The small red dot keeps blinking on and off, almost like a heartbeat. 27 pending messages.

The phone rings once again and once again I don’t answer.

The small red dot keeps blinking on and off, almost like a heartbeat

I’m not mad, not even hurt… I just don’t care anymore. A beep signals the start of the recording. The voice in the line pleads, then demands, even threatens. It’s all background noise to me now, words devoid of meaning or emotion.

I was scared at first, not sure if life had meaning beyond the mutual pain we had dubbed love. I had woken many times in the middle of the night with the certainty of his body beside mine… then cried myself to sleep over the empty half of the bed we used to share.

I remember very clearly the exact moment when my heart finally broke. Unlike what I expected, I wasn’t even thinking about him when it happened. I was waiting for the first morning coffee to brew when I looked out of the window and noticed the passing clouds.

There was no pain, no jagged shards cutting thru my innards, I didn’t shed a single tear. It was just a quiet and single hollow crack.

My eyes blurred for just a moment before returning to the clouds. Suddenly my nose was filled with the strong and tender smell of fresh brewed coffee… I started chuckling, and then laughing as I realized it was the smell of new found freedom.

The small red dot keeps blinking on and off, almost like a heartbeat. 28 pending messages.

I take one last sip from my coffee and look around the empty apartment. My bags are waiting in the car. I pick my backpack from the table, lock the door, and shed our past together.

The phone rings again… there’s no one there to answer

The small red dot keeps blinking on and off, almost like a heartbeat.