SOBRIETY

In a big open grass field area but the grass is not green, it’s white. A man that’s a skeleton wakes up in the grass with a thorn crown on his head. He looks around to see nothing but grass blowing in the wind, he couldn’t even see far because there was fog in the distance. He then hears whistling behind him. Turning around, he sees a big skeleton with a robe with a muted, low-saturation tone to it like charcoal, dark slate grey, deep blues, and earthy naturals such as beige and taupe color. He’s sitting in a wooden chair stirring in a big black pot with a wooden spoon. The whistles and bubbling from the pot fills the silence in the field. The man begins to ask a question.

“Where am I?”

The whistling stops but the skeleton continued to stir.

“You’re in the light,” responded the skeleton.

“The light?”

“This is where you regret your life’s choices that includes alcohol or drugs before you die.”

“Am I dead?”

“Yes.

“I wasn’t ready to die.”

“Redemption is upon you.”

“What’s your name?” asked the man.

“Sobriety.”

The field became quiet. All you can hear is the wind and boiling from the pot.

The silence was broken when a bark can be heard close to Sobriety. A skeleton dog comes behind the pot and runs towards the man. Sobriety yelled the dog’s name.

“CHIP! He’s not a threat.”

The dog growls as he walks backwards towards the skeleton. The man walks slowly towards Sobriety. He approaches Sobriety and sees him stirring what appears to be soup in the pot. There was sprouted lentils, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and cumin in the pot.

“Sit,” said Sobriety.

A wooden chair rises from the ground behind the man. Sobriety continues to stir as the man takes a seat. He then asks Sobriety a question.

“What are you making?”

“Soup.”

“Why?”

“For people like you.”

The man couldn’t see Sobriety’s face because of his hood. Trying to see what he looks like; he gets startled by Sobriety’s question.

“What’s your name?”

“Josh.”

“Do you know how you died, Josh?”

“I don’t know.”

“You were going home back to your girlfriend’s house after your mother’s birthday party drunk. You promised her you wouldn’t drink there but you did.”

“I-

“Going too fast from pure anger, you lost control of your vehicle and being thrown in a ditch somewhere at night.”

“Jesus.” Josh covered his face with his hands.

“Do you know why you and your mother fought?”

“Because I was drunk?”

“Because you broke a promise of not drinking and being there with her. With your father passed away, she needed your help with jobs, money, and emotional support.”

Josh just starred at Sobriety’s hood.

“Your mother doesn’t know your dead yet. How would she feel if you drove away drunk?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you’re about to know.”

The field began to change into a graveyard, tombstones rising from the ground as the fog clears away to see more tombstones in the distance. Chip begins to bark at a person kneeling in the distance behind Josh. He walks closer to person kneeling but still couldn’t figure out who it is. Approaching the person, Josh quickly found out it was his mother crying while kneeling in front of the grave with the words “Joshua Marksman.”

Sobriety stands behind Josh, but he still looks at his mother when Sobriety speaks.

“Your mother comes here every day to pay her respects to you for an hour.”

“Mom,” Josh said as he puts his hand on her face.

“After all the fights, drinking, lying, and kicking you out of the house, she still loved you because you were her son. She still loved you because she knows deep down your Josh.”

Josh begins to cry while hugging her mother.

“I’m so sorry mom. Fuck, what have I become?”

“You and your father were very close before he passed away from leukemia. He would always warn you about alcohol and how it would affect you and your mother. After his death, you thought you needed a distraction, so you chose alcohol. You knew the risks, but you drank anyway. Your mother kicked you out when it got worse and prayed you would come back, but you never did. And now you are living at your girlfriend’s house.”

Chip whimpers and lays down next to Josh as he continues to hug his mom. He then looks at Chip and pets him. Josh keeps looking at his mom, then back at his grave. Looking up at Sobriety, he sees a skeleton head with no eyes in his sockets but has white pupils.

“Okay,” said Josh.

“Okay what?” responded Sobriety.

“Okay to me stopping to drink. For my mom and I.”

“Josh, you have made a promise to your mother and yourself. Breaking this promise, you won’t have another chance. Do you understand?”

Josh looks at his mother.

“Yes, I do.”

Sobriety walks over to the pot and grabs a bowl from the ground. He pours the soup into the bowl and walks over to Josh. Sobriety hands Josh the bowl. Josh looks up at Sobriety then hears Chip barking. He looks at chip barking and wagging his tail with his tongue out next to Sobriety. As Josh takes a sip, a big white flash passes his eyes, and he wakes up in a hospital bed. He looks around to see his arms and legs in bandages. On his left, he sees his mother sleeping while resting her head on the bed close to Josh’s legs while his girlfriend is sleeping on a chair behind her. Josh looks at the window and sees a reflection of Sobriety and Chip on the window. A bloody tear went down Josh’s cheek.

Marcello Senerchia’s flesh and blood is from New Jersey. For an imaginative person, Marcello writes stories and scripts for fiction and non-fiction. In his spare time, he plays video games, works out, hangs out with friends, or does YouTube entertainment. Follow his Instagram @marcello_senerchia on Instagram.