Creative Voices
By Catherine Grieco / Contributor
The rain violently pounds the glass windows. A dog howels. I turn on a light and head downstairs. Maybe tea will help, I naively tell myself. I sit in my rocking chair with millions of thoughts racing through my head. I wonder what time the bank is going to call me. It will be the third time this week. My leg starts shaking as I try to think of happier thoughts. I try reading a book to help me unwind but the words just look like strange symbols floating on the page. My eyes burn so I put the book down. I look at the calendar “April” the photo is a girl picking a tulip. I scoff, “ha I bet if she knew it was tax season she wouldn’t be smiling and picking flowers.” I try turning on the television. The only station is QVC. I turn it off. I start pacing back and forth in the kitchen. I stare out the window, it’s still raining but not as heavily. The motel across the street’s neon sign is still flickering. “Are they every going to fix it,” I ask myself. Desperate to try to sleep I reach for the half-empty Jim beam on the top corner. This oughta do I think to myself. I swallow it and feel it burn as it makes its way down my stomach. I noticed the paint chipping on the corner wall in the kitchen. Gotta add repainting the kitchen to the list of things I have to do. I start laughing, “no use painting the kitchen when they’re about to take my home away, jokes on them.” I make my way into the bedroom and collapse into my bed. I squint trying to make out the time on my alarm clock. 4:37. I start crying, “I just want to sleep,” I yelled out in frustration.
Beep beep beep. It was my alarm clock. It is 7 a.m.
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