Inevitable

“Our Sacred Bodies II” by MICHAEL CULHANE

Run. The next thought is an inevitable one: if you show affection, you will be rejected.

Unleashing, releasing that stupid wave of attention. She’ll figure it out.

What’s the worst that could happen, though? Besides an embarrassing end to your avuncular show. (Sometimes uncles are really bad guys – just letting you know.)

Nobody wants to be the bad guy. He just wants to flirt a little. Make her smile and laugh. Ask her to dance.

Will she be mad?

Too much exposed. Eyes left too long inside, scorched by the blinding snow. Light stabs his mind, that troglodyte. Philistine. A man out of time and transparent lies.

“The regret’s real.”

How many times did she say so? Drunk on her micro patio without room to stand on. “You can’t pretend it’s gone.” That’s what you get for having fun. For things seen and done. The mind’s lost and heart’s won.

“I kept the gun.”

I told you to run. The next thought is an inevitable one.

“Four Walled World” by JAN MURPHY