From Old Shall a New Era Now Dawn

With a breath I reach out and with trembling limbs I grasp those golden armrests with such fervor I momentarily fear that they will snap off in my hands. The throne’s velvet cushioning is faded and worn, no longer soft to the touch, but not a single tear is evident. I chuckle as my fingers drift, brushing lightly over the fabric, reverent of the object I’ve found again though with all reverence lost for he who sat upon it an age ago.

Triumph.

It fills my chest and bursts forth from my very being, insurmountable joy.

I turn to sit, grinning, and I know that I must look absolutely mad with pleasure. I drum my fingers against those armrests as I lean back and survey the toppled room from this rediscovered throne, my throne.

So long ago he ran me out. He ran me out, unloved and uncared for, but, oh, how the tables have turned. My father, the king, with his blood soaked boots and glinting eyes is long dead. His palace, the place of my birth and ...

A woman shouts to be saved.
The corridor walls outside my apartment door vibrate with each bullet-like word shot from her mouth. They ricochet from one wall to the next until they strike my eardrum. A beat of hi-hats, snares, and toms plays. But she is the villain. I believe she is masquerading as the victim, and he sees her through striped, colored glasses. I believe she has fooled them.

The men in blue said, "Poor little lamb, who hurt you?"

But the hermit man lets her play her tricks. Who would believe a man with no wit? He chose solitude, and yet here he stands once again, bullets in his heart, for the scorned woman has played her man.

(Excerpt from my short story, Life vs. Legacy)

“You made mom cry,” she said, “I hope you’re proud of that.”

The door opened and then closed. I was alone once more.

I looked out the window I stood beside. I watched as the stars shown through space and planets reflected their light. I looked out at the darkness that could kill with such unbelievable ease and it made me wonder how we survived against such odds.

My fingers brushed over the uniform I still clutched to my chest and I could feel the fabric against my skin. It was soft and stiff all in one and I remembered being a boy and dreaming that there would come a day which I too would wear such a uniform.

I knew not what came next for my fate had always been set and suddenly I had derailed it. I was set adrift just like the rest of my species and I knew not where I would go nor what I would find wherever I went.

I was a drifter without a planet nor a purpose, lost amidst vast nothingness.

I looked at my reflection and I saw ...