UGR - Born For This (900 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.87 on 38 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Fey (View user info) at 2007-09-15 16:18:42 EDT
For the sake of discussion, old friend, I'd like for you to meet Ben. Let's see if we can find him... Ah yes, here he is.
He'd built a nest of abandoned jackets, jackets forgotten and stolen, for himself and for Lady. Ben nestled down, grinding his tailbone deeper into the layer of newspaper and filthy blanket which did its best to keep out the cold seeping up from the concrete.
Lady pressed against his side, shivering sporadically and letting the occasional small, dignified whine escape from her closed muzzle. He liked to tell her, and anyone else who would listen, that she was named Lady because she was a lady. A Lady indeed; a graceful, collected woman who minded her manners. Ben had decided long ago that these were qualities that needed to be guarded and revered.
Ben and Lady took turns guarding each other. He had found her in an alley two years earlier, at the hands of a mob of teenage boys. Ben couldn't quite tell you what had happened that twilight, but the short of it is the Lady had come to live with him.
They'd nursed their minor wounds together, and a communication of sorts had arisen. She watched over him while he slept. Ben wasn't mad, so he wouldn't tell you that she spoke to him, but he did occasionally dream conversations, as many of us do.
Well... we'll ask, then.
"Excuse me, Sir. Do you believe that this is what you were born for?"
Ben glanced up and, realising he was being adressed, reran the question in his head. An immediate furrow appeared between his eyebrows. In the space of a thought, a thousand things flickered through his eyes; hurt surprise, a brief flash of anger, a myriad of emotions. Eventually but also within the thought, they were replaced by the weary, jaded acceptance that is so often to be found if you look.
He turned his head away, avoiding contact, uncertain of himself. "Born for? What I was born for..." he yelped an ugly laugh that made Lady flinch. "No, no thank you. This isn't it..."
Interesting. Did you see that? I think we should move on. Let's meet Jack and Sarah next... Oh dear. Nevermind, we'll wait. Jack usually climaxes quickly and then falls asleep. We can talk to Sarah.
Sarah lay in bed, deliberately breathing as quietly as she could, and listened to Jack snore. The sweat from their lovemaking pooled in her navel. She reflected on the sensation and felt vaguely disgusted by it. Once, the sweat would have represented empassioned hours of rythmic satisfaction. These days it stood for being slightly overweight and faulty airconditioning.
Her body tingling with unreleased tension, she slipped quietly out of bed. Her husband grunted something unintelligible and rolled over onto his stomach. She'd frozen, her breath held, and as he settled deeper into sleep she let it out slowly.
She snuggled deeper into the cushion on their loveseat, rocking herself backwards and forwards idly, only her toes touching the ground. The illicit smoke rose blue and fine from the tip of her comfort cigarette, she watched the ember glow as she drew in a deep breath before blowing the smoke out in a thin stream. The ritual of it, the peace... it was better than sex. Better than their sex, anyway.
A sliver of the chill night whispered its way into the hair on the nape of her neck, causing all the little hairs on her arms to stand up. What she missed most, more than the sex even, was the sense of being alive that they'd shared. Sometime, somewhere after their daughter Molly moving out and Jack's retirement, they'd lost the spark of vitality that had made their relationship special.
These days when Sarah looked in the mirror she saw an upper middle-aged woman; a year ago, maybe two, she'd have answered differently.
Do you want to ask her, too? Allright, hang on...
"Excuse me, Ma'am. Do you believe that this is what you were born for?"
Sarah's eyes grew distant as she considered the question. She skimmed through her life in her mind, touching on different things as they came to her attention; her job at the school, her daughter's boyfriend - a very attractive person closer to Sarah in age than to Molly, the travelling she'd done, the travel she'd wanted to do but never had the time for, the aspirations she never realised... "Yes. I am what I am, and I wouldn't do it differently if I could."
Sarah walked back into the house, and slipped back into bed. She curled around Jack, burrowing her cold feet into his warmth. He planted a sleepy kiss on the arm she'd placed over him, and she smiled in the dark.
Come with me, there's a couple more people I'd like you to meet before we're done.
The gunfire echoed round the valley and Joél opened his eyes. A split second later his brain woke up. He already had his rifle in his hand, and he was completely dressed but for his outer jacket. Kicking off his blanket, he shrugged into his jacket, releasing the gun with only one hand at a time.
The quiet nightlife of the wild around him rose into the hushed and organised babble of a military camp awakening to life. It had only been two shots, but that didn't rule out the possibility that they'd been surrounded, or that they were outnumbered.
Joél clenched his teeth at the kick of adrenaline in his guts and ducked out from under the canvas shelter he'd strung up. His comrade, Rico, was out just a short moment later. They crouched down side by side in the jungle undergrowth, waiting for the orders to filter down.
The official leader of their group was not a clever man, though possibly a cunning one. He'd risen to his current position by staying alive where better men and women had died, and though there were rumours, nobody knew how he'd managed.
His new second, Lorenzo, was a clever man and an ambitious one. He was hailed as the saviour by nearly all. The one who would lead the People to freedom. Joél, though, knew that Rico occasionally spent his nights with Lorenzo. And that he cried in his sleep the nights that followed.
Joél and Rico had been friends and soldiers as long as either of them could remember. Born the same year, their birthdays fell within a week of one another. Last week Rico had turned thirteen. Today was Joél's birthday.
I know, it will break your heart. Shall we ask him?
"Excuse me, Child. Do you believe that this is what you were born for?"
Joél narrowed his eyes in suspicion, seeking a way out of a suspected trap. He shifted postion subtly, placing himself in front of Rico. "Qué?"
"Is this your Destiny, Child? Is this why you were created?"
Joél spat on the ground in front of him and glared, bravado and sorrow shining in his eyes. "No."
Just one more, love, before we're done.
The room smelled of sickness and death. The old woman was so thin that her outline was barely discernible under the thin hospital blanket. Her only son had left long ago. He'd moved to another state for work, and had been unable to get enough time off to stay with her until the end.
The sad truth of it is, he doesn't particularly care. She was never horrible to him, but eventually her inability to show her love of him withered their bond.
Her eyelids flicker as she watches the world from behind closed eyes. Her consciousness returns to her body, with the familiar voice whispering in her ear.
Dearest, what I've been trying to show you is that some of it is choice and some of it isn't. That love is possible in any situation. And that only you decide when you are done trying. Choose wisely, this time.
The old woman breathes out, a breath that seems to last forever, and falls still.
The newborn baby breathes in, sharply, and cries out.
User Reviews
Submitted by woolfe (user info) at 2008-06-04 04:17:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ArnieGeddon (user info) at 2007-10-01 09:56:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-10-01 09:35:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/111627#2540298
Yes. Yes, I am the web police, cleverly disguised as a layabout kiwi/swedish halfbreed with a penchant for using big words (correctly).
Sico would probably pay good money for what you know.
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not to mention a prostitutehead. a kiwi/swedish halfbreed prostitutehead. The big word reference is either a slight on simons knack or lack of making little to no sense grammatically/contextually, like ever, or me not actually knowing what a prostitute is.
Submitted by lungfish (user info) at 2007-09-22 21:26:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/95727
Submitted by ArnieGeddon (user info) at 2007-09-22 21:05:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Fey (user info) at 2007-09-22 17:21:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I didn't read this. End preface.
I didn't know you existed until today.
I thought you were a new alter.
Then I came here.
And I now believe you are an old user who has been hijacked.
Hello.
Who are you?
And why are you talking about me?
P.S. I am not a prostitutehead. A prostitutehead is a made-up word. Made up by you. Mystery solved.
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hijack my arse. I mean *HIJACKED* my arse. And I'm an OLD alter Anni-Frid Gump.
i'm danger_ranger you subhuman hybrid swiwi halfbreed prostitutehead, and in this World Cup month I have taken it upon myself to insult as many new zealanders as possible, even the nordie-fjordie ones. At the moment I'm still working my way through the B's on new zealands online white pages, but when I get to the F's you'll be the first to know.
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2007-09-22 17:45:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hello Fey!
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2007-09-22 09:57:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
and thor rides his chariot and swings his hammer of thunder.great read
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-09-21 10:30:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What? Where's the fun in that? I mean it in the most perverted creepy way possible. HELLO? UBER?
Submitted by DrogoRoch (user info) at 2007-09-20 10:49:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I really liked both of these.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-09-19 10:05:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Great read.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-09-18 14:09:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is very good.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-09-17 13:53:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Surgeon (user info) at 2007-09-17 12:27:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
fibrillation..
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2007-09-17 12:13:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'll read it later. You're good for it right?
Submitted by Nyrea (user info) at 2007-09-17 12:10:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Lib (user info) at 2007-09-17 12:09:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good read
Submitted by mystiamoon (user info) at 2007-09-17 12:08:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Zampano (user info) at 2007-09-17 11:47:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Though I've already rated, I just thought I'd tell you that you're rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers here.
Mmkay, that's all.
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2007-09-17 10:33:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like this a lot.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-09-17 10:09:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ChaosJester (user info) at 2007-09-17 04:32:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"The sweat from their lovemaking pooled in her navel."
This line struck me as being a little too visceral and honest for the story. I love the way that you incorporate the intense dislike of your own life into your stories. I have been told that the best writers craft stories about what they know. I believe that this is why most of my tales concern themselves with painful rebirths and yours revolve around a sullen dislike of the subjective status quo.
I think that you need to do something completely out of your comfort zone. You might be suprised at how it changes you.
Submitted by joedaddy (user info) at 2007-09-16 22:10:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
the better question(s): is this what/all you'll settle for?
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2007-09-16 21:04:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-09-16 17:30:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2007-09-16 16:42:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Zampano (user info) at 2007-09-16 11:45:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A nice read, as per the usual.
Submitted by ShapeShifter (user info) at 2007-09-16 09:16:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
HAHAH@BLITZ
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2007-09-16 06:31:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-09-16 05:00:14 BST (#)
Ranking: -2
WTF? I'M NOT READING ALL THAT!
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Got to say, I expected better from B_B
Submitted by BranDo (user info) at 2007-09-16 04:59:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
obviously, you are.
Submitted by haikumikoo (user info) at 2007-09-16 00:54:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-09-15 21:00:14 PDT (#)
Ranking: -2
WTF? I'M NOT READING ALL THAT!
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Annoying douche auto +2
I'll read this later.
I promise.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-09-16 00:00:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
WTF? I'M NOT READING ALL THAT!
Submitted by interloper (user info) at 2007-09-15 18:58:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like.
Submitted by TechnoRatty (user info) at 2007-09-15 18:01:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
All I can say is
Just..........
How beautifully written
Submitted by DirtyHarry (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:57:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I have fallen in love with your writing. Can I be your e-stalker?
Submitted by The_taste_of_Monkeys (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:54:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
TTOM is hot but he doesn't notice me...
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Ill take "things that are creepy" for 400 Alex...
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:46:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is really fantastic.
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:41:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Zebra (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:35:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Quite lovely.
Submitted by HateMudkips (user info) at 2007-09-15 16:21:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment