Upon Reading Too Much Neil Gaiman

The last time he really truly saw her was the day of graduation from college. And even then you could not really say he saw her well. Her mother was there, and her stepfather, and her mother did not care for her much. As did his parents; they thought he was wasting time with her.

So they kissed for real one final time, and went their separate ways. He went home, was given a celebratory dinner at a local restaurant (the first time he had been ever taken out to dinner by his family), and a few days later, started work.

That did not last long, and eventually he moved back into his family home and looked for work locally. He found a series of night jobs, which allowed him time during the day.

He did see her again, many times, but not really. They even made love and pretended things were good again. They talked of the future, but there was no future, not with her mother and his family. The relationship drifted on for some months until it crashed early the next year. The cycle of abuse on her part, a cycle which happened every three months, like clockwork, was finally too much. When it happened again, one very rainy and cold March day, he broke the cycle.

And never looked back.

(Text copyright 2008 by F.P. Kiesche III. All rights reserved.)