MSSSC: New Horizons

This short story is my entry to the Monthly SimLit Short Story Challenge (January 2022). You can find the challenge details in the related blog entry and forum page. The theme for this month is: new.

New Horizons

What a horrible, horrible day. I messed up everything, that’s it. And the worst part had yet to come…

Lynda was waiting for me, as usual, and probably she had also noticed already that something wasn’t right.

-I recognize that face. What happened at work this time, Raphael?- 

-Well, we are better sitting down.-

I didn’t know where to start from. Not that it mattered, she was going to scream at me anyway. Very hesitantly, all I managed to tell her was:

-I, ehm… I got fired, the chef…-

-You what? - She replied, angrily. - It’s going to take forever before we can afford a real house, why can’t you be just a bit more responsible? As if your job was difficult, you just have to not burn down the restaurant! - 

-I…-

I couldn’t listen to her anymore, it always ends this way. And, as usual, I just left and had a walk, to reflect on my life.

As predicted she was mad, very mad at me. She’s right, we have a lot of plans for the future, like finding a better home, and having kids, maybe. But how could we manage to do it, if I’m not even good at keeping a job? That’s what she thought, for sure.

All I could think of, instead, was that I couldn’t stand that situation anymore. I needed a break, I didn’t care anymore about money, nor about our future. 

At that moment, I remembered what tia Rosa always used to tell me: “When you can’t stand it anymore, just take a break, relax for a bit. Everything will appear clearer, afterwards.”

Tia was a very wise person, I trust her suggestions. And, maybe, I also had in mind what to do, during my pause for reflection…

-What a surprise, Raphael! Did Lynda really let you come this time?- 

-Well… Not exactly.-

-Have you really argued again? About what?-

-I don’t really want to talk about it...-

-I can’t blame you. What could be a better way to forget all our problems than hiking this mountain?-

Yes, he was right. When I was younger I used to hike mountains a lot, but I forgot the last time I was able to join my old times friends in one of their trips. 

-Wow, what a view!-

Snowy mountains are so wild and majestic. Hiking can be hard, it obliges us to be constantly alert and careful every time we put down a foot or climb a rock. All the problems we left back home are forgotten in the blink of an eye, and it is so easy to just focus on the wonderful scenery, getting lost in it.

-Hey Raphael, you're still good with that guitar! We thought you’d got rusty, after all this time!-

Well, they were not wrong. I never play when I’m at home, in the apartment I and Lynda live in it’s not allowed, too noisy. I realised how much I missed it only at that moment, playing again with my friends. How could I forget it? It used to be my dream, when I was a teen, did I really change that much?

-Just one last effort, I can see the top already!-

The last few meters are always the hardest, but the satisfaction once reaching the top is incredible, there isn’t anything else like it.

As expected, the view was breathtaking, everything seemed so small from there. Also the problems that were crashing me until this morning seemed so far and insignificant… C’mon, I had just climbed the tallest mountain in the region, my life’s problems were really that hard to overcome in comparison?

I’m really doing the right thing, insisting on a path that in all those years only made me more and more unhappy? From here I can see so many different places, so many possibilities… There really wasn’t any better path for me?

Tia was right, that trip really helped me to shed light on my cloudy thought, in that moment I understood what to do.

Six months later…

-Who’s the best girl in San Myshuno? It’s you, of course!-

-Woof!-

Many things changed in these months, so many I struggle at listing them all. I broke with Lynda, at that point it was clear we were just too different. Then I got a dog, I love them but Lynda was allergic. And, finally, I moved to San Myshuno, to chase the dreams I’ve hidden in a drawer for too long. 

New city, new job, new friends, new life. I didn’t know yet whether all those choices were the right ones for me or not, but I didn’t care. I was happier than I have ever been, and that was enough for me.

Words 793, 15 screenshots.