There are no second chances.

He sits in the comfortable chair, half empty glass of whiskey never more than a few inches from his left hand, as he ponders the words his father often said and had carved above the door to the bar he once owned. Of course the old man knew what he was talking about, having served his country for nearly thirty years and gotten nothing but a crappy pension and a permanent limp.

His hand shakes as he grips the glass, pausing before he brings it to his lips and drains it.
A breeze blows through an open window and seems to bring to bring the faintest whiff of the perfume she used to wear, bringing tears to his eyes and further shakes to his hand. With a force of will he steadies his hand and deftly pours another large drink, not bothering this time with ice.

He remembers the last time he saw her.

The way her faced glowed as she brushed her dirty blonde hair from her face, the cheeky smile and the glint in the eye revealed in all their glory for him to see.

The way they clasped hands briefly, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. The way he looked her straight in the eye and mouthed “I love you” before he pressed his lips to hers and let his passion flow between them.

He remembers the way they danced that night, just as they had ten years before when they first met, and he remembers the way her body excited him and her smile enticed.

He remembers the the taste of her lips, the smell of her hair and the feel of her skin.

Most of all though, he remembers the way she looked as they closed the casket and sealed her in forever.

“There are no second chances,” he says aloud as he brings his right hand up, pressing the pistol in it to his head and pulling the trigger.

Lol I will admit, I was totally waiting for him to say he killed her!

Pretty melancholy, I like that. More senses than just sight involved, good too.

It's a good, short read, but there's little to illustrate the man himself. At first, I assumed a man of class and taste, but the image faded, melted to a man like my roommate's father; an old man whose home is in disarray save for the area around his chair, where he sleeps in jeans and cheap white shirts, like a standard aged white trash sort of guy.

That probably isn't the image you wanted to give, I don't think.

To be honest I never had particular image for the man in my mind, it was more just a notion of he 'anyman' or 'average Joe' who feels like their life has fallen apart when their partner dies.. As such, it could be anyone... Even you!

Wow I really liked this! To say it was so short, I felt that it told a much longer story, I though it was really interesting!
Off to read the next one now

Lunar (09:41am Mon, Jul 27, 2009)

Wow I really liked this! To say it was so short, I felt that it told a much longer story, I though it was really interesting!
Off to read the next one now

Apparently one of my frequent crimes is cramming alot of history and detail into very short pieces and leaving loads of questions.

I didn't see it as a crime, I quite enjoyed the style

I've got no problem with the bunches of questions. It's a good piece that stays coherent, has no real holes, but raises a lot of questions.

I can get the 'anyman' bit, though that is one of my least favorite tropes ever. <.<

So you prefer a short story to answer all the questions? I thought one of the main features of a short story was to not give you the full story, so that you can take from it what you will. I like that each of us who reads it will have a different image in our heads, a slightly different story to an exent. The possibilities that can be created from such a short piece fascinate me sometimes.

... What? I just said I had no problem with a piece that leaves questions there.

I just have a problem with the 'anyman' trope.

Yeah I wasn't having a go, just asking
What is the anyman trope? lol

I just didn't have a specific person in mind, I seldom do when I compose pieces like this.. It's more of an epiphany!

Here, TVTropes puts it better than I would concerning the Everyman/Anyman. Mine would be stained by expletives and ranting, were I to describe it. Suffice to say, I dislike it, as a matter of taste.

And, that's cool, Archangel. I get the creative process; I've had more stories pop up like that than even I can remember. More recently, though, mine tend to come as a result of a character than anything else.

Generally speaking my preferred genre is fantasy and my 'concoctions' in that genre tend to occur most often from a single 'scene' or phrase.

I've recently built a 20-part series, with more to come, simply from two words plucked from a song I like!

That is awesome. Especially that you could narrow it down to those two words.

I can't get to that point of refinement in inspiration.

I got the title of that series (called the Killing Kind) long before I had worked out exactly what relevance the title would have.. But it all fits in now.