giovedì 11 agosto 2022

Doors Locked and Bolted

Welcome to the Spot Writers. This month’s prompt is ‘The door you locked is wide open.’

This story was written by Phil Yeats. Last fall, he published The Souring Seas, the first volume in a precautionary tale about the hazards of ignoring human-induced climate change. The second volume, Building Houses of Cards, appeared in May 2022. For information about these books, visit his website–https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

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Doors Locked and Bolted

by Phil Yeats


The introverted young man never mastered the university mating game. He tried, but never felt the compelling desire that drove most of his classmates. He sought help in the university health centre. They told him he couldn’t father a child or satisfy a woman. Their confirmation of what he already suspected hardened his resolve. He locked his door to traditional romantic entanglements.

Desperate for a solution to his life-altering medical problem, he considered alternate lifestyles and transgender surgery, but decided they weren’t for him. It left him with a bachelor’s life where he sought fulfilment in other directions. Several years later, he had an interesting career and productive side interests. None of them involved emotional commitment to others.

He continued, content but not truly happy until today, when he found her standing in the wide-open doorway to his deepest secrets. The old friend from before he committed to his current path had impeccable arguments for flinging open the door he’d so carefully locked and bolted. He stared heavenward, hoping for arguments that might challenge her irrefutable logic. None came to mind.

He took her hand, and they marched into the future together. Two lonely souls seeking synergies. Could they succeed? Or would theirs be a brief sojourn into companionship? Was he destined to return to his lonely life, his career, and sterile outside interests? Only time would tell.

 

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The Spot Writers—Our Members:

Val Muller: http://www.valmuller.com/blog/

Catherine A. MacKenzie: https://writingwicket.wordpress.com/wicker-chitter/

Phil Yeats: https://alankemisterauthor.wordpress.com/

Chiara De Giorgi: https://chiaradegiorgi.blogspot.com/

 

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