The Words in Red

Omar crawls from the bed. No need to get dressed. He has slept in his clothes again. Was this the third or fourth night? He weaves his way to the bathroom to take a piss. He is trying to think of the date and day when he feels the urge. He goes into his apartment’s living room. The glass pipe is on the end table next to the couch. It still has a small piece of rock in it. He fishes in his pocket for his lighter. He draws in the smoke. The tingling in the back of his head only last a few seconds. This will get him by, for now.

Zariff places the notebook on the night stand. What a powerful story. He considers if there is another manuscript, left out in the rubble. Then he realizes that all of the rubble has been removed by now. He walks through the house. He dwells on the story which he has just read.

Omar, is feeling sick again. Vomit drips from his mouth to his shirt. He laughs at himself, and then begins crying. This shit cannot go on any longer.

Zariff stops to look at the family photos on the living room wall. His beautiful wife, she died last year. The cancer took her quickly. He misses her so much. Her funeral was the last time that he had seen his son. He looks at Omar’s youthful pictures on the wall. He was such a beautiful boy. So intelligent. So much promise. And now...

Omar decides he will end this darkness. This pain must stop. He goes to the nightstand beside his bed and removes the pistol.

Zariff is driving across the city to his son’s apartment. His son, whom he has abandoned. He had tried calling his cell, but it went straight to voice mail. Zariff weeps. The boy’s addiction had wrecked his life and his mother’s health. Her last words were inquiries into his well-being. He has hated Omar for that, but now...

Omar puts the gun in his mouth. He cocks the trigger. He stops. He sets the gun on the counter top. He grabs an envelope from the pile of bills on the counter. It is a past due collection notice from the electrical company. He flips it face down, takes a pen and writes...

“I’m sorry father. I cannot do this anymore. I love you.”

Omar hears the vehicle’s brakes in his driveway. Within seconds there is someone beating on the door. Omar puts the gun down and stumbles to the door. His father stands there crying.

This day the two men will find a door to their lives. They will walk through it together.