Its a little rough right now, but hopefully some of you will enjoy it. I don't know when I will have time to continue. To be honest, the storyline and what is here so far is sort of ironic. I've been fighting to make some lifestyle changes and while this doesn't mirror my life to the letter, I thought introducing some ideas of discipline and living meaningfully here would help me be more successful at adding the same ideas into my real life!!!
If you like it, let me know. Not sure the title will stick in the future.
P.S. As I reread this just prior to posting, I realized there wasn't much of anything to hint that this will be a SHTF themed story. My plan is to get there - but as this first bit sits, our hero would be a sitting duck...
------------------------
------------------------
...BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!…
“Ugh…” Brian groaned, rolling in the direction of the sound of his phone alarm. Without even opening his eyes, he reached over and up to the top of his dresser. Pat, pat, pat. His hand searched for the phone. As he reached further over he bumped the phone which then slid off the back. “Crap…” he muttered. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP! The staccato of the phone alarm seemed to heckle him as he begrudgingly stood and slid the dresser forward. He tried to lean down to reach behind it but didn’t fit. He patted his slightly pudgy belly and chuckled under his breath. Brian moved the dresser further, narrowly avoiding banging his big toe as he lifted and angled the dresser across the cheap carpet in his 1 bedroom rental. BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP! “GOTCHA” he thought as he snatched the phone off of the floor. He peered into the bright blue light of the iPhone. “Don’t Hit the Snooze!” said his self-imposed reminder. He vaguely remembered making this the custom text in the 6:30 a.m. alarm setting about a month ago. He recalled the number of days he had told himself, “I’ll get up early tomorrow” and then compared it to his 0% track record of 30 or so days since the creation of this particular alarm.
Brian grumbled once more under his breath. Since he was already out of bed, he decided to ignore the imaginary whispers of his bed calling him back. He knew that at least starting his coffee and sitting in his kitchen would be better then getting back in. He trudged through the door into the small kitchen of his one room apartment. The microwave clock read “00:00”. A confused look formed on his face. He heard a rumble from outside. The light pouring under the curtain of the back window brightened slightly. He pulled back the shade just as a crash of thunder boomed. He jumped slightly then chuckled to himself. He unlocked the window and the sound of the gentle rain hitting the outside wall of the apartment filled the small kitchen. He took a deep breath as the soothing sound calmed his nerves.
Brian filled the teapot from the coil-top stove and spun the dial to 3 o’clock. Brian turned to the side of the sink and rinsed out the chemex coffee pot he had neglected the night before. On the counter against the wall was a plastic bag of filters and the store brand pre-ground beans. He dried the chemex pot and prepped the filter and grounds to receive the hot water. Brian sat in one of the mismatched wooden chairs that was positioned at the secondhand table in the breakfast nook nearby. He had found the furnature at Goodwill for $30. Brian slouched a bit and closed his eyes.
The kettle whistled and his heavy eyelids opened. He stood and walked back to the stove. Thumbing the home button on his phone which he had set near the stove, he simultaneously turned the dial on the stove back to “OFF”. The bright screen illuminated the dark kitchen. “6:40” and underneath “Monday, April 10”. He took the kettle off the stove and slowly poured a bit of water over the grounds - just enough to wet them all. This was engrained in him from living back home - waiting for the grounds to bloom. But these grounds were not fresh, nor of good quality. There was no bloom to speak of. As the coffee poured to the bottom of the hourglass-shaped pitcher, he poured the rest of the water - just enough for a cup and a half.
As the coffee brewed he opened a cupboard to reveal his sparse collection of kitchenware and cookware. He retrieved the skillet and put a bit of cooking spray in it and turned the right front burner on to medium-low. Out of the ancient fridge came a carton of Large Grade A eggs. He struck 3 eggs in succession on the lip of the skillet then poured the contents in. Brian walked halfway across the open living area to where his travel mug was secured in the drink sleeve of his bag before realizing he could use a real coffee mug this morning. It had been a long time since he had been up early enough to enjoy his breakfast and coffee and not had to consume them in the car on the way to his college.
As the eggs finished in their pan he slathered some butter from the fridge on a piece of bread - no toaster. He placed everything at the table - the room still dark but for the light from the window - and folded his hands for a moment to say grace. After the first sip of coffee he reached for the phone once again. Unlocking it, he began multi-tasking eating and performing his normal ritual of browsing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, junk “news”, email, etc. (Writer’s Note: Like the vast majority of people I know personally do - whether they admit it or not...) As he finished checking his Facebook and switched over to Instagram, one of the first posts he found was from a former special operations veteran whom Brian found relatively inspirational. The man’s post was a black and white photo of a sports-style watch reading “4:30 a.m.” In the context, the veteran had commented about how our society was changing. That we as a whole had become more lazy, less disciplined, didn't know when to take action, and no longer lived each moment of our day with intention.
Normally, Brian would continue scrolling, not even absorbing the words he had read as he moved to the next post. But the raw thought of the vet stuck in his head. He stopped, set the phone down, and hesitated for a moment before hitting the side button which put the screen to sleep. He finished his breakfast in silence.
Time Wasted - A new one
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire