He use to have dreams.

He wanted to be a pilot.

He dreamed of flying planes.

He had spent hours as a kid building model planes.

He read book after book on planes, being a pilot, and traveling the world.

He wanted to be a pilot.

He didn’t have much of a plan but he knew he needed to go to pilot school.

He even considered joing the Air Force.

He went to pilot school.

He passed with flying colors.

The irony.

He was doing what he always wanted to do.

He achieved his dreams.

He met his wife in those skies.

They had two boys.

Life was good.

Then his youngest got sick.

At first, they thought it was the flu.

His fever was climbing.

They rushed him to the hospital.

He fell into a coma.

They placed him on life support.

He died two weeks later.

He was only 6 years old.

This man never thought he would lose his son.

His wife was devestated.

His oldest son was hurt and angry. Blaming God for the loss.

He fell into a depression.

He stopped talking to his wife.

He stopped flying.

He didn’t come home for days.

Three, four days at a time he’d be gone.

Off to another place.

To forget. To stop the pain.

She watched him self destruct.

She wanted to leave him.

Too many nights, he’d been gone.

Too many missed flights.

His grief turned to anger.

Anger that could only be quelled with broken dishes and holes in walls.

He slapped her one night in a drunken furry.

She packed up and left. Took the oldest boy with her.

Two weeks later he got divorce papers in the mail.

He lost himself more at that point.

He visited the corner.

Alcohol wasn’t enough anymore.

He needed something stronger.

Something that would make him forget.

Forget his dead son. Forget his broken marriage. Forget he was a pilot.

He flew high now. But it wasn’t in a plane.

He’d inject the drug into his viens.

He spent hours high. Just to forget.

When he was out. He’d go search for more.

He’d do anything to get more.

He had no direction anymore.

All his dreams were dead.

Crushed like the drugs he shot into his viens.

He was aimlessly drifting through life.

He didn’t know what to do anymore but get high.

So that is all he did.

The paramedics found him alone.

Sprawled on the bathroom floor in some sleazy motel.

They notified his wife and son.

The funeral was nice.

He was buried next to his son.

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t normally write fiction, but I want to post this as per today’s Daily Prompt

Kay’s first few months of college have gone by smoothly. She has made friends of her dorm mates and classes are going good. For someone from a tiny old town in Appalachia, living in California is a dream come true. Lanston University was her dream school and she is glad to have made it this far.

On her way from class one day, Kay sees a flier for some group up on the bulletin board. It reads: All women interested in joining Beta Pi Tau should come to our interest meeting on February 11 2013 at 7:35 pm. Dress code is business casual.

Kay had been considering joining an organization simply for the fun she heard people in Greek organizations have, but she was also worried about some of the horror stories she had heard about Greek Life and what it entails. She made a mental note to look the group up and put the date and time of the interest meeting in her calendar.

A few weeks after seeing the flier, Kay started seeing a few girls around campus wearing those letters. She figured it was a sign from somewhere saying she should check this group out.

On the day of the interest meeting, Kay dressed in what she deemed business causal, nice black slacks and a solid color dress shirt, and headed to the meeting. She opened the door to a room full of young women who looked a little too dressy in her opinion, and she immediately thought she was underdressed. Despite this uneasy feeling, she walked down near the front of the room and took a seat beside another young woman.

The young woman introduced herself, “Hi my name is Carla” Kay smiled, shook her hand and said, “I’m Kay, nice to meet you.”

The meeting began shortly after.

The women of the organization spoke about the group’s history, its mission, its values, and the requirements of obtaining membership. Kay had already read about much of the group, and was further intrigued.

At the close of the meeting, Kay and the other young women were given a timeline of events that would take place going forward. Kay and Carla exchanged contact information and went their separate ways.

Two weeks after the interest meeting, the membership process began. This time it was at Beta Pi Tau’s sorority house a few blocks from the main campus. Kay walked in the house and was greeted by Carla and about 10 other young women. They all introduced themselves to each other and waited for the sorority members to come.

As the sorority members came, they all exchanged hugs and handshakes. Everyone was smiling and happy. The group of 12 were ushered into another room as more sorority members came in and out.

Kay and the other 11 young women learned all there was to know about Beta Pi Tau. They went to the house every night to learn more information and bond as a unit. There were weekly quizzes and team building activities, study sessions, meet and greets with alumni, volunteering, social events, and daily house maintenance. There was a lot to do, but the young women felt they had the support of their future sisters to do it. The work was long and tough at times, but the atmosphere was often friendly and fun. Kay was excited at the fact that she was joining such a nice group of people and the rumors and stereotypes she had heard about Greek life was not true at least for this organization.

As the membership process went on, Kay and the other women continued to bond and were eager to continue with the organization. They received official pins and t-shirts, as well as small planners with the sorority insignia on them. They carried these planners around and wore their pins and shirts proudly.

At the end of the membership process, there was a formal induction ceremony and dinner where Kay and the other 11 women were welcomed into the organization and given certificates marking their official membership. After the ceremony, all of the members went back to the house to celebrate.