Prompt: 102. sledgehammer
1. It felt like a sledgehammer pounding in his head. Yet another debilitating headache to remind him that things had been going too well lately.
A. It felt like a sledgehammer pounding in his head. Yet another debilitating headache to remind him that things had been going too well lately. He pinched his lips together to hold in a moan of pain and kept his expression from crumbling through pure force of will.
Reaching into his pocket, he took out his sunglasses and put them on over his eyes. It felt better to have the light-level lowered even that little bit, though the headache was still there and signaling that it was going to stay a while.
2. There was a keen sense of satisfaction involved with smashing ceramic with a sledgehammer.
A. There was a keen sense of satisfaction involved with smashing ceramic with a sledgehammer. The impact and the followup crashing shatter made her laugh in glee. Who would have thought that breaking stuff would be so much fun? She’d been missing out her whole life.
Once she was done smashing all of his plates, bowls, and mugs, she tossed aside the sledgehammer and went for the lighter fluid and matches. She’d already tossed all of his clothes and shoes in a large metal garbage can. It was a matter of moments to get the fire blazing good and bright.
3. It felt ironic somehow that he had grown up to work at the same sledgehammer factory where so much traumatic history had gone down.
A. It felt ironic somehow that he had grown up to work at the same sledgehammer factory where so much traumatic history had gone down. There were ghosts around every corner and emotional triggers hidden in every room. Yet he was able to hold onto the secret of his past, compartmentalizing for everything he was worth. Not one of his coworkers had any idea who he used to be.
It was a relief that no one knew. He hated the pity he received from people once they learned his life history. The “Oh, so that explains it” follow-up look was the only thing worse.
He was glad to be another anonymous face in the crowd, judged only on what people could see of him. He didn’t want any of his coworkers to know who he used to be. Because he wasn’t that person anymore. He wasn’t.
.paypal.me/HarperKingsley.
.patreon.com/HarperKingsley.
.amazon.com/?tag=harperkingsley-20.
