{"id":8198,"date":"2015-02-06T09:01:06","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T14:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=8198"},"modified":"2015-02-13T09:11:58","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T14:11:58","slug":"taking-on-the-universe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/taking-on-the-universe\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking on the Universe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Universe_585x585\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All I did was go to sleep one night. The day had ended. Work was done, and I was spent. My life was far from perfect, but it could have been worse. I knew I was wasting away with mindless routine, going to work, going home, and with doing nothing in-between. I wanted more. I imagined a life out there that would fill me up, erase all the pain and hardship that I endured, and one day, I would live the dream. I never imagined living my nightmare. All I did was close my eyes and say good-night to the universe.<\/p>\n

When I woke up everything was different, but my room looked the same. Music posters, pictures of actors, and my three giant teddy bears were all there, the bears perched upon the bed. Sunlight streamed in, and I could hear the birds singing. Spring was finally on approach, and this damn winter was about over. All that was left for me to do now was to rise and shine. Time to go to work.<\/p>\n

The bedroom door opened. The hallway was dark. No sign of life, so I took it that my family was still asleep. We all slept behind closed doors, but we were close now unlike then. We finally put our differences aside, and there were no more arguments. We went about our life, stuck in routine, and passed each other on the way. I never imagined a life without them. I never imagined a life where I didn\u2019t exist as I am now.<\/p>\n

My father stepped into view. His eyes narrowed when he saw me. A mutter crossed his lips, and he stormed past me. His hands grabbed the railing, and he made his way down the stairs. We didn\u2019t go to sleep fighting, so what was his story? I decided not to ask, and I just took my shower.<\/p>\n

I found my father sitting alone at the kitchen table, eating his breakfast. A newspaper laid open before him. He pretended to be interested in the article about taxes, but he was really watching me. It was almost like he didn\u2019t trust me. It was almost like he was afraid that I was going to do something, something stupid, but I haven\u2019t been that person in a very, very long time. Why was he acting like this now?<\/p>\n

\u201cMorning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t \u2018morning\u2019 me unless you have something important to say,\u201d my father growled. \u201cI told you last night. I\u2019m done with your games. If you\u2019re not careful, it won\u2019t end well for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus.\u201d I took a seat opposite him and poured some breakfast into my bowl. \u201cWhat the hell did I do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat? You never eat breakfast with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince when? We always have breakfast together before work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWork? I told you. No games.\u201d He moved away from the table and grabbed his half-eaten cereal. \u201cYou don\u2019t work.\u201d He poured his breakfast into the garbage. \u201cYou get fired over and over again. You just stay home and do nothing with your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about? I\u2019m an assistant manager of the shoe store that opened in the mall. Are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I okay? What the hell is wrong with you?\u201d He kept his distance, but she could sense that he was afraid, cautious of her. \u201cNo, I don\u2019t trust you.\u201d He met her gaze evenly. \u201cI don\u2019t even want you living here.\u201d A spoonful of Lucky Charms caught in her throat. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for your mother, you wouldn\u2019t be.\u201d He proceeded to gather his stuff and marched toward the front door.<\/p>\n

\u201cDad!\u201d He froze. \u201cDad, what did I do?\u201d I was now standing behind him. \u201cPlease. I went to sleep last night, and everything was fine. We had no fights, no arguments. The last time you were like this, I was a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou haven\u2019t called me, Dad in a very long time.\u201d Tears touched his eyes. \u201cI should call your doctor.\u201d He dropped his briefcase and coat by the stairs. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s the medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMedication? I don\u2019t take medication.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, that\u2019s it then. That\u2019s it, and you know that if you stop with your pills, you can\u2019t stay here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus. I\u2019m not crazy. Okay. As a child, I had a wild imagination\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWild imagination? You were unpredictable. We never knew how you were going to be from one moment to the next.\u201d He was back in the kitchen, reaching for the phone. \u201cI told your mother that this was going to happen. I told her, but nobody ever listens to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A knot tightened in my stomach. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, and I threw open the front door. Sunlight blinded me, and I raised my hand to shield my eyes. As a shadow fell over my face, my breath caught in my throat, and the world that waited outside was not the world that I had said good-night to. The warnings were right. The paradox had come.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell\u2026\u201d The neighborhood was gone. All the houses and its occupants were simply not there. The grass was brown, red -not green. The driveway was long and broken with large, gaping holes that were just missing teeth. The streets were hardly paved, winding treacherously around, and mocking those that dared to drive it. The sky was gray, an ugly gray like it had never known blue. This was not my world. This was not my life. This was not me.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. She stopped taking her pills. Yeah. It could be the after effects of radiation. I don\u2019t know. She can\u2019t stay here. I can\u2019t deal with this. Yeah. Yeah. No. I\u2019ll bring her. I think I can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

My attention was now on my father. I realized that he looked older, scarred. His hands had burns, burns that I hardly noticed before. His eyes were almost cloudy, sad. He looked at me again with that caution, with that fear. He was going to take me somewhere, somewhere that I knew I should not go to, but where was I to go? How did I get here?<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you going to fight with me?\u201d I shook my head. Looking at him broke my heart, and I started to cry. \u201cDon\u2019t worry.\u201d He grabbed me roughly by the arm and led me outside. \u201cWe\u2019ll get you the help that you need, and then, maybe, you can come back home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened?\u201d We stood beside his car, the same car he drove yesterday. \u201cWhat happened to the sky?\u201d He drew in a long, deep breath and slowly exhaled. \u201cWhat happened to our neighbors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI said it once, and I will say it again. The Cold War never ended. Now, get in the car.\u201d The door slammed shut beside me. \u201cWhy today of all days? Why the anniversary when the nukes fell?\u201d<\/p>\n

I wanted to say something. I wanted to tell him that there was no Cold War. Yes, we were still fighting, but we were fighting a different enemy. This world was a nightmare compared to mine, but mine was not perfect. There were problems, and people were suffering. Not like this. This world, this place should never have existed, but then news last week talked about the theft of the God particle, something that could bring me to here. And here I was, but for how long?<\/p>\n

I guess I didn\u2019t have to worry. My world was quiet now. The walls were a soft, padded white. Gentle eyes peered in to make sure that I was comfortable, and a little drool ran down my chin. I remembered my life, and my heart tasted my dreams. My arms wrapped around myself, and I rocked with rhythm, with hope. This was just a nightmare. My eyes were starting to close. Good-night, cruel world. May I never wake up to you again. May I hope to return home. This was what we get. This was what we get for taking on the universe.<\/p>\n

\n

Melissa R. Mendelson has been working for the State of New York for the last five years. \u00a0She is also a published short story author and poet. \u00a0Her poetry has been included in Names in a Jar: A Collection of Poetry by 100 American Poets (Amazon, 2007). \u00a0Her short story, Whispers in the Night, has been included in Espresso Fiction: A Collection of Flash Fiction for the Average Joe (Amazon, 2012).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All I did was go to sleep one night. The day had ended. Work was done, and I was spent. My life was far from perfect, but it could have been worse. I knew I was wasting away with mindless routine, going to work, going home, and with doing nothing in-between. I wanted more. I imagined a life out there that would fill me up, erase all the pain and hardship that I endured, and one day, I would live the dream. I never imagined living my nightmare. All I did was close my eyes and say good-night to the universe.<\/p>\n

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