Image : Pixabay
‘Goodbye’ was the word that jumped out from the scrawl.
Some of the phrases were lost forever, rinsed away by the rain or crushed into muddy pulp by my footprint.
I cursed myself for being so careless. But if it hadn’t slid beneath my boot, I wouldn’t have seen the words or cradled it in my hands as brown water dripped between my fingers. I wouldn’t have carefully dried the fragile paper by the fire.
The letter held together, but what remained was fragmentary, shards of emotion nailed to the page.
It rested in my hands, light as a leaf, yet heavy. I looked around the room. My books leaned drunkenly on the shelf where yours were missing. A dusty rectangle was all that remained of the television set. I remembered the conversation: you’d paid for it, you said, and I was too tired to argue.
I put the letter in a cheap frame, hung it on a vacant picture hook.
It continues to rain.
Word Shamble 
Sometimes your talent for creating atmosphere hits me between the eyes. You describe the scene surrounding the protagonist, and I see every detail of the expression on her face. I feel her pain. You even manage to describe the nature of his parting an a short sentence about a TV. There’s no such thing as 11 out of 10, so I’m afraid I can only give you maximum points for this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, thank you Jane. I wrote this a while back but for some reason never published it. It’s a sad state of affairs when all that remains of a relationship is the remnants of the goods you owned together. Thank you for the lovely comment
LikeLiked by 1 person
I dunno. I thought it was great when it happened to me, but maybe I’m not normal. More to the point, he wasn’t. I walked away with nothing but the clothes on my back, a few clothes and a book to read.
OK, so I was a bit overwhelmed and befuddled, but I was also relieved. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Depends who’s leaving, doesn’t it? Sometimes you are better off alone, there’s no doubt – even if it’s a struggle at first. Some people are poison.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s why I gave up drinking – I can’t tell the difference between poison and wine 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! Sometimes difficult to tell the difference until it’s too late 🙂
LikeLike
Ah, the dusty rectangle where the tele was…that’s gorgeous. I’m a sucker for the sentiment so like Jane said above, hooked me here with the emptiness.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah, thank you Bill. Bit of a n old one this, so nice to give it an outing. Thank you so much for reading.
LikeLiked by 1 person