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This is a story i wrote for creative writing. I was curious to see what people thought of it. I hope you like it. :D


A Guiding Light

Max had stood watch over the people for over thirty years. His tall, sturdy frame made everything really easy. He never got tired, and it wasn’t much work. It was a job with few rewards and little excitement, but in the end that wasn’t as bad. That meant he had time to think. Of course, that was cold comfort, considering the things he thought about.

Max spent most of his time thinking about the lack of meaning in existence, and how stupid people were. He had seen about sixty-seven break-ups, thirty-six car accidents, and listened to countless meaningless conversations between ignorant people. One time, some spoiled kids had spray-painted their names on him. He thought that most of the people were simply under the delusion that they had meaning in life, and that despite all of people’s efforts, they were never actually going to be happy.

And yet, tonight was different. Maybe it was the way the moon shone on the cement. Maybe it was the happy voices and overly loud music of the teenagers partying a couple of blocks away from him. Max knew, though, that it was the experience with the lost cat. It wasn’t very often that max actually saw something good happen. And yet, just this afternoon around sundown, he watched as a little girl found her cat under Max’s watchful eye. If it weren’t for him, she probably wouldn’t have seen it. It was the little girl’s eyes that really got to Max. The way they lit up when they saw the cat. It made Max realize that in a world ruled by madness, there are one or two moments of kindness that may not make it all worthwhile, but they certainly help one to realize that life isn’t only pain. Maybe his job did have one or two perks once in a while, Max thought cheerfully.

That may have been why Max reacted the way he did when the car hit him. He heard it coming a mile away. Max couldn’t tell if the man was drunk, out of control, or if something else was wrong. When the car did hit him, Max was knocked down almost instantaneously. The man flew out of his car and landed on the cement head first.

If it were any other day, Max would have scoffed at how stupid the man was. He would have complained to himself about how oblivious people are. Tonight, Max felt different. Max wanted to help the man, and call for help or at least ease his pain and keep him company for a while. If Max were able to, he would have heroically carried the man to safety, and called for an ambulance. But Max could do nothing because he was a street light. And so, he was forced to watch as the man bled to death on the pavement.

Such was the dark side of happiness, thought Max as the truck carried him away the next morning. It’s one of the principle rules of existence. What goes up must come down again. He thought about all of the dark times he had been through. All the ignorance, all the boredom, and all the nihilistic anger he had felt. He realized that it would all have meant nothing if he hadn’t been happy at some point. Without pleasure, there can be no pain, Max thought.

Max wished at that point that he had never been born. He wished for complete oblivion, so he could never feel pain again. If that much pain was the cost of fleeting happiness, he didn’t want to be happy if it meant he’d never be sad again. He didn’t have to wait for very long for his wish to be granted. He was melted the next day, and the material his body was made of was used to make some nails.

This is part of a story i wrote because i was bored and thinking about valentines day. It was too long to post in one post, but i guess this one could stand alone. It's kind of cheesy and slow at the beginning, but i tried to make it interesting at the end. I hope it doesn't suck. :)


What Is?

Tom had been with Jen for a little while now. He couldn’t help but look back on
the way in which they had met and laugh at how cliché it was. It was like one
of those horrible high school drama movies that Jen made him watch. Jen was
a lonely outcast with no friends. Tom had just moved to town. Tom was the
skinny kid with black hair, whose eyes practically held up signs that said “I
LIVE IN MY OWN WORLD”. Jen was the slightly gothic girl with green hair dye
and piercing blue eyes. One day at school, their eyes met from across the
hall. Being the guy, Tom naturally made the first move. He walked up and
introduced himself to her at lunch, and they talked for a while. They had a lot
in common, and became instant friends, and eventually lovers.

Tonight was their six-month anniversary. Tom was waiting for her at the place
they usually met. It was on a hiking trail that had entrances near both of their
houses. Tom felt the cool spring breeze and looked up at the stars. He
thought, what a romantic evening. I can’t wait to see Jen. Tom had bought
Jen a particularly nice necklace for her to celebrate. It was a pendant with
rubies making the outline of a heart. He hoped she’d like it.

That was when Tom realized that he had been waiting for fifteen minutes
already. Jen was usually so punctual. It was unusual for her to be this late.
Once, he had been five minutes late meeting her here and she had almost
broken up with him. Tom worried for a moment, and then realized that she
was bound to make mistakes sometimes. After all, nobody’s perfect,
thought Tom. He knew that if anyone was dependable at meeting people,
especially him, it was Jen.

Finally, in the distance, he noticed something moving along the path. He ran
to look closer. He hoped that it was Jen, because it was starting to get a bit
too cold for him out on the trail. His hopes were confirmed. Jen ran toward
him and almost tackled him when she ran into him and hugged him. He
hugged her back, and they kissed.

“Happy anniversary, Jen,” said Tom after they had parted.

“Happy anniversary,” replied Jen.

They walked back towards Jen’s house, which was where they usually went
when they “hung out”. They just watched movies or played board games or
stuff like that. Their relationship was pretty tame for the most part. They had
had one or two large arguments in the past, but they had managed to move
past it.

And yet, for some reason, as they walked along the path, Jen was strangely
quiet. It seemed like something was bothering her. She looked sad. Tom
tried multiple times to raise conversations, but each time, Jen dodged the
questions. Every time Tom tried to look in Jen’s eyes, she looked away.
This wasn’t how Jen usually behaved, and Tom could tell that something was
off. They had gotten to the top of the hill that led to Jen’s house when Tom
managed to build up the nerve to ask the question.

“Is something wrong, Jen?”

Jen took a deep breath, and looked Tom directly in the eye. “Tom, I’m not
going to beat around the bush. I need to break up with you.”
Flashbacks of those hideous teenage dramas seared through Tom’s
mind. “Why?” he asked.

Jen sighed. “Look, our relationship wasn’t healthy,” she said quickly. “I’m not
happy, and I haven’t been for the past couple of months.”

“But I love you. You’re my only friend here. That can't possibly be the only reason you’re breaking up with me, can it?”

“I…” Jen hesitated. “I’ve found someone else.”

Tom snapped. “Oh, so it’s that simple?” he yelled. “You just find someone
else and drop me like some kind of toy? I’m a human being! I have feelings,
too!”

Jen wrapped her arms around him and kissed him one last time. “Tom, you’re
not real. You don't exist. You're a hallucination."

Tom pulled back and blinked. “What?”

“I don’t know why I started seeing you. Maybe it was just because I was tired
of being the lonely outcast girl. Maybe I just wanted to act out some of those
teenage drama movies I’ve always loved.” Tom’s eye twitched at the thought
of those horrible shows. “But either way, I guess I made you up, and you
appeared.”

“Jen, are you alright?” Tom asked honestly, even though his head was the
one that was spinning. “Is this some sort of a joke?”

“No, it’s not. And now, I’ve found someone real. Someone who can actually
care for me. Someone who’s a real, flesh-and-blood, human being.”

“Jen…” Tom made a couple of inarticulate noises before his voice trailed into
silence.

“Goodbye, Tom.” Jen said with a tone of finality.

And suddenly, it was as though Jen couldn’t even see him anymore. She just
looked through him. Then, she turned around and walked down the hill. Tom
just stood there for a little while and watched her. He didn’t know what else
to do.

Eventually, as she just reached the point where the trail ended, he ran after
her. Tom had never felt more impotent and pathetic in his entire life. He felt
like a little kid lost in a nightmare. Was his girlfriend going insane? Was this a
dream? Or did Jen just break up with him because she was having another
depression attack? Tom didn’t know, but for some reason he was afraid to
find out the answer.