Cast & Fall by Janice Hadden Read Free Book Online

and freshly
brewed coffee beans. The walls that were a muted shade of yellow,
cabinets made of oak and white, tiled counter top that could use some
upgrading. It was very easy to live with Steve. We didn’t need
much. Dishes didn’t usually pile up. I always found time to put
them away after they dried. A couple of years back, I had shopped for
several sets of dinnerware. Though company were rare, I had purchased
lightweight plates, cups, mugs and glasses for whenever it was
needed. My mother had a beautiful collection of china dishes that is
now neatly tucked underneath the bottom drawers of the kitchen.
    After
I ate a bowl of cereal and had my coffee, I quickly went upstairs and
brushed my teeth, took a quick shower and grabbed whatever was the
first shirt I pulled from my top drawer, paired it with my usual dark
denim and ballet flats. With a little time left, I packed myself a
light snack and headed to my car. School was always crowded so
parking in less than a minute was nothing short of a miracle.
    Once
I had geared into park, I realized I had a couple of minutes to check
my phone and text messages. I scanned through them quickly; one from
Steve, wishing me a great day, another from Sam, wanting to know if I
wanted to see a movie, another was from my neighbor Becca, to see If
I could come in for a job interview where she worked. I texted my dad
and Sam back and left Becca a message on her machine. As soon as I
hung up my phone, I yanked my calendar from my bag and skimmed
through my schedule. With College right around the corner, time
management is key at this point.
    Five
minutes later, a sudden thumping sound of car tires and engine
humming lingered, making me look up to see from behind—a red
Honda, honking. One of the darkly tinted windows rolled down and a
man with a red backward cap yelled something—muffled by a loud
rap music coming from his stereo. He didn’t seem familiar. I
don’t remember seeing him in campus before. He gestured his
hand to see if I was going to leave my space. From my mirror, I had
to let him know that I wasn’t leaving. He seemed to have gotten
agitated and suddenly screeched his tires, leaving the most annoying
sound and burnt tire marks. I grabbed my leather bag and walked to
class.
    I
sat down next to Charlie, who pleasantly smiled at me as soon as I
came in. We both got there about five minutes earlier than necessary,
so we consumed the whole time chattering about our classes, her
boyfriend, Eddie and the stuff we will be doing after graduation. She
even found time to show me photos from her I-phone.
    I
noticed in my Pre-calculus class that we had gotten a new student and
to my luck and also lack of surprise—it was the guy in the red
Honda. His cap was gone. Obviously I had expected this. I seem to
have the luck of bad fortune. He smiled and winked at me when I
twisted myself to look behind after he was introduced by the teacher.
    As
I came into my last class, the stranger crept back in my thoughts
again. The constant curiosity and thoughts of him that pop up, seem
to draw out strange thoughts in my head. I examined my heart
deeply—logic didn’t make much sense when it came to him,
but somehow something in me felt lost, like I felt an overwhelming
sadness at the thought of not ever seeing the stranger again, and
even though I knew, I probably would never see him again, a small
part in my heart, hoped that we‘d cross paths again somehow.

    Past S hadows

    I suppose the mind is a true mystery even if it was your own. If I was
missing some parts of my memory, in some ways, my mind was not
whole—I didn’t feel whole. The shattered pieces of my
life seem to drift outside my consciousness—floating, like
haunting shadows from a distance.
    It
was a chilly month of October. I was standing in front of a dull,
gray headstone.

    Camilla
Rose West
    Beloved Wife and
Mother
    1970-2005

    Sweeping
the dried leaves that had tumbled on the headstone, a sharp pain
stabbed me. It was the