Washed Away
A Micro Fiction by Ben Daggers
I’d always imagined the final straw would be something a little more dramatic: a drunken tryst; a violent argument; a kitchen strewn with broken plates and hateful tears.
Instead, as we shiver our way down Oxford Street, shuffling joylessly amongst the crowds, it’s the rain that finally breaks the camel’s back.
As thick clouds go from ominous rumblings to single, staccato drips, and then a legato stream of rain, it hits me: I don’t want to be here. And how easily those words swirl around in my brain until they’ve become I don’t want to be here with you. The torrent continues, washing away everything from the surface to reveal the truth underneath: I don’t want to be with you.
Once uttered, even wordlessly, it cannot be unsaid. Your hand, its contours so familiar a moment ago, now feels all wrong. I lighten my grip until we’re barely touching, as though the weaker I hold you now, the less I will hurt you later.
The rain slows back to rhythmic drips. I glance skywards. The sun’s faint orange form threatens to emerge from behind the clouds. I’ll wait for it to dry my tears before I let you go.
Author: Ben Daggers is a close-up magician, magic author and escape room designer based in Osaka, Japan. When not creating puzzles or making magical stuff happen, he spends his days looking after an emotionally-needy Italian greyhound.