Creative Writing Assignment

Stop Lights It was the gentle breeze of an autumn morning that drew Ian from his drunken stupor. As he emerged from his nearly catatonic state so did the events that transpired from last night. It welled into his head like a rush of warm blood. He re-experienced the sullen atmosphere, the hurtful feelings on both sides, and the icy sting of separation. As he brought himself up from the hard wooden floor of his bedroom he tried to convince himself that it all meant nothing, and that somehow the everyday flow of life would continue and be as same and dull as ever. But for some reason he just couldn’t do it, at least not now. He stumbled into his shower, and the cold flow of the water was gentle and evoking. Today was the day of his big break, his introduction into the “good life”. Ian was finally being promoted to executive producer of his company. But at what cost? His newly promoted role as executive producer would mean that he would be personally responsible for the destruction of the Oklahoma state valley park, his exe’s favorite destination. He disregarded that thought. He exited the shower and ran to his bedroom while the air around him chilled his body. He put on his white dress shirt, his freshly ironed suit, his black dress pants, and then went downstairs to enjoy his victory breakfast. He poured his favorite bowl of cereal as a reward for his accomplishments (sacrifice), but as he bit into his oh so sweet and delicious bowl, he was astonished. The taste was the same, it was the same brand he came to know and love, but on this morning it did not deliver the same effect that prepared him for the hardships of life and work. Ian disregarded this as a mere side effect of his drinking. Ian forced the last bit of cereal down his throat and got his keys. “Today is a new day “he kept telling himself, trying to be as optimistic as possible. He grabbed his keys which made a familiar jingle as he trotted to his 64 Impala, which had been an heirloom for decades in his family. He got comfortable into his seat, inserted his keys and heard the flicker of the engine, and he was off to chase his fate. He drove across his neighborhood at a steady yet forceful pace, he needed to be somewhere and people recognized that. He passed by the houses of his neighborhood. He felt proud, yet there was an emptiness that he couldn’t quite identify. As he was passing by he saw young child, no more than eight with golden blonde hair chasing his golden retriever. He had seen this many times before on his way to work, it was almost a routine for him. The boy would always be about to catch his dog, but it always just manages to allude him. Just then he regained attention to the road and saw the car in front of him swerve in front out of nowhere. Ian quickly slammed the brakes as his car shuddered to a halt. Ian was pissed, more at the fact that he let his attention slip than the fact that someone nearly cut him off to death. He had the right mind to give the careless driver ahead of him a piece of his mind since they were at a red light, but Ian was still feeling pretty optimistic about the rest of his day, and let his emotions slide like usual. The stop lights flickered from red to green and Ian was on his merry way. He cruised through the highways at a comfortable pace, he wanted to savor the moment and felt the breeze run through his light brown hair. “Just think” he said. “This is the beginning of the rest of my life, my only ambition”. His enjoyment was cut short as ahead of him was a traffic jam. His expression was blank, he thought to himself “Why today”. Ian settled into his place among the other cars and turned on the radio to pass the time. The station’s host was Bob Bernard, the playing the same repetitive program he came to know and loathe. It was always the same talkshow where he would invite his listeners to complain about their problems as if it would magically disappear if everyone could hear about it. To Ian it just seemed like a bunch of fake sentimental bull. The minutes past and the lane still wouldn’t budge. The drivers around him began to exit their cars and look ahead to see what the obstruction was, but Ian remained in his car. He would be cool about this, and that’s what would get him through. While he sat in the car however the events of last night again creeped up on him as he knew it eventually would have. I DON’T KNOW YET MRS LEE GIVE ME A BREAK IM THINKING STILL BUT I HAVE A CLIMAX I THINK YOU WILL BE PLEASED Yet, as the light flickered from red to sickly green, Ian froze in his lane. After all the mental deflection and hopeless optimism he realized the full error of his ways. He exchanged the deep-seated love, a love as pure as snow and warm as spring for something so superficial that everyone at his corporations knows. It wasn’t about the park, it wasn’t even the fact that he nearly died, but that he nearly died for something as common of a pursuit as every other man. When he was with her, he knew that every moment was as important to him as if he were saving the rainforest, or curing cancer. The little things became the only truly important things, and the prestige of a position of a salary couldn’t compare to it, in fact to hell with it. He realized now that that’s why he played so much attention to the child in the morning. The Child was him and the dog was his stupid dreams, but if the child were to ever catch the dog, what then?