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Rated: 13+ · Short Story · Contest Entry · #1429043
A man finds a solution for Daily Flash Fiction 300 word max
Anonymous


The man with no name woke up mildly disappointed to see that he had lived to see another day.

'Where the hell am I?' he thought to himself through a mental fog.

A failed attempt to sit up sent a mind shattering bolt through his skull. It was difficult to swallow; his tongue felt swollen. With an audible groan, he fell back onto the sagging bed.

He tried hard to recollect the events of the night before, or was it the days before. He had no idea of the date. The last thing he remembered was being fired by his boss. That had been his excuse this time.

A trip to the liquor store and then it all became a blur. Like the time before, and the times before that, he had simply drunk himself into oblivion.

Eventually, he made it to his feet and located the motel bathroom where he stood in front of the dirty mirror that hung over the stained sink.

He did not like what he saw. Certainly, there were the bloodshot eyes and the unkempt beard; nothing new there. Somehow he had acquired a cut over his right eye. He also saw a college graduate with a good job and a family that loved him. He saw a man that drank those things away - those things that meant the most to him.

He looked directly into the eyes of the reflection and shouted "I never want to see you again!"

That night as he sat on the stool, he looked around at all of the people. They were just like him.

"Do we have any new comers tonight?" said the man at the front table.

The man with no name slowly raised his hand and said "My name is Jim...I am an alcoholic."

Word count 299
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