Free Never Say Such Things by Alexia Purdy

 
    ~Day of Night~
    THE COBBLESTONES WERE slick and the air felt balmy as I hurried along, dodging the hordes of people filling up the avenue. I thought I heard someone say my name, “Hey Alan!” but pretended not to hear because I was late for my next college course. Missing any more classes was sure to lower my average. I didn’t want that, but the day had started off pretty bad and I was already sure crawling back into bed would’ve been a better option than the one I’d taken .
    The streets were drenched and a fine mist from the cars speeding by mucked up my slacks as I stepped too close to the edge of the sidewalk. Cursing under my breath, I tried to shrug it off. I forgot my umbrella and my clothes were borderline soaked. Already a fine mess and there were still a few blocks to go to get to the Langle Stewart building, where my class was being held. The puddles were endless. Dodging one landed me in another, and my socks were now ruined.  Pushing back a dark, black strand of hair from my face, I darted my marbled, brown eyes across the way and huddled momentarily under an overhang awning to the local liquor store.
    The rain poured in sheets, getting thicker as the moments ticked by. Checking my back pack, it was still holding up, luckily. It was extremely water resistant. For how long it would stay dry inside where my expensive textbooks sat, I had no idea. I zipped it back up and stared at the alleyway to my right. It was covered in shadows and looked ominous. The solemn sky was darker than the light on a regular day with the angered clouds swirling down closer to the ground. They moved like soft wisps of greyed-out cotton, soft and light. But, I knew better. I knew they had more to pour down onto me any moment now.
    I sighed. I would take the shortcut through the alley between the buildings in hopes of making it on time.
    ***
    “You okay, Alan?”
    A soft, familiar voice jolted me out of my revere and I glanced up at the young woman that placed her hand on my old wrinkled one. Her brassy, blond hair looked over processed but was pulled back into a neat ponytail. Her peachy skin was young, but her eyes shined with a knowledge that youth doesn’t possess. She checked my pulse and listened to my chest with her stethoscope. Its cold metal shocked my skin, as did her cold, scrubbed hands. Sitting in my bed at the long term care facility I had lived at since forever, no one but my wife ever visited me. Though, this had always been my own fault.
    “Need anything while I’m here?” The nurse fl uffed my pillow up and tucked the blanket around me.
    “No, thank you , Ms. Landry, I’m fine.” I let out my breath and closed my eyes as the flashes of memory lingered behind my lids. She let out a satisfied sigh and retreated from the room, down the echoing hallway where voices always tended to hover. There was always noise here, never a true silence. It wasn’t something I would ever truly have. Never again, since that fateful day.

 
    ~Destined Darkness~
    IT WAS STICKY and the humidity clung to my skin, hair and clothes like a film that wouldn’t come off. I was drenched. The alley offered no better recourse from the storm but it was the shortcut and I was going to race through it. I almost turned around. Why bother to continue? I was going to arrive a sopping mess and would definitely need another shower.
    A bout to give up on getting to my classes on time and call it a day, I stood in the glumness of the alleyway, watching the fat drops of dirty rain plop down from the edges of the roofs above. The smell of mold and old garbage filled the air in its pungent embrace. A small river of water scurried down the center of the path, a worn out crevice, its bed. I almost laughed. Wet chunks of my dark, charcoal hair clung to my face and fell annoyingly into my eyes. I felt a slight of bliss at this most inopportune time. The patter of rain felt comforting. But, it was just a farce, a lie in the real evil of the storm. I