For this weeks Flash! Friday our themes were based on the Great Gatsby. I chose the elements of man vs man and obsession. Here is the optional photo prompt for this week:
Joan Crawford & John Gilbert; publicity photo for the film “Four Walls,” 1928. Public domain image in the U.S.
Zero happiness
I furiously refresh the screen, staring at my bank balance. I’ve never wanted anything as much as that third comma, that switch from capital M to capital B. I will finally have enough.
The change happens in a blink. There’s no fanfare, no fireworks, just an extra zero. I grab my phone to tell someone, to share this moment, but there’s no-one left to call. I wait for the relief, but there is none. My joy is hollow, a golden veneer covering a mountain of regrets.
I’ve sacrificed everything for this moment. It was supposed to complete me. Why am I still the same?
Perhaps it’s not possible to fill emptiness with zeroes. Have I been on the wrong path all along?
Of course not. It’s obvious. It’s still not enough. The next zero is the one I need.
There’s only one thing to do. Get back to work.
