Toothpaste

A Story by a_methyste

-

it was six o'clock and he was home; I remember the taste in my mouth that day; it was grey and dull; all familiar to me;

after a long course of job hunt he had finally found one; before I had often seen him look for a job at those moments he was using the internet whilst we were having coffee;

all the jobs he would find on the ads where enough to feel dull; jobs that paid very little;

jobs that reduced you to the point where you could not afford to pay the rent and eat;

let alone those little travelings we did desire so much; we had done a couple of them and I could just remember every thing but most of all I could recall that feel of breathing; that lack of grey taste in your tongue; time went well whilst on traveling; and we both liked them;

he had finally found a place as a waiter that paid as much as a regular job, a job where yet you could not afford to pay the rent and support yourself; this one was different from the others where they paid you a quarter of the salary because the owner thought that the waiter would get tips afterwards; I remember the day he had seen it he had come to me ,explaining that he would find a job;

well it had not been the case, he came and he told me that there were no clients on the hotel he was working, therefore no tips; he would just be paid like every one else, a minimum salary where he could not afford the rent and support himself;

he also was complaining that he had been standing all the day as he was not allowed to sit and I could see the veins in his legs swollen; it all was scene that made an impact on me; we have the power to create I thought; we could have broken the chain and create laughter in this city; it was not for us; we had not wanted this for ourselves; we had not used our creativity, our reasoning capabilities, our imagination, our will;

he would go on speaking and speaking...as I tasted more and more that grey dust with my tongue; it was thick and rigid like a poisoned toothpaste;

© 2023 a_methyste

Author's Note

My Review

Would you like to review this Story?
Login | Register

Reviews

Twilight

This piece is an example, of what some people call social realism, because it reflects the grim realities of life for so many.

The man in this piece, was probably trying - for both of you? Unless, your time with him; told you differently?