I keep a small revolver tucked under my pillow. Every morning, I wake up and grab the little device and turn it on all sides. I inspect it as if its power of destruction could be easily comprehended.
Sometimes I press the barrel to my right temple. My index finger curled around the trigger, I close my eyes and count to ten. Of course, the gun's never loaded.
Nevertheless, it makes you think.
You see, this is the only power we have. True freedom, as I like to say, comes from the realization that you can kill yourself any time you want.
Sunlight slipping through the heavy curtains, casting red dots on the walls, I can feel my blood boiling inside my body. My heart beats like a fist inside my chest; the metallic coolness of the gun infects my skin.
Loaded or not, it doesn't matter.
I'm ready to pull the trigger. I want to see God and ask Him a million questions. I press the gun to my chest and take a deep breath. "This is not my life."
We all die and there's nothing terrifying or great about it.
"This isn't a life worth living."
The gun pressed hard against my chest, right where the heart should be, I pull the trigger. That's when I can open my eyes. That's when I can smile. When I can feel alive just because I could've and yet I didn't.
Every morning I wake up and die.
***
I keep a small revolver tucked under my pillow. DREAM CITY
***
(Independently Published, 18 January 2015, 90 pages, ebook, bought from @AmazonKindle)
***
***
I've read and enjoyed a novella by this author so decided to read some of his other work. This contains six stories of different lengths. The title story is the longest, more of a novella and takes up more than 60% of the book. The stories are all quite different which makes the collection fresh and interesting. I enjoy the author's style. It reminds me of Haruki Murakami. I enjoyed every story but my top three are Dream City, A Sad, Sad Symphony and The Sea.