{"id":7224,"date":"2014-08-15T09:18:56","date_gmt":"2014-08-15T13:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=7224"},"modified":"2014-09-01T19:55:20","modified_gmt":"2014-09-01T23:55:20","slug":"faded-shades-of-rainbow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/faded-shades-of-rainbow\/","title":{"rendered":"Faded Shades of Rainbow"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Faded_585x585\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A soft breeze rustled across deep green grass, perfectly cut to match its square interior.\u00a0 Sun settled down over small, white houses with glass screen doors propped wide open.\u00a0 Shadows fell over newspapers now lifted up, last relics of a world gone quiet, but the road whispered of life to come.\u00a0 But none never did.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood-morning, neighbor.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood-morning, neighbor,\u201d he replied as he walked to his house.\u00a0 \u201cJust another day of paradise,\u201d and the door slammed shut behind him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sunlight streamed into the small kitchen.\u00a0 His wife, Lily was busy cooking breakfast.\u00a0 She always made scrambled eggs and bacon, his favorite, and she hummed as she cooked.\u00a0 It brought a smile to his face as he sat at the kitchen table and drank the O.J. that she left for him, but then he grimaced at the pills that were left for him too.\u00a0 But it was routine, and he quickly took them, chasing them with another gulp of his drink.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no,\u201d he said a moment later as he opened the newspaper out before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, Harvey?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMrs. Deville passed away last night.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, no.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 Another one gone.\u00a0 How many of us are left now?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNot too many,\u201d his wife replied, and then she resumed cooking breakfast to put the news out of her mind.\u00a0 \u201cBeautiful day outside.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt always is, love.\u00a0 Another day of paradise.\u201d\u00a0 He flipped through the newspaper.\u00a0 \u201cI wonder if the mail will come today,\u201d and his wife chuckled in response.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u00a0 I say something funny?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou always ask about the mail, but there has been no mail that has come here for so very long.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know.\u00a0 It\u2019s routine.\u201d\u00a0 He placed the newspaper beside the now empty glass.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s amazing we still have food left.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were the lucky ones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWere we?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHarv, don\u2019t start.\u00a0 Be happy.\u00a0 We\u2019re in paradise.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUntil we die.\u201d\u00a0 She snapped the stove off and kept her back to him, but he knew those words cut her deep.\u00a0 \u201cDoesn\u2019t it bother you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0 Why have you been talking about this lately?\u00a0 Why!\u201d\u00a0 Now, he fell silent.\u00a0 \u201cHarv, I need to know.\u00a0 What aren\u2019t you telling me?\u201d\u00a0 Now, she faced him.\u00a0 \u201cOut with it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, love.\u00a0 I think it\u2019s time.\u201d\u00a0 Her lip shook.\u00a0 \u201cI think it\u2019s time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 The doctor said that you were fine.\u00a0 You\u2019re fine.\u201d\u00a0 She brought his breakfast over to the table and sat beside him.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s eat breakfast, and sit outside like we always do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor left isn\u2019t the kind that saves lives.\u00a0 He\u2019s the kind that tries to.\u00a0 There\u2019s a difference.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t care.\u00a0 He said that you were fine, and that is good enough for me.\u201d\u00a0 She slowly ate her breakfast.\u00a0 \u201cYou were right before.\u201d\u00a0 He glanced at her.\u00a0 \u201cThere aren\u2019t too many of us left, but I don\u2019t want to think about that.\u00a0 It scares me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know it does.\u201d\u00a0 He patted her hand.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re getting closer to it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t say the E word.\u00a0 I hate that word, and the newspaper always has that word on the front page.\u00a0 It\u2019s mocking us.\u00a0 We lived here for so long afterward, but\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut no one has come.\u201d\u00a0 Tears filled her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re the last.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll that matters to me, Harv, is that you and I are still here.\u00a0 You and I, and we, you are not going anywhere.\u00a0 So, please, just eat your damn breakfast, \u201c and he laughed at that.\u00a0 She laughed back.\u00a0 \u201cSilly old man.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSilly old nag,\u201d and she elbowed him for that.\u00a0 \u201cSo, gardening today?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u00a0 I did that yesterday while you mowed the lawn.\u00a0 I think we should sit outside for awhile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd stare at the road?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see why.\u201d\u00a0 She finished her breakfast quickly and then moved toward the sink to wash her dishes.\u00a0 \u201cMaybe, take a walk?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a small neighborhood.\u00a0 Three miles at best.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe haven\u2019t walked in such a long time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThose empty houses bother me.\u201d\u00a0 He looked out the window.\u00a0 \u201cNow, the house across the street will be empty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut we\u2019re still here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah.\u00a0 We\u2019re still here,\u201d and he finished his breakfast.\u00a0 \u201cA walk would be nice.\u201d\u00a0 His left arm twitched, but she didn\u2019t notice.\u00a0 \u201cHow about ten minutes?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOr less.\u201d\u00a0 She kissed him on the cheek.\u00a0 \u201cSilly old man,\u201d and she left him alone after that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy beautiful wife of fifty years,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0 \u201cHow you will miss me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His body already felt weak.\u00a0 He still fought to stand up and walk outside.\u00a0 The cool breeze greeted him.\u00a0 The grass still smelled so sweet.\u00a0 The last of his neighbors waved their hello\u2019s and picked up their newspapers.\u00a0 The road remained empty.\u00a0 He wished a car would go by or a mail truck, something to tell him that the rest of the world was still there, but he knew the answer.\u00a0 They all did.\u00a0 This was not paradise, but they chose to believe that.\u00a0 They needed to believe that, and another shadow fell to the ground.\u00a0 And as heartbreaking screams filled the air, the breeze became bitter, smacking at the newspaper left across the street.\u00a0 Its headline always screaming, \u201cExtinction Is Near.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/span><\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Melissa R. Mendelson is a published short story author and a self-published poet, whose work has been featured in The Outreach for Breast Health Foundation’s Anthology: Beyond Memories, Names in a Jar: A Collection of Poetry by 100 Contemporary American Poets, and Espresso Fiction: A Collection of Flash Fiction for the Average Joe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A soft breeze rustled across deep green grass, perfectly cut to match its square interior. Sun settled down over small, white houses with glass screen doors propped wide open. Shadows fell over newspapers now lifted up, last relics of a world gone quiet, but the road whispered of life to come. But none never did. \u201cGood-morning, neighbor.\u201d \u201cGood-morning, neighbor,\u201d he replied as he walked to his house. \u201cJust another day of paradise,\u201d and the door slammed shut behind him. Sunlight streamed into the small kitchen. His wife, Lily was busy cooking breakfast. She always made scrambled eggs and bacon, his favorite, and she hummed as she cooked. <\/p>\n

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