My Soul to Keep
The tears blinded me as I looked into the rearview
mirror. My reflection through the haze of mist and pain
was that of a red-eyed monster with wild blonde hair.
The car forced me to pullover. The door hinge
screeched in protest as I pushed the door open. A dirt
devil whirled around me and lashed my skin, then
disappeared into the sky. My tongue tasted dirt and salt.
Anger welled, the monster rose, and I kicked the front
tire and beat on the hood with my fists until the skin
was red and my bones were bruised.
Steam rose in spits and spurts. The monster in me
began to tire because it was losing against a wall of
sadness and despair in the mixture of metal and rubber.
I plopped down on the ground and scanned the horizon
for clues of exactly where in the hell was I. The wind
whipped my hair around and lashed against my face.
Sitting on a cliff, I looked out into the abyss of endless
blue mountains fading further and further into the
background, with red cliffs jutting in and out of my
vision. Tears mixed with sand and burned my eyes.