I rest my tired shoulders against the cold brick wall, hold my lighted cigarette up to the dusty sky, and exhale my worries. People say that small restaurants have a family feel. All the small talk makes it cozy, but it’s only small talk, I say.

The real important conversations, the one about choices, the one about passions, have escaped me. You didn’t think I wanted to work at some small restaurant as some small-minded cook, did you? Not my fault if she died, not my fault. I bring the cigarette to my lips, stealing one last kiss. Ironic, how I can still cook for others, yet I am living off of stolen breath.

“Jonas,” Somebody calls my name.

A door is opened and steam rushes out. They don’t see me, even as ash falls from the glowing end of the cigarette. They have blocked me out behind the door. When I am satisfied with how they call for me, I will return. For now.

I think I’ll stay a while longer.

 

Featured Photo by Dylan Fout on Unsplash

 

If you enjoyed this piece of flash fiction you might also like my novella: 

Once There was Life – START READING

Cecil is a survivor of a destructive society where people either care only for themselves or have chosen not to feel at all. They tried to take away his feelings too, but even after the modifications, the immortality, and the perfection offered, he wanted to care more. Now having escaped back into the city, Cecil struggles to understand what he wanted to accomplish. Along the way, he meets a girl who believes that there is something better outside the city walls and wants him to tell her the truth. Will they learn the reason why humanity has become so trapped?