The following is my second 500 word story...this one is a bit different from the first. Hope you like it.
A Lesson in Love
One day Love became an anthropomorphic being. For the first time in the history of the universe an emotion was granted human form, to experience life as the humans she once held sway over. Love had been an ethereal being; conscious and filled with free will. Love penetrated the mind of each person on Earth, privy to all feelings of attraction, lust, and longing. No emotions were hidden from Love, for she held a key to unlock the deepest, darkest secrets of any person. This eternal omniscience had been granted Love to facilitate her duty; uniting each person on Earth with his or her soul-mate. But Love was a fickle mistress, prone to acts of whim and fancy. She took great pleasure in linking only the most beautiful women with handsome men. Love often taunted the pimply-faced, individual with a veritable cornucopia of beautiful women; only to leave that same teen alone and crying on Prom night.
When Love was given human form, the Fates decided to mete out justice, by creating a person with no physically desirable characteristics. Love was not an attractive person, rather she was hideous to all who beheld her. The Fates ensured that no one on Earth would find her attractive. In a final act of retribution, the Fates blinded Love to her looks; as each time she gazed into a mirror, she saw nothing. The most fickle and elitist of all emotions cast no reflection on any surface.
Love’s first day as a human was uneventful. Love was unable to read people, as her key had been taken away; forcing to learn human interaction through actual face-to-face contact. Most of the day was spent in her apartment, watching people talking and flirting with one another in a nearby park.
On her second day, Love caught a glimpse of a man who made her heart race. He was tall, blonde, and extremely handsome. His chiseled features made her knees weak, and she knew that she had to have him. This man was all Love wanted in another person; even though she had never actually spoken to him. Love had fallen head over heels for a man she had never met.
Without thinking, Love ran out to meet this man, yelling for him to wait for her. As she approached him, acting like a teenage girl exposed to her favorite male celebrity, the man turned towards her and his face contorted as if he had been struck with a balled up fist. He turned and ran, leaving Love behind, as she was unable to match his gait.
Love quickly returned to her apartment, her face flushed and tears streaming down her cheeks. How had she failed? She WAS Love. How could anyone resist her? Love stayed in her apartment and cried for three days, before asking the Fates to return her to her ethereal existence.
Love had learned a valuable lesson, when she experienced failure when she was cast aside by a potential lover’s instant rejection.
- Mood:
accomplished
Is There A God Tonight?
“Is there a God tonight in this dark expanse?” Allen asked himself. Walking North on Park Street, he hoped for an answer. Everywhere he looked, charred automobile skeletons smiled back; their twisted metal bodies glowing faintly in the fires raging along the city streets. Buildings hollowed out by wayward flames stared blankly as he passed. Every so often he passed a few building untouched by flames, but to his dismay no one emerged to greet him with open arms. Even the animals were missing. Flames grasped at the sky, devouring everything in their path. With the entire city in shambles, Allen was sure he heard the whine of a fire engine in the distance; until he realized that it was just the sound of blood rushing to his head.
He walked for hours, unsure of where he was or where he was headed. The city looked the same everywhere; abandoned cars appeared to have driven themselves into each other, or into store fronts. Electrical wires blocked many of the side streets, and the stoplights were all dark. The only sound other than his footsteps were the explosions; echoing their death cries through a nearly silent city.
Although Allen was in shock, he was capable of some higher reasoning. This morning, he awoke to the sound of a car crashing into the townhouse where he lived. Since he and Rebecca lived in a quiet neighborhood, the noise seemed to rock the entire subdivision. Instinctively he reached out to hold onto Rebecca, but his hand touched only bed sheets. In a panic, Allen ran throughout his house, searching for Rebecca; only to find that she and her dog were missing. Outside the house, he saw that the stray car had struck his neighbor’s house, but there was no driver in sight. His neighbor, who was currently unemployed had not even gone outside to see what hit his house.
Allen ran back inside to grab his shoes. These events were strange enough to warrant further investigation. When he entered the living room, Allen noticed there were no fish in the aquarium. Small discoveries like these continued until Allen was convinced that every living thing on Earth had disappeared except for him. The sky was without birds, even though summertime was in full swing. Even though spider webs were intact on his front porch, there were no spiders present.
Now it seemed nothing was left alive in this entire city. For all Allen knew, this phenomenon was global. Why had he been singled out to survive whatever cataclysm had affected the world? All of the people, the animals, and even the insects had vanished without a trace. All living organisms were gone, save one: him.
“Is there a God tonight in this flaming Hell?” Allen shouted, but he knew the answer. Atheists had no need for misguided nonsense and fairy tales. In the glaring fires of what used to be Los Angeles, the last man on Earth sat on a park bench and wept.
- Mood:
artistic
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