9
happy in the end.
So, what is love? Love is a stressful and debilitating concept in which infatuation becomes long lived and all goes to hell in the end. You either lose the one you love to someone else or to death himself; no matter which relationship you’re in --you get hurt in the end. I found the love of my life, but he didn’t stay for long. My spark, my light in this desolate, dark world has been taken from me even when he wasn't really mine. My family might have loathed him for “changing me” and will continue to loathe me for clinging onto him for so long. Yet, they’re right. I should let go of the thought of him and all the things he’s done for me, but I just can’t. Therefore, love is unneeded in my life and unwanted, so I will forever discard into the very depths of my subconscious, dwindling into nothingness.
Time's up by Catherine Kaiser
Days meshed together, it was an inevitable blur within his profession. Malcom had seen incredible things during his trips, he could walk through a door in 2005 and find himself on the other side before the building had even been built. In response, time had very little meaning. He saw it pass so quickly he could barely understand it, yet other times it would crawl along. He didn’t count birthdays the days to retirement because there was no definite way to do so. Removed from time, Malcom was only left to watch it pass by.
His own history didn’t matter, that wasn’t his job. He was meant to record every detail that had been overlooked in the records. As an uninvolved traveler, only his impartial notes knew the truth and few others would see them once they were reported in. There were times when he questioned why he bothered. It seemed pointless to let needlessly horrendous events pass without intervention for the sake of a record. A younger version of himself had struggled deeply with this dilemma but now Malcom he pushed the thought from his mind. There was no use in dwelling.
“About what,” he asked. He leant in to press his lips against her cheek, falling into her grasp.
He craned his neck to bury his face in her shoulder, doing anything to avoid looking into her emerald eyes. Guilt ebbed at his thoughts and words caught in his throat, “How long has it been?”, he croaked and gave in to look at the face he hadn’t seen for days.
he hadn't seen for days.
Daisy looked up, a smile wily making its way across her face and displaying her chipped front teeth. New wrinkles had stretched across her skin, lines from laughter that he had missed. The beginnings of grey danced through her hairline, darkening Daisy’s previously honey locks. It had been longer for her, but no anger reached her eyes. There was not even an ounce of annoyance at his absence, only joy.
“Oh, don’t try and change the subject,” she jests with another peck on the lips. She lightly kicked open the door behind her and cool air flooded from the opening into the muggy July air. Malcom threaded his own calloused hand in hers as he followed inside.
“Daisy, I didn’t mean to be so long,” he continued. Her grip tightened into a comforting squeeze.
“I know,” she laughed and threw her voice into a dramatic cadence for the next sentence, “What would the neighbors think? You must be driving them crazy looking so young after all these years.”
“Years?” Malcom stuttered, “But why are you so happy? You’re too happy.”
“Too happy? That’s absurd,” Daisy replied, her eyebrows contorted in confusion. “Now, I’ve been thinking,” be began, swaying into the kitchen with Malcom right behind her.
Finally, she released his hand and the loss of contact was jarring. Despite the sweaty hold that came with humid summers, Malcom never wanted to let go of her again. She laughed as he settled against the counter and danced towards the pantry. Her bare feet echoed against the tile with each step and for the moment it was the only sound.