Sadness

Sadness

Alyssa sipped from the whisky glass. The focus of her eyes didn’t leave the spot on the wall when her doorbell rang. She blinked once when her sister shouted to her through the letterbox. Placing her glass on the table, she doubled over and exhaled a sob.

Once Alyssa was sure her sister had left, she dragged her body to the kitchen. Her shoulders hunched over as she tried to remember what she wanted from there. She sniffed, using her pyjama sleeve as a tissue, and looked slowly around. Her voice flat, she said, “You’re losing it, Lyssy.”

Alyssa’s feet thudded back to the living room. She shook her head as her eyes fell upon the photographs she had laid out on the sofa. She sank down next to them. She lifted her favourite photo, the one of her and Tom on camels in Gran Canaria last year.

Alyssa traced the outline of Tom’s face with her finger, noting his smile. “But we were happy,” she said. Stubborn tears fell from her cheeks to the photograph and Alyssa wiped them away. Shaking her head, she grabbed the whisky glass and downed its contents. She didn’t even feel the burn any more, she noted.

Alyssa sat, motionless, her entire life focussed on the memory in her hand. The shrill ringing of her phone barely cut through the fog surrounding her. She turned her head toward the voice on her answerphone, blinking in disbelief. “Alyssa, it’s Tom. Again. Look, I understand why you’re not returning my calls, but, please, we need to talk. Call me.”

Alyssa sobbed, her whole body shaking. When she finished, she pulled herself up from the sofa and slowly climbed the stairs. She tipped herself into her unmade bed and recommenced staring at the wall.

297 words