THE DETAILS - A short story by Abigail Austin

"What is this?”

“WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS?

“Death.”

“LISTEN TO ME. YOU ARE GOING TO FORGET EVERYTHING IN FIVE MINUTES. TELL ME WHO YOU ARE."

“What?”

“TELL ME YOUR STORY. TIME IS RUNNING OUT.”

“I don’t understand.”

“YOU WILL FORGET EVERYTHING IN FOUR MINUTES! TELL ME! BEFORE IT GOES.”

“…My name is Anna and I’m forty-two years old.”

“NO. THE IMPORTANT THINGS. QUICK”

“Who are you?”

“I’M JUST LIKE YOU. FOCUS. WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

“England…”

“HOW DID YOU GET HERE?"

“I was...I don't remember. I was walking home...I..."
 I’m scared.”

“OF WHAT?"

“This.”

“WHAT WERE YOU SCARED OF BEFORE?"

“When?”

“BEFORE THIS”

"This!"

"AND?"

“…Being alone.”

“WHY?"

“Because…I don’t know…

"YOU DO."

"I wanted to be…”

“LOVED? WERE YOU?"

“What? No… not like …no. Please tell me where I am.”

“WHY WEREN'T YOU LOVED?"

“Because… I don’t know. Stop.

“PLEASE! THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. YOU WILL FORGET THIS.”

“Am I really dead?”

“STAY FOCUSED. YOU WERE UGLY? DEFORMED? SELFISH?"

“No...just...I...people are hard."

“ALL OF THEM?"

“Yes.”

“WERE YOU EVER IN LOVE?"

“What happened to me?"

“ ANNA, PLEASE! THIS WILL ALL BE GONE IN TWO MINUTES.
FOCUS.
WHAT WAS HIS NAME?”

“I don’t remember.”

“YOU DO."

"It doesn't matter now."

"IT DOES."

“Peter.”

“THIS IS GREAT - WHO WAS PETER?"

“He was married, but I, I think he..."

"WHAT?"

"I think he loved me too. A little.”

“YOU SAID NO ONE LOVED YOU."

“He might have.”

“DID YOU ASK HIM?"

“No. Stop.”

“DID YOU TELL HIM THAT YOU LOVED HIM?"

“No.

“SO YOU WERE SCARED OF BEING ALONE, EVEN THOUGH YOU WERE ALONE?"

“…Where are you?”

“WHY DID YOU LOVE HIM?"

“Because…I don’t know."

“ANNA, PLEASE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!!"

“Because he looked at me like he knew me.”

“YES…AND?"

“He smelt like…”

“LIKE WHAT? WHAT DID HE SMELL LIKE?!"

“…Home. I want to go home NOW.”

“HOME. YES.
WHAT DID YOU DO EACH DAY? WHAT WAS YOUR JOB?"

“What? Take me back. I can’t feel my body.”

“DID YOU ENJOY IT?"

“…No. It’s normal.”

“SO YOU WERE NORMAL?"

“…I don’t know.
I can’t see anything but black.”

“DID YOU TRAVEL THE WORLD? WHAT DID YOU SEE BEFORE?"

“The beach. Take me back!”

“DESCRIBE THE BEACH."

“I don’t know. I’m scared. It’s so cold here.”

“PLEASE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, HURRY!
HOW DOES THE BEACH FEEL?"

“It feels like… I don’t know."

“COME ON! QUICK!”

"Like… every bad thought you have ever had can be freed."

“YES.”

“The sand hugs your feet.”

“WHAT WERE YOUR BAD THOUGHTS?"

“I want to go home!”

“PLEASE! TELL ME!'

“No.”

“TELL ME!!”

“I WANTED TO KILL HER!"

“WHO?"

“…His wife.”

“BUT THE BEACH SAVED YOU?"

“...Yes.”

“DID YOU HELP ANYONE?"

“What?”

“WERE YOU KIND?"

“…What do you mean?"

“WERE YOU BRAVE?"

“ No. PLEASE. I can’t think.”

“WHAT DID YOU LOVE TO DO?
WHAT WERE YOU GOOD AT?"

“…NOTHING!”

“SOMETHING!
PLEASE. YOUR FAVOURITE THING TO DO. STOP CRYING!”

“Where am I going?"

"NO TIME FOR THAT. WHAT DID YOU LOVE?"

".… singing."

“WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE?"

“Clear... I'm falling. Help me."

"KEEP GOING."

"I made sense. Not like me at all, but exactly like me.”

“WOW. KEEP GOING."

“Immortal.”

“YOU SANG IN PUBLIC? WHERE?

“...No.”

“WHY?"

'PLEASE FINISH."

"YOU WERE SCARED OF WHAT?"

"I DON'T KNOW."

"WHAT?!"

“…people laughing at me.”

“..OH."

“Yes.”

"WHAT DID THAT FEEL LIKE?"

"Burning."

"...YOU WERE SCARED OF FEELING ALONE AND PEOPLE LAUGHING AT YOU?"

“I… don’t know…it’s just…"
I… I can’t remember.
What's my name?"

“THAT'S IT."

“What? WHAT'S MY NAME?”

"GONE NOW."

“NO!”

"NO MORE MEMORY. NO HARD PEOPLE HERE.”

“Please.”

“YOU'RE FREE."

“... Help me! Please!!!"

“I TOLD YOU. DON'T CRY.”

"Where did I go?"

"NOTHING."




“…What do we do?”

“WE WAIT FOR THE NEXT STORY TO COME IN...AND HOPE IT'S A GOOD ONE."

I love the urgency here and the sense of release. I HAD to keep reading without stopping.