The Bawdy Bowler

We had just left the bowling alley when a distraction by my friend allowed me to slip away from him.

Before he could stop me, I was already down the alley and rounding the corner.

A strong breeze at my back—a breath of tantalizing freedom.

Twice I was able to evade… staying just beyond the man’s grasp.

My friend, skirting across the tightly compacted rooftops, toppled piles and clattered debris in my wake. Reaching down, they caught me—but had not the strength to extract me. Even so, without the help, I’d have been caught for certain.

With one final burst, I flung myself against a fence… but the man caught up—struck me twice with his open hand.

He grabbed me with both hands, and—in slow, almost cinematic motion—he thrust his head toward me.

As his forehead closed in, I contemplated my fate.

For one brief, glorious moment, before being thrust back onto his head, I was free, thanks to my friend—the wind.

Similar Posts

  • Going Nowhere

    The book lay open on the desk, the cigarette in the ashtray still trailing smoke. The soft murmur of the television barely covered the incessant ticking that filled the room with audible angst. The darkened room filled with a flickering puddle of light from the movie being played. The oasis of light from the desk…

  • Special Delivery

    The cracked sidewalk led up to the creaky steps of the old Victorian house. He took a deep breath… and began walking up to the porch just above the stairs. With each step, it felt like he was walking in molasses. Slowly, his legs felt heavier the closer he got. At the steps, he struggled…

  • Perfect

    The plateau, a mesa of warmth and woven shadow, beckoned to the benefactor and watcher alike, promising sights heretofore unseen in a mystical dance never beheld before, and in dreams never to be viewed again. Forgoing the temptation, the benefactor sat briefly on the edge of the plateau, legs dangling, then slid over and slowly…

  • Just In Time

    The fog-laden evening chilled him to the bone as he stood beneath the street lamp. “I am getting too old for this,” he mutters. The juxtaposing hard-soft glow of the lamps created an eerie duality of light on the street. The longshadows dancing in the wind-blown lamplight. The headlights shine on him briefly as the…

  • Infiltration

    We landed heavily throughout the city… most of us landed on the ground and slipped into hiding immediately. I was one of the unlucky ones… I hit the roof, and without a purchase to stop me, bounced off of the edge of the highest level to the next, sliding uncontrollably toward the edge—over which was…