MISERY - SHORT FICTION

 I put on the T.V and crashed into my sofa. It was the Olympics season and all the T.V stations where covering the event.

I was a sport enthusiast but I wasn't interested.

I was laid off from work two weeks back, my wife's shop caught fire four days back, my mom was yet to be discharged because we haven't paid her bills and the landlady has been on my neck for her rent.

I was becoming depressed, I was giving up on life.

The sound of the gunshot drifted my mind out of my deep thoughts.

"The race is on" the commentator said.

It was the 100 metres Sprint final.

Suddenly, one of the athletes tripped and fell.

"That should be the end of the race for her" the commentator remarked.

But to my utmost surprise, she got up. And even when the race had already been won, she continued running to the finish line.

She didn't win the race but she completed it.

"Talk about not giving up" the commentator said.

That was what I needed to see, and hear.

I felt inspired.

Just as I stood up to go to the kitchen to grab a bite, my cell phone rang and I picked up

“Mr. Okon, your daughter just got hit by a car. She’s dead.”

I felt numb.