Pouring Out What's Left

by Kevin Lawver

She died like many people die these days – a tiny shell on a hospital bed in a converted room on the first floor of the house they shared for thirty years. She wasted away slowly over two years – from that first dark spot on the x-ray, through the treatments, the difficult discussions, somber preparations and finally, the talks about who she wanted to speak at the funeral and what flowers she wanted.

He’d always loved the way her eyes sparkled with mischief. As she got older, the laugh lines only made them shine brighter. He knew the end was near when the spark faded and she stopped smiling. She tried so hard to maintain appearances – was so brave in the face of the inevitable end.

When she finally faded away, he poured what was left of himself into his work. He had a small futon put in his office and spent many nights there, because it was easier than facing an empty house and the memories. The equations, documentation and experiments kept his mind off his grief. That was all he could hope for.

Comments

Average Reader Rating: 5.0 stars out of 5

  1. Pouring Out What's Left

    Lone Writer's Buddy Icon Lone Writer

    Posted 10 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Awww. That’s sad.

  2. Pouring Out What's Left

    Kevin Lawver's Buddy Icon Kevin Lawver

    Posted 10 months ago

    Wow, you’re quick! I love “Not quite an error” and couldn’t help trying to add to the emotional weight of what happened there by exploring how he lost his wife.

  3. Pouring Out What's Left

    YodaOnCrack's Buddy Icon YodaOnCrack

    Posted 10 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Clever prequel, Kevin – great descriptions that transition into the next story quite well…

  4. Pouring Out What's Left

    Randal L. Schwartz's Buddy Icon Randal L. Schwartz

    Posted 10 months ago

    Beautiful. Sets it up almost exactly as I had envisioned the backstory: a scientist whose wife had passed away, and was now buried in his work in denial.

  5. Pouring Out What's Left

    THX 0477's Buddy Icon THX 0477

    Posted 8 months ago

    5.0 out of 5 stars

    Terribly heavy and very real. Nicely done. Really, I’m all depressed now. I think I need to go watch cartoons or something.
    LoA

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