Short Stories

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"Antipode Avenue"
By Michael N Lovdal

She awoke early that morning. The tantalizing scent of freshly brewed coffee greeted her as she made her way into the kitchen. Her husband gave her a hug and a kiss, leaving her loved all over. He shut the door with playful bliss and backed out of their Sunny Street driveway. She took a few deep sips of her coffee before sticking it in the microwave for when she came home later. With their grocery list in hand, she went out to meet the day.

He nearly fell asleep again, but the drums beating inside his head were merciless. The stench of marijuana and urine assaulted his nostrils, but he didn't really notice. He nearly tripped over a girl's limp body on the floor as he made his way to the door. Had she been here all night? He couldn't remember. He took one last swig of an empty beer bottle and dropped it into the kitchen sink. He wasn't sure quite where he was going, but he knew that he wanted to get out. Leaving the front door wide open and all of the lights on, he stumbled out to get some air.

With the windows down and the radio playing, she made a casual turn and stopped at a light. She waited patiently until it turned green and then slowly brought her car up to speed. Her cell phone rang from her purse, so she pulled over to see who it was.

Without much notice of his surroundings, he sped down the street and screeched around the corner. He absently ran a red light and honked angrily at a slow-moving vehicle ahead of him, which he promptly passed in the oncoming traffic lane.

Her hazard lights blinked steadily. She glanced up briefly to check for traffic ahead of her and picked up her husband's welcome call. He was just calling to remind her of how much he loved her.

His headlight smashed as he veered too far to the left on the pass.

Her car shook violently from the impact and was forced into the ditch.

His car jerked out of control and plummeted into the far ditch.

She told her husband that she was safe before calling 911.

He said nothing.

© 2008 Mike Lovdal.

Term of Use:
This work may only be used or reprinted with the explicit permission of the author, Michael N Lovdal. Please send your requests to michaelnlovdal(@)gmail.com. (Remove parentheses).

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