Short Story Contest Submission: Amanda Hendrick – The Man And The Swamp

By Amanda Hendrick

We all know how arguments begin; they start very small with a word or a phrase, not meant to bite the way it does. And then a few words later you are both drowning, unable to tell up from down, in an argument neither one of you wanted to be in. People as with most other things, often come in sets, sets of two. The beginning of this story is no different. And these two people were currently drowning.

They pillaged and plundered and screamed and yelled, until what they were saying no longer sounded like words. The man hissed and the woman returned his fire. The man yelled out insults, but this time the woman spoke louder and words emerged, “You should leave, just leave. Come back in a week, or don’t come back at all. 7 days- no more no less or I will be gone. And you will never see me again.”

The man in a huff stormed from their home. His anger propelled him forward for three days. He would never go back. He spent those three days stomping and slamming doors everywhere he went. He spent three days with his fists clenched and his jaw tight. He spent three days bellowing instead of speaking. He spent three days scaring off any one kind or nice with one look from his dark anger filled eyes.

Then on the fourth day, he sat down and like a puff of smoke the anger left him. The next three days he spent in sorrow and self-doubt. Was he good enough? Should he go back? Would they work out? Was it even worth it to keep trying? He spent three days with his hand rubbing his forehead. He spent three days with tears just almost forming in his eyes. He spent three days slightly hunched over as if the weight of the world had just been placed there. He spent three days forming a new furrow in-between his brow. Should he go back?

On the seventh day he awoke with a start and instead of sorrow he felt something warm growing in his chest. Of course it had always been there, but the heat of his anger had disguised its warmth, and then the cooling off of his sorrow had made the warmth seem natural. Of course he would go home. This warm feeling that he felt deep inside himself was love. He spent the day filled with the passion of love and the contentment one can only feel when they recognize a soul mate. He spent this day moving with sure-footedness and dedication. Nothing would hold him back from his love. He would return today, beg for forgiveness and enjoy every fight and laugh with this woman he loved.