This is a #storygram (mini-stories) from my Instagram, which you can get to via the social media links at the top of this site. I do my best to make them a daily thing for you to enjoy and share with your friends! I really love making them, as they allow me to simultaneously scratch my photography and writing itches while I’m busy with filmmaking. Thank you very much for reading and sharing them! Don’t forget to check out my film Portfolio too!
The Story:
He ran the same route every day. He used the same bowl for breakfast. He wore the same shirt to work. His friends said he would lose his mind if he didn’t allow for some variety. But he felt the opposite was true.
This day began like any other. The sun was only hinting its existence over the horizon. As he was running his route, he let his feet fall into the same memorized spots again and again.
He began to hear a faint sound as he ran. At first he dismissed it as an odd bird in the distance, but as it grew louder, he slowed his pace and broke his perfect foot placements. He looked down and noticed a water pipe that seemed to contain the sound.
“Just ignore it, Tim,” he tried to will himself. Despite practicing a perfect routine, he felt the humanness in him pull toward curious discovery. The clanging kept growing louder and louder.
He had to know. After all, it could be an animal needing help.
He bent down and slipped his fingers under the lid with his arm stretched as far away from his face as it would go. Taking a deep breath and holding it, he ripped the lid off. The sound stopped.
Slowly, he inched his eyes closer to look into the pipe. As he peered over the last bit of edge and straight into the pipe, he sighed as he only saw his own cautious expression in the water. The reflection gazed back and blinked.
“Wait… I didn’t blink,” he thought.
Suddenly, his reflection turned to desperate rage, beating its already bloody fists against the metal pipe and creating the same clanging sound. It was screaming something, but he couldn’t hear it; only that horrible clanging.
He was horrified, but he knew he wanted to take action, any action. He grabbed the pipe’s lid and started to put it back on. It was obvious his reflection knew what was happening. It began beating the pipe harder, and this time he could make out the word “no” being screamed at him, repeatedly.
He slid the lid into place, obscuring the reflection, and stepped back into his familiar foot placements. The clanging began to slow. It slowed some more. One last clang… And silence.
He continued his perfect day.