Freedom in Topeka

This is a short story about life and how what we want doesn't always come as we would wish.

Norfolk, Virginia. An elderly man living on social security wins the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. Normal, Illinois. A hard working widow wins a cruise to the Bahamas. Omaha, Nebraska. A single mom working in a truck stop gets a tip that pays for her sons college. Topeka, Kansas. A young construction worker checks her lottery numbers in the local paper.

5. Yes. 12. Yes. 8. Yes. 37. Yes! 23. Yes! Yes! 17. No.

This was like a sick metaphor for her life. She got so close to something amazing only to have it ripped away at the last moment. She frowned, throwing the paper onto the old coffee table

“What's wrong now, Lynae?”

“I was one number off from winning the jackpot is what's wrong.”

“You're upset because you didn't win the lottery? Really? That's not very realistic, little sis.” Katrina said haughtily.

“No. I guess it's not is it?”

Lynae tugged on her mud caked boots that weighed about as much as she did and grabbed her hard hat.

“Have a good day at work!” Katrina called obnoxiously.

“Enjoy your pap smear today!” Lynae shouted back. Both were about as likely.

The sun beat down on Lynae's blond hair as she walked the familiar road. Usually, she would drive it, but her pick-up was in the shop. Again. It was just as well. With the prices of gas, walking was probably the best thing she could do for her situation. Sharing the house with Katrina wasn't ideal, but it was really her only option. Even with what she made at the company, she would barely be able to afford a small apartment on her own.

As she walked, it was almost easy to forget where she was walking to. She could have been walking to a beautiful office on a 5^th floor where they called her “Mrs. Carlye.” Of course Mrs. Caryle didn't have the schooling for this sort of position. Her single mom couldn't afford to send the girls and the construction company hired Lynae right out of high school. Even if she did have the education, what would she do with in this tiny town? Even the apartment buildings didn't have 5 floors.

But on a day like this, Lynae could dream about telling her boss she was done. She might not be able to work in a fancy office, but she could work in that funky boutique down the street where she would allow herself to buy one piece of jewelry on her birthday. After all, money wasn't everything. It was only food, clean water, shelter and clothing. This thought kept her feet on the path to work, as it had for the past 6 years. Why couldn't serendipity bless her life like it had all those other people she read about in the paper? She was just one number away from freedom that morning. One number away from a life where she wasn't trapped. But it was a number she couldn't count on.

Out of the corner of her eye, she detected motion. Lynae stopped short. Something was right in her face, so close she couldn't really see it.

“Drop your purse, walk away slowly, and no one gets hurt.”

Here it was. As her eyes came into focus, she saw that this scraggly man before her was serendipity. Serendipity with greasy hair and track marks up his arms, but serendipity nonetheless.

“No.” she said defiantly.

His glassy eyes resembled the closest thing he could feel to shock, and Lynae's face twisted into a wild smile. Maybe this woman was crazier than a deranged heroin addict. The shooter didn't plan for this. His addled brain couldn't really plan for anything.

The bullet hit mercifully true, and in Topeka, Kansas, a mundane construction worker was set free. Topeka, Kansas, coroners would wonder why a young, pretty shooting victim would die with the ghost of a smile on her face. Topeka, Kansas, an older sister would become an only child.

She would place flowers on her little sisters grave. The flowers would be just like her. So beautiful you couldn't help but touch them, but when you did, you couldn't help but be disappointed. Disappointed because they were fake and nothing that beautiful could truly exist. Not very realistic, sis.

Reviews

[Pete]

wonderful. love how you spun this tale. indeed, life throws us curveballs. we need to roll with the punches as they say. don't always get what we ask for but what we need and sometimes when we least expect it ...