Remnants of a Writer’s Block: Part II
Heartless
For a passerby, the cottage of the Littles down the slanting road would have appeared uneventful. The couple, though old, always stood together despite their trivial and inevitable domestic clashes. As time passes, people trapped inside the walls of a building are expected to have their silly disputes. In that way, homes are no different from prisons. You are trapped with other individuals within the walls of a compound. Wherever you go, you return home at the end of the day.
Anyway, the Littles shared what one can call the conventional husband and wife relationship. Mr Little talked little, hands behind his back, and short-tempered. Mrs Little talked far too much, hands waving in the air, and perhaps was the most patient person on the face of the entire Earth. She loved cooking, while he loved building. She loved him, and he loved her.
But again, people trapped inside the walls of a building are bound to have disagreements. Sometimes, Mr Little walks out of the home, ensuring each step he took reverberates through the entire neighbourhood. And when one walks in, probably Mrs Hutchinson, they would find Mrs Little by the dining table, crumbled tissues beside her. Still, they were the most conventional couple ever to be made. Mrs Little would say something like, "It's not that he is heartless. He sometimes just doesn't understand. Men are always angry."
The Long Walk Home
It takes Li Hyun nine minutes to walk home from school. Through the busy roads with the loud traffic, that is. He despises that path. Though no one knew, he never took that road home. He slips through the back gate of his school, down the small muddy track behind the messy Andersons, and through the deserted longer route to the Seoraksan mountains.
That Friday evening, Li Hyun did the same. He never had many people to call friends. Except one, and he had been missing for a while now. So, his evening escapades had never been noticed by any.
As he leapt over the small fence behind the apartment of the Andersons, he reached his favourite spot. The path where maple trees lined up on both sides of the road. It looked just like how it was in the desktop wallpapers. There were differences, of course, but only two souls in the entire world knew about them.
The little boy pulled down the straps of his bag to the maximum. His coffee-brown eyes nearly glistened in the sunlight below his messy, light blonde hair.
'Kay
"Do you have a minute, sir?"
Oh, I forgot them back at home. Would you like me to get some? Though the words never made it out of the chambers of his mind, Louie was sure that his expressions took no effort to conceal the emotions. He turned around, midway through his haste to the office, late as always. And he instantly regretted not taking the effort to suppress his actual emotions. The college girl who stood before him seemed to have popped straight out of a fairy tale. Was she glowing?
"Sir." She repeats, but it is not loud enough to help Louie discern that he was staring at her without the slightest trace of shame. "Sir," it was almost a shout on the second turn, and it successfully brought Louie back to his senses.
"Yes, yes! How can I help you," Louie paused, "ma'am?" Well, this is getting formal. Louie was never good with girls. Well, people, in fact. There should be a reason why he knocked out the very first person who had the guts to interview him. That man lost his two canines on the right side that day with a single blow. It's expected of an older gentleman, isn't it? It cost Louie a few bucks too.
"Uh, we are doing a survey, and if we could have a minute of your time, it would be great! It's okay if you're busy, you know." The smile that occupied her face the very next moment almost announced that it wasn't okay. And Louie had a hard time deciding between the girl's awkward smile and Katherine's sweetly threatening grin. But again, has any gentlemen his age survived the cute smile of a young girl? "I am totally free!" I am so more than done.
Well, the questions in the survey felt more like a personal attack than the sweet reception Louie had expected.
Do you hate your job? Hell yes!
Do you feel like your earnings are less than what you deserve? Am I even paid?
On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your current standard of living? Negative!
But the answers that made it to the paper could not be further refined. That's how good it was. There might have been a lot of things Louie was unaware of. Doing a survey wasn't one among them. It paid him even more than his job does!
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Since the weekly challenges are returning to the fold, and that Christmas is nearly here, and that I am flooding with ideas, I decided to include all the unfinished stories, as of yet, in this segment of the series. Ah, it is a relief to get it out of my mind. Hope you enjoy the story! Now, let me go and do some serious research on Ted Bundy. And also, I have a Christmas story coming up. Let me try to finish the year with a bang ^-^ Lots of love <3