Trigger Words
"Loping along through the moonlight..." I sang again, trying to recapture the rest of the song's lyrics. I must have heard it somewhere today, muzak on the elevator, a department store, or a turned up radio from a passing car. Either that was all that I had heard, or my mind was messing with me. Again.
I climbed up onto the ledge of the scenic lookout, not caring about the scene at all. What had caught this song into an endless loop in my head? I felt like some hypnotist's victim, and now that I had heard the trigger words, I was supposed to be doing something. On top of not knowing the rest of the lyrics, though, I didn't know what it was that the hypnotist wanted me to do.
Loping along through the moonlight... I tried singing it again. I repeated the phrase in numerous tones of voices. I tried forgetting about it again, which hadn't worked any of the times I had tried it. I vowed I would give up soon, as it had appeared hopeless hours ago, despite google searches, frantic calls to friends and family, nothing would give up the next line of lyrics. I had started to doubt that it was even a song. Maybe it was simply a combination of words that my mind had put together, and was now torturing me with them.
Screw it. I stood on the ledge, toes hanging dangerously over. A strong wind right now and I would be plummeting to my painful death into a waterless riverbed, full of rocks. Which was about what I wanted. What idiot wrote that song anyway? I couldn't even remember that.
Loping along through the moonlight... I decided it was a good metaphor for my life right now. And if I only knew the next line, my problems might not seem so bad.
I decided, and then vowed, this was the absolute last time. If the words, or the meaning didn't pop into my head this time, I was going over the edge. There wasn't much for me right now, I was just loping along without much hope. No romantic moonlight, depressing rain maybe, but no moonlight.
I took a deep breath, I edged closer, ready to jump, and started the line again, hoping that the answer would come.
Loping along through the moonlight...
Sometimes the answers don't always come when we want them to, I thought on my way down, back to my car.
It was a stupid song anyway.
10 Comments:
I felt like some hypnotist's victim, and now that I had heard the trigger words, I was supposed to be doing something.
Nice. It's like that feeling of déja vu, where you are sure you know what will happen next, but you don't. It's eerie.
I loved this. Poor guy. A song drove him almost over the edge. But then he decided to saw: "Screw it. Not today."
Nice work. You really write quite well.
Ditto Fritz. You're quite good. And always with humor, which I love.
Thanks you all. It means a lot that you took the time to come here first, but then actually read and comment.
And Baby J, I do almost everything with humor, it keeps me sane.
Some songs DO make me want to jump off a cliff!
Nice alternative to the warewolf theme that was so popular this week.
Nice job, Bobby. Right on!
The Real Me, thanks. Oddly, the wolf theme didn't even pop into my mind. But my mind works in weird ways.
Damasta, thanks a lot. :)
Oh, I was really worried there for a minute. I'm glad he decided to be patient & wait for the answers.
I actually read this awhile ago, but I guess I didn't comment.
When I saw the FFF line, it immediately locked me into a werewolf mindset. Your story has shown me that it doesn't lock you in at all, you just have to be creative in how you use it. I did that with my story "Thirsty", creatively using puctuation to alter "If only I had been able to retireve the (x) before ... ". Thanks for reminding me about that flexibility.
I drank three glasses of water while reading thirsty, SG.
I am extremely flexible, it makes my dates more fun.
i thought it was a song by journey or styx...
great job relaying this into text!
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