The aim of Words for Wednesday is to use one or all of the prompts to write something – ie, a story, a poem, an essay or any forms of writing and the theme/topic is up to you so basically write anything you want.
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Fiction: Next Stop: Oblivion, Indiana
The sky is a gray mass pouring droplets in a carefree but quiet manner. Mavis Manor quickens her pace while dragging her large suitcase behind her. A car rushes toward her and she stumbles backward and onto the ground. For a moment, she calms her racing heart while silently cursing the driver.
After adjusting the strap of her shoulder bag and picking up her steel blue suitcase, she enters the station where she finds her way to stand behind the last man in a long line to the train. She listens to the muffled voices and hesitant movements. Is everyone moving slower than usual?
All morning, she had tried to hurry – sorting, packing, trashing, endless decision making – why is moving so exhausting?
Now her afternoon is disappearing and still, it's as if time isn't moving at all. The rain too seems to be moving slower now. Just a few moments ago, she has to discard her umbrella when it collapsed. She licks her lips. Why does the rain taste sweet?
The man ahead of her takes two steps forward and reluctantly Mavis follows. Already, she misses her tiny apartment but she won't miss waiting on tables and cleaning after people every week with barely time for anything. I can enjoy life later, she often thought. Two months ago, when her fiancé lost their life savings, then went on a suicidal drive with Mavis, her mother and sister, she was cheated of her hard-earn happiness. The moment she woke from a head injury and found out he had died along with her mother and sister, she wished he had lived so she could kill him. But when she thought of her mother and sister, she wanted to disappear, like her father. When Mavis was five and her sister was two, her father went out to buy baby formulas and never came back. One of his friends said he saw him getting on a bus.
Just when the remains of her patience is slowing ebbing away, it is Mavis' turn. The porter throws her suitcase into the luggage bay of the train. Did she hear a cracking sound? Mavis pictures the glass frame with her family but she is too exhausted to care. She climbs onto the train and takes a seat by the window. The ride is a bit long and she fears the plastic chair will make her regret sitting.
Her stomach does a little tumble. The burnt eggs and weak coffee seem so long ago. She longs for some glazed donuts. Her friend, Sally, always said with Mavis' sweet tooth, she might bloat up to 300 pounds. Mavis never cared for Sally's wisecracks. Besides, a woman should be able to enjoy a sweet dessert without worrying about her weight.
The train shakes and starts moving. In the distant, she hears thunder. Through the windows smattered with raindrops, she watches the passing houses and trees.
"Next stop: Oblivion, Indiana," comes the announcement from the speaker.
Her heart pumps quicker. This is what she wants so why is she terrified?
Everything will be new but she will be old but she can get used to that.
A few hours later, she is exiting the train. After securing her suitcase, she finds the exit and walks out the double doors of the station. Outside, the gray, rainless night meets her. She tightens the grip on her suitcase's handle. Something in her memory shifts and she forgets why she is there. She tries to remember but there is no backlogs of memories in her mind. The rain, she remembers. It had licked her face and she had drank it in and tasted its sweetness.
She looks around her. This is the right place, she thinks. Only, she minds that she has forgot her name.
