L | Something Different

❦

I watch Tammie spin

round and
round

like a horse
on a carousel.

She's improved.

Her body folds
instinctively

where the pole ends,

an extension of the pole
that knows

how it feels.

She's like a wind-up doll,
a part of the pole.

I'm envious.

She swings her legs up—
the pole catches her.

There's a faint smile

on her sweat-stained face.

The stench of
vomit

makes me

want to gag.

I'm envious.

She's panting,
stretching,

pushing herself.

Becoming...

a better person.

Me?

You're a nuisance.
There's no meaning to your existence.

I'm watching her

by the doorway,
peeking

because I'm not
wanted here.

I watch her for a while longer,
unable

to take

my eyes

off her.

Her movements
are repetitive,

I notice.

She's repeating the same routine.

Over and
over and
over

again.

I remember something,
A faint

impression:

She was like this back then too.

An unfamiliar feeling
blooms

in my chest.

[Read the full story at novelconbini.com!]