literature

Must Have Been In Heaven

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Literature Text

"Shit..."

The blonde man stared at the watch that was prematurely strapped onto his wrist, clutching his shirt which had yet to be put on.  He bustled around his economically spaced apartment in search of his shoes, but with less luck than he had hoped to have.  

He slipped on his shirt, buttoning it and neglecting to tuck it into his drawstring khakis.  He quickly glanced at himself in the mirror and struck a few private poses, winking at himself and snorting at his own foolishness.  He stood there a moment and took a deep breath.

"This is the day, let's not be later than we already are," he muttered to himself.

He walked out the door, grasping for the lock as he closed the door behind him, looking at a stray piece of paper, as simple and ragged as a shopping list.  He ran his eyes from top to bottom and persued it from the top.

He was quickly taking long strides down a cracked sidewalk, turning around occasionally, looking at all the building and the signs.  He nodded at all the people, who just gave him odd looks or ignored him.  He smiled slightly as he watched a group of kids playing under the supervision of a babysitter in a nearby park.  One of the little girls paused and waved at him and he waved back.

Dirt and grunge lined his path as he continue to look around, as though he was seeing it all for the first time.  And maybe he was.  Can seeing something in a new way be considered seeing it for the first time?  The same objects... the same stained bricks, cracked concrete, wrinkled people, beauty queens, the same signs with the same letters, but today it all was different to him.

He grinned and picked up his long stide to a run, but would pause for long moments to admire things like the flower shop or the art galleries.  Places most people don't even glance at.  He frowned as he looked in on the art gallery and walked inside, looking around.  Inside a young woman was asleep with her forehead rested against her arms.  Around her were bills, budgets and more bills.  He glanced at her, then at all the paintings.

One in particular caught his attention.  he stood before it for a long time, staring at the texture.  "How much?" he said without thinking and she stirred, looking at him, pushing unbrushed hair from her face.

"Wh-what?"

"How much for this piece?" he asked, turning a little to smile at her.

"Um..." she sat up and craned her neck to see which one he spoke of.  "Oh... uh it's up for bargain."

"I'll just write the check then..." he said and unpocketted a pen and a checkbook, tapping the pen against it twice before starting to fill it out.

"Er, we never specified a price, sir," she said, standing slightly.

"I"ll pay you what it's worth," he smiled slightly and finished writing the check.  He ripped it from his checkbook and then took the painting, putting it under his arm.  She started to protest but was shocked into silence as he walked over and kissed her on the cheek, then proceeded towards the door.

"S-sir...?" she called but glanced at the check, suddenly finding herself unable to speak.  "F-five hundred thousand?!  S-sir!!"

He was already walking down the cracked sidewalk again, whistling with the painting underneath his arm.  One foot in front of the other put him at a street corner, where a young man was standing, looking merose.  From the look of his clothes he was a run away, but the man noted he didn't look like he was on drugs.  All of his clothes were a sad shade of black or gray...

"Excuse me?"

The boy glanced at him but quickly glanced away.  "H-hello... Look, not to beg but... do you have any spare change...?"

The man smiled and shook his head.  "But here," he said and handed him the painting. "A little bit of color will do you good."  With that the man crossed the street.  The boy stared after him with shock on his face, which turned to annoyance, but suddenly he looked at the painting.  It was of a homey looking window with a brilliant rainbow after a gray drizzle.  Normally, he wouldn't find anything significant about something like this, but today...

... He walked to a payphone and with the last of his change, he called his relieved mother.

The man continued to walk down the street, whistling, nodding at people still.  He slowed down as he spotted another teenager, but this one was well-dressed.  Over dressed.  And by over, he meant under.  He saw that she was wearing a skimpy top and a short skirt.  She had a mirror out and was fussing with her bangs, looking up hopefully as a handsome man walked by but didn't glance at her.

The man walked over and gently grabbed her chin.  She looked at him, startled and defensive.  He leaned in and she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he placed his lips close to her ear.

"You are beautiful," he whispered and continued to walk.

She watched him leave and suddenly pulled down her skirt self-consciously.

Crossing another street landed the man in front of a familiar apartment, who's stairs he descended.  He arrived in front of the door and took a deep breath, ringing the doorbell.

"What?!" was the reply just as a disheveled woman answered.  "Marcus, what do you want?" she asked in irritation.  "Look, we broke up and we..."

He kissed her.

He pulled away before she could gather her wits and he smiled.  "I just wanted to say that you were the most important thing in my life and I threw you away.  And today, I realized that the most important things in our lives, we all tend to throw away or ignore.  I should have seen that you were the best thing that ever happened to me.  Instead I walked all over you like you were a dirty carpet.  But you're not.  You're a dazzling human being.  I'm glad to have known you."

With that, he handed her an envelope and turned to walk away.  She felt like she should stop him, but instead she looked at the envelope, which she opened.  The only things inside were the keys to his apartment and a slip of paper.  She read it and blinked.

"My apartment belongs to you.  I love you."

"Marcus!" she called but he was once again skipping down the street.

He stepped off the curb and reached midway down the busy street as the light turned green.  He looked up and paused, watching as a large bus barreled its way towards him.  Right on time, he marveled to himself and closed his eyes.

The scene wasn't as bloody as it could have been.  His body was relatively unmarked.  The people who witnessed it said he could've just been sleeping.  One person said he must have been in heaven.

He was smiling.
What are the most significant things? If you looked around, would you find what you valued in your life were the things that actually made you happy?

Story inspired by a picture ~joneko sketched.

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© 2006 - 2024 ReiTheWriter
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akatsuki-clouds's avatar
That is a really nice story you made. I Love it, highly fastinating! =D thanks for the :+fav: