Unremarkable (Part Three)

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Sean Sandulak

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Hope

A new city and a new beginning, thought Hope. And she needed something new, of that she was certain. The past few years had been one long string of disasters. From the unexplained fires to the unfortunate accidents of a few coworkers, it had culminated in the death of her father, a boyfriend who couldn’t be bothered to say goodbye, and getting fired from a worthless job she didn’t even like. It had been almost too much.

She could not help feeling that she was cursed somehow. She knew it was silly to think like that. There were no such things as curses except in fairy tales. Sometimes you just have bad luck. And other times you make your own luck. It wasn’t like she was the only person to whom bad things happened. There was a lot of suffering in the world. But she always seemed to get more than her fair share.

Her shrink had said it was a persecution complex but she knew better. The bad things never touched her directly, only people and places she cared about. She would be fine if she didn’t let anyone get too close. It was a lonely way to live, but it was better than the alternative.

She was doing much better now. She had her own apartment, even if it was small and not in the best neighborhood. She had a new job working in a book store which she had to admit was a bit of a dream come true. She loved to read and spent almost all of her free time with her nose in a book. It didn’t matter much what it was. She loved them all from biographies to fantasy. And she was not above a cheesy romance, every now and then.

Since she had the next couple of days off work, she decided a little shopping was just what she needed to lift her spirits. Was that a bit cliché? A woman going shopping to help herself feel better? Well, if it was wrong, she didn’t want to be right. Maybe she would buy some shoes and ice cream and make the stereotype complete.

Then again maybe she would try and track down that guy she kept running into on the street. Today she felt lucky. Maybe this time things would be different.