|
|
|
|  |  |  |
|
Juliet Unchained It was a hot morning and Juliet opened the door
to her camper trailer and looked out at the wilderness and thought it was good.
The day seemed like a nice choice for the end of her days. She picked up Derek’s old walking stick and
stepped out of the trailer and started along the hiking trail. Before long, she bound her long, brown hair
into a ponytail for comfort, and continued. She went past large trees and
crumbling boulders and draws that ran down the side of the mountain. She paid little attention to direction, just
walked. As she did, she thought of Shakespeare’s Juliet and how she had ended
things. Juliet had killed herself because of Romeo. She
understood her pain, and now this Juliet, she told herself, will do the same.
She would let the pain out of her life the way you would let the pus out of a
wound. The trail split. One branch continued straight,
the other climbed up into the rocks, and that was the branch she chose. Up she climbed, having to use her walking stick
to help her. The trail narrowed and the trees came in tight
on either side. Juliet looked up the trail and could see a spot
of light between the shadows of the trees. It was way up and would require some
time to reach. What she hadn’t thought of when deciding this
would be her last day on earth was how hungry she would be by skipping
breakfast. She had assumed she would find a high point for jumping much sooner. She paused and thought of her Romeo, Derek, and
how he had jabbed a knife into his breast and had left a note saying he had
died for her. That he loved her and cherished her, but that he couldn’t get his
head right, and with her name on his lips, he would leap into the wild dark
nothing. When Derek plunged the knife into his heart he
might as well have plunged it into hers. Derek had always been covered in
shadow and regret that couldn’t be defined. They had an argument only hours
before his final moments, something silly, something so silly she couldn’t
remember the gist of it. His note read that he loved her so much he had
taken his life, and now she was sure she could not live without him, that the
torment she felt would crawl down deep into her blood and bones and would live
there like a parasite. Juliet did not intend to feed that parasite.
She would shorten its days of feeding. Her stomach growled with hunger, and she
climbed. The trail became so narrow and steep, she began
to crawl on her hands and knees, still clutching the cane. The boulders on the
trail tore her pants and scraped her knees. Sweat poured off her, even though
she was out of the direct heat and was in the shadow of the trees. Finally, she came to the top of the trail. She
managed to stand, taking deep breaths. She felt so exhausted she put her hands
on her knees and bent over to recharge herself. Blood pounded in her head and
made her temples throb as if something inside of her was trying to dig its way
out. When she could breathe again and the blood was
no longer pounding, she saw that she was near the edge of a high cliff, and
beyond the cliff the sun burned like a flaming coal. The sky was an impossible
blue, and as she walked to the edge of the cliff, she looked out and saw the
trees below and on the sides of the mountain. They were green as Ireland. She leaned over and looked straight down. It was a long drop. The rocks stuck out from
the sides of the mountain, waiting on her. The air cooled suddenly, and a fresh wind blew
across her. With the wind on her face, something changed. She knew then, in
that moment, that she didn’t owe Derek her life. Didn’t owe anyone. The cool
air, the blue sky, and the burning sun, all the shadowed green before her,
revived her. If the air could change and the sun could rise and sink and rise
again, so could she. It was as if a portal of truth had opened unto
her. I am not an extension of
Derek and his death. I am not a follower into the gloom. Sadness swept over her but found a compartment
inside of her. She knew she must live, because life was beautiful — full of raw
spots, but beautiful. Juliet took a deep breath, turned, and started
back to the camper. She was hungry. She was unchained Take a deep
breath, turn, and start back here next Thursday. "Juliet Unchained" was
originally published on Pirelli.com. It later appeared in The Senior Girls
Bayonet Drill Team and Other Stories, a collection published by
Subterranean Press. "Juliet Unchained" © 2019 By Bizarre Hands, LLC.
All Rights Reserved. |
