sjsprWriting

Thank you all for coming today,

Since the day he was born Thomas could hear a soft subtle sound. Tick, tick, tick. Like the sound of a clock or timer going off. He never really argued with his parents about it because he knew they would pull out the “you just want attention, because you're jealous of your baby brother” card. He never told his friends either, since he already was running short on the list of friends. But he wasn’t a. Jealous or b. Crazy Cuckoo (like the kids at his school would call him just because he was a fan of astronauts and space stuff). To say that he was merely a fan is to underestimate Thomas’ love for space; it was more of an unhealthy obsession. His room was covered with glow-in-the-dark stars and with planets and astronaut posters. His parents didn’t seem to mind his obsession as long as he had friends. But that was the problem with Thomas, he could never have a true friendship because he always felt guilty from letting them out on his biggest secret: that he could hear special sounds, sounds made just for him. He knew that if he told them, his problems would be far from over and for some reason not telling the truth had lowered the noise level of the strange sound. Tick, tick, tick.

As high school came along Thomas lost his passion for the stars and began to play football (you know that sport that every other teenage boy plays). Thomas’ parents were so proud of him; he had finally stopped complaining of the ongoing sound. He was also a great student athlete and had become very popular in school. The same guys that had teased him were now at his feet hoping he would look their way (you know as a sign of social acceptance). This thought of having people be your enemy turned into worshipper echoed in Thomas’ head, as he lied down, but that wasn’t the only thing on his mind. Tick, tick, tick. “Agh! I wish this sound would just leave me alone. Wow now I’m talking to myself! Newsflash: I am going crazy but no one believes me. What am I going to do?”

Thomas would say the same thing every night, hoping someone would give him some kind of answer to the useless question. Years and years had passed and still Thomas had no exit to his maze. He was completely and utterly lost amidst his success. Thomas had done well in high school and had gotten a scholarship to college. From there he graduated third in his class and got a high-end job in Manhattan, New York. He could buy everything he needed and most of what he wanted. Thomas was able to confess to his fashion model wife that he had a persistent sound ringing in his ear since he was born and he didn’t know what to do about it. She was the third person in the whole world that knew about Thomas’ condition. Besides his wife, the only people that knew were his parents and the girl with the sapphire eyes. Thomas’ wife, Leila Rose, was surprisingly calm (a little too calm) about the whole situation. Thomas had it all: the beautiful wife, the amazing job, the apartments, the cars, the summer and winter homes, the money, everything he could ever dream of, he was even helping NASA raise funds for their next trip (although he would have probably secretly wanted to go on the trip instead of paying for it). Even though Thomas enjoyed all of these luxuries he could still hear the sound. Tick, tick, tick.

So many years had gone by, that Thomas had gotten used to the sound. By the time Thomas was sixty he had lost all of his savings to his corrupt ex-business partner. Retired and with no money, Thomas lost everything he had: the houses, the apartments, the cars, the money, and a year later his wife. In absolute misery, tick tick tick is all he could hear. One night, when he was unable to sleep he decided he would take a walk down to the nearby coffee shop. As Thomas was turning around the corner to get to the shop he bumped into someone. When he looked up to see if the person was okay, he noticed those eyes. How could have he forgotten those eyes, those sapphire eyes that had haunted him all throughout middle school and high school. As he said he was sorry, the woman realized who the man was and for a second saw him as the boy who was in love with space that she knew years ago instead of the gray haired man standing before her. For a second Thomas could hear his heart beat louder than the everlasting tick tick tick sound. The two of them decided that it would be nice to catch up and Thomas bought them (with the last of the money he had) endless rounds of hot chocolate, tea, and coffee. She told him of all that had happened in her life since the night they last saw each other and he did the same. As they poured their hearts out to each other, they felt as if they had never been separated and that nothing could separate them now. As dawn came around, the two said their goodbyes and as the woman walked out of the door and out of Thomas’ life once again. Thomas asked:

“What should I do, you know, about the tick, tick, ticking?”

“Well it seems that it’s a sign, but for now just live, dear. Just live.”

She vanished with what was left of the night. Thomas paid the check and walked back to his soon to be foreclosed apartment. As he walked in he ripped off the foreclosed sign and quickly fell asleep to the loud and fast tick tick tick ringing in his head. A week later the police found his body on the bed, sleeping, peacefully.

With watered sapphire eyes the woman said:

“And now I guess I finish this speech with a note Thomas would have probably wanted me to read to you (he left it on his night table before going to bed that night): 'A woman once told me live and ignore everything that bothers me. I guess I will start to live in my dreams tonight where I can escape this tick tick tick and hope to wakeup tomorrow and start actually living. Live, dear. Just live.”'