What Might Not Happen

what might not happen 2Blood-red eyes, a forearm against the light, meetings and deadlines to attend. Mouths to feed, cars to buy, doctors to pay. And politics. We built an empire around the fear of making a mistake. Life in a cubicle: A keyboard for my hands, a screen for my brain. I thought it would be different.

One time, on the lake, with the sun setting behind the mountains, and a kayak gliding over the water, I tried to cast a net around the moment, keep it from escaping, tried to live in there forever with the fish and the smell of fire.

 

 

Nicholas A. White lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. His stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Fiction Southeast, Night Train, Pithead Chapel, Thrice Fiction, and elsewhere.

 

Photo credit: Fabian Mohr

 

5 Responses to “What Might Not Happen”

  1. Bethany Maxwell says:

    You so wonderfully captured the feeling of both environments in beautiful contrast!

  2. Rhonda says:

    Ahh, the crispness of something unrelated and detached from the daily grind of making a living…that is reward!

  3. Bill Love says:

    Very well done. A great message that millions dream about.

  4. Emma says:

    Absolutely brilliant

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