No Moon, Only Stars

It was nearly 3 A.M. as I stared into the eyes of my newborn heir, holding him over his crib. I’d named him after me, Thomas Paul Reyes Jr. He was my only child. The one thing I’d never wanted.

“I know you’ll hate me for the rest of your life, but I have given you a gift,” I whispered to the living dead weight in my arms. “I’ve not left you yet, but soon I’ll be gone. I hope you’ll forgive me for what I’m about to do. You may have my name, but you’ll never have me.”

I rest my child in the small blue crib, moonlight filling the room. I crept out of the room, closing the door behind me. My wife, Jenissa, was sleeping in our room. My stomach dropped as she started to turn in the bed. I quickly snuck down the stairs and out the front door. Everything I owned was left in the house. I got into the Prius Jenissa had forced me to lease, saying it was good for the environment and that it’d have enough space for Tom Jr. I’d wanted to get the more sensible choice, a Black 2014 Camaro, but Jenissa wouldn’t let me. I sighed as I pressed the button to start the car. It rumbled to life, the headlights turning on, flooding the short driveway with dim, yellow light. The vehicle vibrated, as the engine kept working. I took the transmission out of park and pulled out of the driveway, continuing on out of the street.

Suddenly, I thought I’d forgotten my second choice. I reached into my pocket and pulled out 6 small, purple pills. I popped them in my mouth and looked around for anything to drink. I found an unopened water bottle and washed the pills down. I looked back at the road to see a sign that read “Welcome to Lowell.” I decided that it was almost time.

I turned onto a long, dead end street. I gunned the engine, inertia throwing me far back into my seat. Tears started to well in my eyes as I saw the darkness of the forest growing ever closer. I felt the car leave the road, becoming airborne into the deep forest. The headlights illuminated a large oak tree directly in front of me. My eyes widened as I felt the front of the car to smash against the solid tree, splintering the bark, smashing the windshield. My body was flung forward, out of the windshield. My stomach was caught by the broken glass of the windshield, tearing a long laceration down from the center of my chest, leading all the way down. My body flipped in the air like a sad rag doll being launched out of a cannon. I hit the cold, damp forest floor, my legs hitting first. I heard the snap of the bones before the dull pain started to creep up my legs, joining at my hips. My head smashed on a rock, blood splattering the brown fall leaves on the ground. I rolled head over heels until finally, I hit a small ditch. I hit the bottom, staring up into the night sky. The moon was missing, only stars filling the sky. I found Orion and kept going over the lines over and over and over again until finally, everything became dark. My eyes closed and I felt the pain seep from my pores, consciousness finally escaping my grasps.