Leaving

[sterling]

Title: Leaving
Challenge/Prompt: #85 - Pain
Original Fiction
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.

Abandoning her former life hadn’t hurt as much as she’d expected. Instead, leaving everything behind had filled her with an undeniable sense of satisfaction. She hadn’t bothered to say goodbye to anyone, nor had she made an effort to tell her landlord that she was moving out. She had simply quit her job, thrown away most of her belongings, and disappeared.

The pain came later, when a chance meeting revealed the truth of things: she hadn’t been missed. Most people hadn’t even realized she’d left.

For the first time, she knew what it meant to be truly and utterly alone.

Prompt #85: Pain | "Erased"

[lovepeaceohana]

Title: Erased
Challenge/Prompt: #85: Pain
Original Fiction
Rating: PG
Warnings: None.
Summary: It's all small stuff.
Author's Notes: I feel iffy about posting this as fiction. I'm sure it's happened to someone, somewhere.

+++

The card, on their wedding day. For Kenneth, and your sweet little wife.

The next year, a quilt, patches of playful fabric painstakingly stitched together. She looked on and grit her teeth, cooing as the baby peered up at her. His tiny fists flailed against the dedication that contained only his father’s half of their name.

At Christmas, the pyramid of gifts for the first grandchild, and the several solemn boxes of dress shirts and silly desktop toys for him, and a gift set for her: Asian Appetizers, which came with a pair of chopsticks.

His smile, all too understanding.