“Men who flatter women do not know them; men who abuse women know them even less.”
–Constance de Theis
by CJ Heck
In the early morning hours of a Baltimore Monday, I saw you -- just another nameless lady sitting quietly by herself on a dirty bench in the Greyhound Bus Station.
Like me, you were waiting for a bus; unlike me, you wore a long red coat on a warm spring day and your hat was pulled down to hide a swelling monument of love.
The matching handbag, you gripped two-fisted, leaving only the sleeves of your coat to wipe the sadness from your eyes. I am so sorry. I couldn't help but see ...
My God, how could so much misery share that old dingy bench?
What was it in your world that hurt you? What, (or who), made you feel so beaten down? What could have happened to make you cram your whole life into a suitcase?
I'm thinking it must be a man and not a very nice one. No one could ever blame you for leaving. Maybe wasting minutes feels better here, crying silently and waiting for a Greyhound with your suitcase between your legs, instead of him.
It's merely speculation on my part, but I suppose yesterday's hopes and tomorrow's dreams all die just as easily in a one-way ticket to somewhere else -- and anywhere's a better place than where you were.
Greyhounds may be late, but they don't punch or yell.
(from the book, "Bits and Pieces from a Writer's Soul", by CJ Heck)
Read Another Book Excerpt
Buy at Amazon
“A writer soon learns that easy to read is hard to write.” ~CJ Heck
0 Comments on Flash Fiction: "Waiting for a Greyhound" as of 2/2/2015 11:44:00 AM
Add a Comment