Marie

Marie looked at the time, it was exactly 8pm. The second hand on the clock seemed to be moving slower than it was supposed to; and its tick became louder and louder with each passing wave as if saying “goodbye.”

Suddenly, the sound of someone calling her name took her attention away from the clock.

“Marie, do you remember when you and I were at that Mexican restaurant and the food was delicious, but we laughed so much that we could hardly eat?” her friend said as she could barely get the sentence out from laughing so much.

Marie smiled, and she no longer cared for the loudly and slowly ticking clock. All she cared about was the sound of her friend’s laughter.

Another friend then walked into the living room from the kitchen and accidentally walked halfway into the wall. He slightly spun before catching his balance and then spilling half the drink on himself.

“Are you okay?” they asked him, as the several friends burst into more laughter. One friend, not even being able to speak from how intense her laughter was, rolled off the couch and onto the floor.

“You’d think I was drunk. What’s that? Like the fifth time I’ve done it. It’s a natural trait of mine. You can’t take me anywhere.” he joked as he grabbed napkins to dry his clothes as much possible.

The friend that was hysterically laughing on the floor, pointed at the different stains the man now had all over his clothing.

“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” she whispered through the laughter as she gestured him to turn away from her, hoping it would help soothe the laughter.

Marie stared at her friends, one by one, remembering each one of their unique smiles, the joyful sound of each one of their laughter, and how differently they each styled their clothes and hair.

The group of friends continued their laughter as they partied the night away together. The music played, they danced and sang, and all the worries of the world were no where to be found.

Suddenly, the light in the living room became dim. No-one noticed except Marie. They each continued with dancing, singing, conversation, and laughter as if nothing had changed.

Marie paused as she sat in her chair. She wasn’t laughing, singing, or smiling any more. She focused on how one of her friends was now aging right before her eyes. His hair turned gray, he became a bit shorter, and wrinkles appeared until he was no longer recognizable. No-one else seemed to notice this change — just Marie.

Marie’s heart began to sink as more friends began to age before her very eyes; and the ones that didn’t age, slowly faded until they were no longer seen; as if disappearing into thin air. Those that had aged, had aged too far in, to the point where they were also now gone. Still, during the process of everyone’s gradual disappearance, no-one batted an eye.

Their drinks were now gone, the house was organized and clean, the laughter was no more, and suddenly — silence filled the room.

Marie looked at the clock, it was exactly 9pm. The clock was no longer moving slowly, ticking loudly, or waving goodbye.

Her laughter became silent, her smiling and glowing face turned into a blank canvas, the joy of her soul turned numb, and she was reminded — that she was alone.

An hour had gone by where she relived a whole lifetime in her head, and every night, though alone, she was grateful to have these memories to travel back to before going to bed.