. The light flickers at times, and at those times your heart starts beating faster, because you know that light is the only thing that drives you, the only thing that keeps you going. So you start running. Faster and faster, breathing heavily, stumbling past dumpsters and cartboard boxes.
And finally you reach it, and see that it's just the light from a bus station. You drag yourself to the lady behind the counter, and mumble something, without being able to realize what. She asks you where you're headed, and you reply:
-I don't know...
Archive note: first published September 7, 2007, lightly copyedited for spacing and one obvious typo (‘hole’ → ‘whole’). One of the more complete short pieces from that year — kept as its own entry rather than folded into a collection.
Related reading: Start Here — this piece is featured there as an introduction to the early archive.
© MrWiseguy. Originally published 12:12 AM.
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