Short Stories 194 — Writing Prompt 27

A winter night in the city.

I sprinted across the room, as the phone rang to receive an unexpected phone call from a friend. As soon as I saw the name it made me anxious. Whenever this person calls me I feel dread picking up the phone. For some reason, I just don’t get excited. It is a chore to pick up the phone and talk to this person, unlike my other friends that I would eagerly wait for the calls. But not this one. I picked up the phone, “Hello! How are you?” and just like that the conversation continued.

In the end, I put the phone down. He said he wanted to meet me tonight. At first, I was fine. But as the time came closer I felt the same dread. I didn’t want to meet him. in fact, I didn’t want to do anything with him. Why is it like that? I just don’t have an answer. In fact, I don’t want to deal with this guy, and that is the first reaction I had.

At I didn’t have a reason to back it up. He is a close friend, we have spent years and years together, but it is not fun anymore. It genuinely feels like a monthly chore, where we have to meet together. I did like this guy, but over the years I have drifted away. We grew up together and we both changed drastically over the years. I am not the same person anymore, and the goals aren’t the same either. We have grown apart, but I don’t know how to convey it through, as I am terrible with social situations.

It was 10 PM and I reached the beach where he called me to meet. It was terrible dark and due to high tide, the waves are devouring nearly half of the beach. I stood near the railing above the beach watching the moon shining in the sky, glittering every it touched in a blueish tone. The dancing as it hits the beach and the chilly wind drifting in the air, a weird feeling started to rise within me. “Should I tell him, how I feel?” a question rose inside me.

The chilly wind made my heart go even colder as a voice inside me said harshly, “Say it. The earlier you say it, the better it is. More time you take, bitter will be the end.”

It was my gut feeling that said that to me. I asked myself, “What do I reply when he asks, ‘Why?’ what am I supposed to say to him.”

I did not get a reply. Nothing at all. Now I just stood there with a gut feeling that is telling me what am I supposed to do, and nothing about, why am I supposed to do that.

“What if it is me that is the problem. He always asks to go out with the boys and I get anxious about it. Maybe it is me that has some kind of anxiety disorder that I am not aware of.” These were the thoughts that were brewing in my head, as the waves hit the beach. Maybe I should do something about it. Or is it me, or my gut feeling is correct. I don’t know what the correct answer is and at this point, I am tired of thinking about it.

I stopped wrestling with that painful idea and got lost in the view. I looked around and saw a bench, and went and sat on it. I lounged on it as if I owned the bench. It was starting to get really late. And each passing minute, the crowd reduced, so did the cars on the road. Everyone has probably reached home, cozy and warm with their family, and there I was sitting on a bench facing the beach, as the wind is constantly trying to knock me out.

At first, I liked the peace and calm of this place, but after a while, I got tired of waiting and grabbed my phone to call him. And I heard a voice shouting my name. I looked back and he waved a ‘hi’ at me and I acknowledged by raising my hand.

He came and sat on the beach next to me, cheerful as always. And it made it very hard for to me even start the topic. I did not want to go directly into it and so we went through some small conversations. At a certain point when none of us were speaking, I said I wanted to talk to him. And that is what I did, I shared everything that I was feeling.

And soon he was in tears, not knowing what hit him. He came all the way, to tell me a good news and there he was walking away with his head down, leaving a trail of tears behind him.