I Floss My Tears [Freewrite Promt]
I never knew what Owen believed about anything. I was his therapist for five years and he always spoke in circles around me.
“Come on Doc, ready to make me feel alive?” Owen once asked me when he walked into one of our sessions. He was in one of his expansive moods. I could always tell when his mood was high because he walked this certain way with an erect and confident posture and a gait that was a paradoxically precise saunter. Only he could walk like that. Like he was a God among mortals.
I asked him what he meant by that question. Was I ready to make him feel alive?
He grinned in a Cheshire cat-like way. “I suffer therefore I am. Or something like that.”
I was surprised but I kept a measured response. I always felt like he was trying to topple me over in some way or another. “Do you really believe that?”
“I read once that suffering is…a universal language. What do you think of that?”
He always wanted to ask me questions. I obliged him from time to time. “That is interesting,” I said before countering with, “And some people say love is the universal language.”
He hummed thoughtfully and cocked his head. He had those kind of blue eyes that are like ice and they looked right through me and off into infinity. “That might be true.” He allowed.
Somehow I was relieved that he could agree with me. Even if just a little bit. Why was I keen on impressing him? What was it about him that kept me on the edge of my seat?
“And what do you believe, Owen?” I asked him.
“I floss my tears.” He said.
…
It’s been three years since Owen took his life. I never knew what he meant by that. I floss my tears. I suppose he was trying to tell me in his own way that his suffering was the truest thing to him. That his suffering was what he truly believed in. I wish I could have made him believe in love. Even if only for a moment.
This free write brought to you by @mariannewest at Freewrite Prompt #81
There's much potential in here. Keep it coming. You write well and welcome to freewrite. :)
Thank you for saying so! I might expand on this scene and these characters later. And thanks for the welcome!
This is a well written and truly enjoyable piece, thanks for posting :-) you portraied the two characters in a fine way ..keep it up!
thank you! I really appreciate you taking the time to read my work and comment! It means a lot
Nice scene @saronym. I think you cut between the dialogue and the thoughts well, without jarring the reader. The conclusion wraps up the story well too. Plus you get the tricky prompt in there!
Here's the link for freewrite 82:
https://steemit.com/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-82-5-minute-freewrite-prompt-stetson
Thank you for the feedback I really appreciate it! This was a very tricky prompt. I learned at a writing convention once from funny man who was an author that you can just put weird ideas or history into the mouths of characters and then you as an author are kind of excused from explaining it too much! I think I understood what he meant in doing this exercise. And it makes for interesting dialogue too.
Exactly!! I like the way you dealt with this prompt! And I could see the characters. So glad you joined us!