Ashes to Ashes

Thunder rolled overhead. Grey splatters of rain sloshed over the cracked pavement of a park seemingly desolate for years. A lone figure, hunched and darkened in the heavy film of rain, sat motionless within an aging gazebo.

The silhouetted character lifted a hand from the pockets of a threadbare trench coat and withdrew a brass lighter, dulled from age and use. A crinkled cigarette hung lifelessly in his mouth, and he flicked the lighter open with ease.

Light from the flame caught the dulled shade of once gleaming blue eyes, and the cigarette hissed to life—something he had lost long ago.

The man leaned back against the graffiti-covered bench he occupied and took a long drag of his cigarette, letting tendrils of smoke curl around his handsome face. Exhaling slowly, he observed the ashes littering the ground and his clothes. The gritty powder dusting his boots summoned memories of long lost passion and love.

He snorted at the thought of love. Only fools could conjure such a useless idea. No human being could show such an act of selflessness. Humans were too greedy, too infatuated with the benefits they sought from relationships they made.

Her agonizingly beautiful face shimmered back into his pained memories, and as he brought the cigarette to his lips, he found his hand none too steady. Perching the cigarette between his lips, he leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees. He ran his hands over his face, the stubble on his cheeks pricking his hands just as her betrayal had pricked his heart.

Angrily, he stood. After all these years, he wouldn’t allow her to win. Not now. Not ever.

“Never again,” he snarled.

Plucking the cigarette from his lips, he flicked it into a grimy puddle. The cigarette smoldered helplessly within the water. The ashes flickered ember once more, then extinguished. A single tendril of smoke puffed in its wake.

The man strode out of the gazebo and into the pouring rain, his shoulders hunched and spirits diminished. “Never again,” he muttered.

Please tell me if you want this to be a complete story. It’s one of my favorite ideas ever….Reviews are appreciated.