Vignette 5

With a big thud the piece of paper fell into the empty metal dustbin. He stroked the brown pad on the match box, the match shaking in his hand. With a swift movement the enflamed wooden stick fell down from above until it reached the inside of the bin and started burning the corner of the photograph. In a few seconds the whole picture was engulfed with bright yellow flames and little by little the features of the smiling woman’s face melted away.
“Don’t you hate it?”
“Hate what?” Devin didn’t turn to look at James.
He was use to the subject.
“Working here. Writing letters to other people’s families because they’re too damn lazy to write it themselves.”
“It’s part of the job, James. It’s just work.”
“So if it’s just a job then you probably wouldn’t mind if someone you loved said they wrote you a letter but actually hired someone else to write the words for you.”
“No I wouldn’t,” Devin finally turned away from his computer
“Dude you’re the only one really doing their work right now. You’re constantly typing away, even my fingers get sore looking at you,” James chuckled.
“I actually want to get out of here and pay off my debts.”
“How much do you still owe the company?”
“A lot.”
“We should never have taken those bursaries from them. I could’ve been out surfing but now I’m stuck here.”
“It’s…”
“I know, I know, life.”
Devin went back to his work.
“Hey,” James said after a while. “Me and some friends are going out tonight. Do you want to tag along?”
Devin’s fingers froze in position.
“I can’t. I have work to do.”
“Leave it till tomorrow. You’re always working. Have some fun!”
“Maybe I just want to be left alone!”
James looked startled at the outburst. After everyone went back to talking or looking at pictures on their computer screens, Devin’s face was still frozen in a furious look.
“Sorry, man. I just thought, it’s been four years, you know. Time to move on.”
“I’m not ready,” Devin said softer.
“Well, tell me when you’re ready to try. You can’t hide behind your job forever. One day you’ll wake up and realize you let your whole life pass you and you’ll only have ‘What if’ to keep you company.”
James had already left the morning after his night shift ended and Devin was still busy writing letters for his regular clients. A stack of files lay next to the computer. He sighed deeply and picked up the pile. He felt like complaining about the big workload he received, but he wouldn’t know who to complain to. He wouldn’t even be able to recognize his boss if he saw him, which he never had.
He screened through the stack until one file got his attention. A photo of a young woman was clipped onto the cover. It was the first time he received a client that was so young. Usually his clients were in their late thirties, those were after all the years when you became fed up with your family and everyone you knew.
He realized he was staring and looked around to check if anyone had noticed. He never had an interest for clients (maybe because they were so old) and had a problem with his co-workers swooning over clients. He also didn’t feel his clients’ joy when they were celebrating or their sadness when they were mourning. It was just a job.
But for the first time he felt something. Even her name, Jena, made his heart tingle. But it was inappropriate. He threw the pile back down and went on writing a letter to Mrs. Adams about her cat that had kittens.
His eyes were sore but he didn’t want to sleep. He picked up the can to take a swig of soda, but it was empty. Irritated he threw it back down. Pictures and papers were spread across his lap. He always took his work home. But he never sat for four hours straight with it. No, this was something different. But he couldn’t help it. The life of the woman interested him too much. He had packed up to go home but couldn’t walk pass the files on his desk. He had taken one home and was now sitting with it for the hundredth time.
Jena wasn’t just beautiful, she was smart and funny too. And she cared about people. It wasn’t really a requirement or a turn on for Devin, but for some reason he respected her humanitarianism. He would do anything to be able to talk to her. But that was what scared him the most.

This is a short scene fiction story told by Olivia Kay.

What is Scene fiction?
It consists of writing one scene that tells enough to convey a story and inspires the reader to dream up what happens next.

What you can do with this Story?
You can use this Vignette as a story writing prompt. Simply take the text and write what happens before and after. Make it your own story.