{"id":706,"date":"2015-08-19T20:39:20","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T03:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomswritings.lewczyk.net\/?p=706"},"modified":"2024-10-05T12:39:40","modified_gmt":"2024-10-05T19:39:40","slug":"suicide-classic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/?p=706","title":{"rendered":"Suicide [Classic] (600 word story)"},"content":{"rendered":"

No one dies this time — but not through lack of trying.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Side note: I used an online character recognition site to ‘read’\u00a0a scan of\u00a0my old typewritten story and convert it to digital text. I had to make a boatload of edits to correct things so, at the end of the day, I’m not sure it saved me time over retyping the whole thing. Maybe…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

More old stories here.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The man seated at the large walnut desk in the air-conditioned office glanced apprehensively at his wristwatch as he had done dozens of times within\u00a0the last hour. It was five minutes to ten \u2014 time to begin. He called for his private secretary who came promptly into the office.<\/p>\n

\u201dWould you please get me a cup of coffee?\u201d he asked, knowing that it would take her between three and a half and four minutes to return with the cup.<\/p>\n

“Certainly,” she told him with a smile, and he watched her, as prim and neat as ever, as she closed the door behind her. He reached into his desk drawer and brought out an envelope which he set in the middle of the otherwise vacant blotter, rose from his padded chair, and stepped toward the large window overlooking Wall Street and the bustling people far below.<\/p>\n

The previous day, his wife has brought up the subject of divorce along with the shocking news that she was having an affair. He knew most of the blame was his, for he had not been much of a husband in recent years, being too concerned with his job — which he had ironically come to despise with all his heart. This new situation with his wife was the proverbial last straw that caused him to decide to end his life today. At ten o’clock his wife was supposed to call about the divorce, but he planned on not being here at that time. The coffee was so that all would know the exact time of his death.<\/p>\n

He opened the window wide and stepped out onto the ledge as the cold autumn wind tore at his hair and clothes. Thirty-five stories below him, tiny cars and specks of people inched their way along the narrow street. He pictured himself, sprawled on the pavement, a brighter speck amid the crowd.<\/p>\n

He leaned forward, preparing to jump, when fear gripped him. The idea of suicide that had seemed so desirable a moment ago, now repulsed him. He realized that he still did love his wife — and that an apology and a reformed life might yet win her back. He also realized that he did not really dislike his job, and that the thought of living seemed much sweeter than the blackness of death.<\/p>\n

But he was already off balance. He was on the very edge, pin-wheeling his arms in a losing battle to regain his balance and not plummet to the street, hundreds of feet below. Sweat rolled down his face and bile rose to his throat as he tipped that last centimeter.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, a gust of icy wind caught him and seemed to set him back upon the ledge like a giant hand. His heart was pounding wildly as he pressed himself to the brick, his eyes closed in thankfulness.<\/p>\n

He cautiously sidled toward the window, backed in, but did not feel safe until, with trembling hands, he closed the window tightly. He made his way shakily to his desk, absently fixing his hair and straightening his tie. As he fell back into his chair, his secretary, prim and neat as ever, came into the door carrying the cup of coffee that he had asked for — seeming ages ago.<\/p>\n

She set it on his desk and, looking toward his suicide note, asked if he would like her to mail it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he smiled, sliding the envelope into his jacket pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201dYour wife is on the line,\u201d she informed him.<\/p>\n

\u201dThank you, that will be all.\u201d he said truthfully. He smiled as he reached for the telephone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No one dies this time — but not through lack of trying. Side note: I used an online character recognition site to ‘read’\u00a0a scan of\u00a0my old typewritten story and convert it to digital text. I had to make a boatload of edits to correct things so, at the end of the day, I’m not sure … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Suicide [Classic] (600 word story)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=706"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1506,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/706\/revisions\/1506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lewczyk.net\/tomswritings\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}