Fiction
2 min
Forever But Never Again
Jaclyn Brubaker
Click. The man turns the radio on. Sweet notes pluck out of the device, filling the air with a sense of deep nostalgia, for a time unknown but remembered. A strong emotion crosses the man's face, perhaps grief or even joy. A faint flowery scent wafts into the room, catching the man's attention, and he turns around as a young lady enters. She is wearing a knee length red dress, her blonde hair pinned in a half-updo painstakingly, as if she wants every strand to look perfect. A small smile appears on the man's face as he takes in the sight of his lover. The crooning voice of Doris Day sings from the radio.
"Again. This couldn't happen again..."
The woman walks over to the man and leans against his chest, closing her eyes. Leaning down, the man brushes her hair off her shoulder and whispers something in her ear that only she can hear. The woman smiles, but a tear slides down her cheek. The man takes her chin in his hand and turns her face so she's looking at him. He offers his hand to her and she accepts.
"What's more, this never happened before. Though I have prayed for a lifetime, that such as you would suddenly be mine..."
The man and the woman dance slowly, holding each other as if it is the last time they might ever share this dance. The woman says something to the man and he laughs, a sound they both seem surprised to hear. Suddenly, they're both talking, a lifetime of inside jokes, memories, and words of love all mixed together in a single conversation.
"Mine to hold as I'm holding you now, and yet never so near. Mine to have when the now and the here disappear..."
"...Officials say it will be arriving any minute. Those directly inside the blast zone will have no time to run... "
"...headed on its way right now...greatest tragedy of our time..."
"...and as the world watches in great horror...wonder what those inside the blast zone..."
"...have they accepted their fates? More at eleven..."
And as the world watches the countdown timer to their doomsday, the couple celebrates their last day of life. Around them, others share their own private last moments.
5
The family next door weeps and hugs each other.
4
The man down the street drowns his sorrows and fear in his bottle.
3
The lady's best friend writes down her final memoir, rushing to get out every word she never said, every guilt she holds inside, every memory she never wants forgotten.
2
The man's boss claims his own life before the bomb does.
1
The couple swallows their tears, dancing until the very last note plays from the radio.
"We'll have this moment forever, but never, never again..."
A Bronco Story. Submissions are from the Western Michigan University community.
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