Summer Cures (Flash fiction) by Cassidy Petrus

Summer Cures
by Cassidy Petrus

He told me not to pity him. He does enough of that for the both of us. He said he poured his heart out, but no one listened. "It's not too late to change, if things aren't going your way. Just pack your bags and disappear into the August air. Those who would miss him would understand and they would hug him when he comes back again. You can't keep telling yourself you don't care when the signs are everywhere. The only cure is to leave it all behind." He said: Can't we go back to the better days before we ever knew these pains, I want it back the way it was before I ever fell in love. When the biggest worry that we knew was having to go back to school. Growing up means brand new things. Growing up means losing memories.

I asked him what he thought of dying. He said it can't be that different from living. Except. Maybe. He'll be happy. An uncomfortable laugh was all we shared, then we drank another beer. And we forgot about all of our bad days.

Author bio:

Cassidy Petrus is currently residing in Connecticut. He was recently accepted for publication by Pequin.