Wordsmiths Fiction Week 2: Season 24 – The Envelope"
Diego’s night shifts at the 24-hour gas station were usually chill. A few truckers passing through, some tired college kids grabbing energy drinks, and the occasional confused tourist asking for directions. Nothing out of the ordinary. But on the seventh night of his new schedule, things got weird.
At exactly 2:17 in the morning, a rusted blue sedan pulled into the lot. The driver didn’t get out. He just sat there, staring straight at Diego through the glass for a few seconds, then drove off. It was odd, but not scary. At first.
When it happened again the next night, and the one after that, Diego started feeling uneasy. The guy never did anything. Just watched. Like he was waiting for something. Or someone.
Diego told his supervisor, who barely looked up from his old computer. “People are weird,” he mumbled, typing one-handed while sipping gas station coffee.
Still, Diego couldn’t shake it. The man’s face looked kind of familiar, though he couldn’t place it. On the fourth night, Diego finally stepped outside to ask what was going on. But the sedan had already disappeared.
Later that shift, while taking out the trash, Diego spotted something behind the ice machine. A plain white envelope. His name was written on the front in neat, block letters.
Diego took the letter and left.
What's happening
Diego is sitting on the only stool in his cramped, dark studio. He has been staring at the envelope on the console ever since he got back. Outside the window, sky is heavy... suffocating.
Against the wall, an unfinished painting rests on the stand just to right of window. In it, a blue sedan is seen parked on a slope’s edge. Along the same wall, there are more canvases piled up, showing the same sedan painted from different angles, at different locations.
Flashback 1
You crook! Pay back loan straight away, or next time I'll smash your head along with car window!
Adam is out of control and kicks the sedar parked on roadside.
Please... this is my dad's car, and... and... just give me a little more time. I'll pay you back in a week. Diego gasped.
His tangled thoughts wrap around him like a spider's web. Many flashes spark... that blue sedan, the staring man, another white envelope lying in his drawer, mountain slope, moonlight and the cash.
But all of this feels so disconnected, like there’s no alignment . He wants to open the envelope many times, but he doesn’t dare. After spending the whole humid day in the darkness of studio, Diego finally gets up, it’s time for the next shift.
Flashback 2
Jack, buddy! You know if I don’t pay back Adam’s loan, he’ll kill me.
Diego’s last resort was asking his dear friend Jack for money.
Man, you know my money’s stuck somewhere too.If I had anything, I wouldn’t hesitate to help.
Jack’s helplessness felt like a performance to Diego. He sighs and turns to leave, but Jack puts a hand on his shoulder and said
You’re my brother, more than anything else. I'll see what I can do.
hmmmm... Diego murmured without turning and walked away.
Whatever will happen.
Diego will leave the studio and go to the gas station. And there, people will be just like they are every day, same nose ,rush and of course supervisor. He’ll wait for the blue sedan driver but this time, restlessness reflects from him.
At exactly seventeen minutes to two, the car will arrive. Diego will leave his work and walk to the car. Right then, he’ll look straight into man’s eyes. It will feel like looking into a mirror. He'll face his darker self.
Flashback 3
Today’s my lucky day, Diego! Look, I got the full payment from that idiot.
Jack winks with excitement and closes the car door. He puts his bag to the back.
Now I’m taking Kate on her dream vacation!
He smiles again on imagination of joy in upcoming days.
Diego glances at him, and somewhere inside, a mix of longing and envy stirs.
He’ll open the door and get in. The rusted sedan will drive off from the gas station, taking different routes until it reaches the same hillside ...one stained with blood.
Diego will step out, trembling but walk straight ahead. On edge he will stand for a while and ... jump off . A few moments of noise... then eternal silence.
Flashback 4
When Jack was tumbling down the slope, he grabbed onto a branch as it was his last hope. In that single second, his voice held disbelief and pain.... a pain that overshadowed everything around.....Save me....
The words hit Diego’s like a hammer, but Jack’s hand slipped before the sentence could finish.
What happened
It was a winter night. The time was 2:17. Diego had picked Jack up from outside his debtor’s house. Old jazz played in car, but still, the tension between them kept rising. After driving a long while, they reached a hillside on their way.
Diego parked his sedan and told Jack, I feel suffocated, need some fresh air.
He asked too.
Come on, look! maybe you’ve never seen the silver spread over dark like this.
Jack stepped out. Together, they reached the edge of slope. The depth was so vast that even the moonlight couldn’t show how deep it was.
Diego pushed Jack down. A few moments of chaos, and then silence.... the same silence that will return when Diego falls, years later. A pause and then he thought about the cash in car. It was relaxing that now he had enough money to pay his loan.
Flashback 5
Diego came back after paying his debt. He was calmed and composed.
I should make some coffee and play some jazz... ah not that...
he talked to himself.
I guess I should buy a coffee machine. I can import it with that bloody money.
He laugh. He makes coffee,and then he remembers the bag.
He pulls it from the cabinet and pours down all the things in it and there was a white envelope had 'DIEGO' in bold on it.
He opens it... There were some bills and a folded paper.He opens the paper and a line shines there, Dear friend Diego! I hope it's not too late..
That is the same envelope now lying in the drawer.
The white envelope lying on the console
That envelope still lies in the darkness of the studio. Inside it, just a card... signed by Diego’s colleagues for his birthday... and a chocolate bar containing marshmallow inside.
@ezun1 , @suryati1 @sojib1996 you r invited guys
Terimakasih atas undangannya temanku semoga anda beruntung 🌹🙏