The World Fell Away

A Story by thepoetinside

this is a short story i wrote one morning while i contemplated life and death and the aftermath of an accident. please enjoy!

He approached the door, stopped just short of it and thought to himself, "I really don't want to be the one who has to do this." He inhaled the crisp night air and thought that this, despite what had happened just an hour before, could be a night just like any other. Then a solemn realization entered his head: it is. He reached out against his body's wishes and knocked on the door. The sound was hollow through the night.

She had just sat on the bed to lay down when she heard the knock. She thought aloud "who in the world would be at the door at 10:22 at night?" The porch light didn't work and hadn't for years so she wasn't able to see who it was. Before opening the door she called out.

The man's heart took an unexpected plunge into his stomach when a voice asked him who it was. He didn't want to answer. He only wanted this to be over. "This is Officer LeMorte. I'm from the Maumelle Police Department. I'm here about your son." He thought the words sounded somehow childish.

The woman's heart stopped. This was it. Her son had finally been caught shoplifting. He used to steal all the time when he was younger and although he hasn't in years this is still what she thought of when she heard what the man said. Her son was about to go to jail 11 days before he was supposed to ship out for basic training. He was going into the nuclear field, something she knew her science-geared son would have enjoyed. But now, right before he was going to serve the country, right before he was going to earn the respect of the nation, he's probably just thrown that away for a soda or some gum or whatever it was this time. All of a sudden she felt mad at her son. She had been strong for him through out him leaving her to live on some godforsaken boat, and now he has thrown that away. She realized that she had just been standing there with this officer sitting out in the cold, waiting for her to open the door. She decided it was best to get this over with.

After perhaps 15 seconds of silence the door slowly opened to reveal a woman in her late 40's clutching the front of her robe. Though he thought it not possible, his heart sank even further. "This is about your son", he said again.

"Yes, you've said that already. Is he in some sort of trouble?" The man seemed very uncomfortable. She was beginning to get impatient.

No, he thought, he isn't in trouble, and he never will be again. He cleared the egg sized knot that had formed his throat. His vision became slightly blurry. Fighting the urge to say this is about your son again, five words he knew could do know harm, he pressed on.

"I regret to inform you ma'am, but there has been an accident. I'm sorry..." His voice fell away from him. He hadn't even planned on saying those last two words.

The world world fell beneath her feet.