Flash fiction

City Lights

City lights

City lights glittered, thrilling body and mind. Rachel’s letter overwhelmed me. She missed me, she said. I packed my bags left by the bus bound for the city. My knowledge of the computers and architectural skills got me a job in no time.

Mine was a forenoon shift. She worked till 5 pm. I filled my free hours in various ways till she came home. Home? It was just a two- room flat. The kitchen couldn’t fit us both. Tap water often stopped without notice. A slightly big rain caused power outage. Weekends, however, were delightful. Picnics by the sea, movies, musicals, and a variety of restaurants to choose from compensated for the drawbacks.

It was so quiet in the corridors. Neighbors never talked. Sometimes I heard screaming and the sound of beating. Their kids cried to my dismay, in the midnight. Rachel tried plugging my ears with cotton so I could sleep. I couldn’t.

Then, there was a quarrel, between Rachel and a young neighbor. She said he deliberately dashed against her and wouldn’t apologize.

On the next day, she had an argument with her boss and came home crying. She resigned on the spot. Now what? She ran a fever that night and I took her to the doctor. It was not my place to tell him that there was no need for scanning. I knew, hospitals in the city made a lot of money by sponging off the patients.

I don’t think we could survive here for long. I don’t like it here.

Thank God, Rachel agreed to come with me to our home town. As we got down from the bus, I saw my dad ready to receive us. He hugged us both.

“Welcome home, Rob and Rachel!” he smiled.


Word count: 295