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it’s a new world

every time you step outside

of your room

every time you

leave home

every time you

get out of your mind

Happened to him about

two days ago

he barely cared enough to

remember

all he knew now was

that he hadn’t been

outside for

at least two straight days

and nights

and hadn’t breathed fresh air

and the only thing pushing

him to emerge

was the lack of alcohol

in his system and in all

rooms of the house. All

three of them

indeed

alcohol was a good enough

substitute for

company

Alcohol and just a dash

of good music. Never loud

He’d been replacing company with

alcohol and music

and dreams

for two straight days

and nights

Why do lovers just get up

and leave?

he wonders now

What happened to trying to

fix things?

When did giving up become

the only solution?

Eh, questions for

another day,

another time

a less sober time

maybe

for now he leaves the apartment

building behind

and relearns how to

walk

as he makes his way

towards the grocery store

the sight of a couple of

trash cans around

the corner

reminds him that he should’ve

taken the trash out

He stops a bit

considers whether he should

turn

back or keep going

the impact of fresh air

and soberness makes

him dizzy

for a heartbeat he thinks

he’s hearing voices

but no

he’s not gone that

far yet

the voices are as

real as he is

coming from behind

the trash cans

saying, “This one. I could

eat this candy bar

for the rest of my life. I could

eat a villion of ‘em!”

“You don’t even know

what it tastes like.”

“But look how cool it looks.

It’s out of this world!”

“I bet it’s crazy expensive,

too.”

“I seen a wrapper

in the can once.”

Just two street urchins

drooling over

the crumpled, faded pages of

a food magazine

He made the briefest eye

contact with them

continued on his way

The grocery store

was unchanged. Beer was still in the

beer aisle. Fruits still

in the fruit aisle.

Oh, and candy bars. Close by.

The ones those kids were

talking about

What in the hell was

this supposed to be?

A kind of

sign?

Those two kids probably never

ate a candy bar

in their lives

What if he actually got

them some?

How would that change their

lives?

He began feeling like

the protagonist of

a goddamned family movie

where Christmas miracles

happen or some

shit like that

Well

what the hell?

There was no law stating that

movies and reality can’t cross

each other a bit

Why not allow a tiny fraction

of magical realism in

existence?

He bought four of

the damned candy bars

along with a six pack of

the cheapest brand of

beer

paid

got out of the

store and

said, “Well, fuck.” when he

came to the trash cans

and the two kids

were no longer there

Yeah. Fuck magical realism

and divine intervention

and Deus ex Machina

or whatever the fuck they call

it these days

the universe

god

whatever

doesn’t work like that

nothing in this world

ever fucking works

the way human

mind intends for it to

Not. A damn. Thing.

Ever.

That’s why we have stories

and movies to keep

us entertained

The only way to control

reality is

to build another one, a model

of it. A fake one that

imitates the real thing

and works based on a

script

man cannot control

what he did not

create

for he too is but a

creation

The only way is to

give up

Let the world be

what it will be

and don’t interfere

He threw the candy bars

into the trash cans

one in each

and went back home

Enough interaction with

the world

for today