The Shower

A man walks into his bathroom. He undresses himself and drops his dirty clothes onto the floor. He sets his water to a reasonably hot temperature, lets the water run until it’s warm, and steps into the shower. He begins to relax as the water reaches its optimum temperature; steam gently begins to rise and fill the room. Hot water eases the tense muscles on his back and shoulders and suds of soap dance across his body, washing away the dirt on his hands, arms, face and legs. The man’s mind begins to ease; in his contemplation he finds himself content with the day’s proceedings. His mind relaxes further, catching up to his relaxed body, and, during this pause, this moment of intimate solitude and relaxation, a thought appears in the man’s mind.

“What if I died right now?”

Then, a few more appear.

“Seriously, it could happen. Sara’s friend’s husband died at 30 from an arrhythmia. Not all manners of death are meticulous like old age or cancer; some misfortunes crush us in one blow. My family and all of my loved ones wouldn’t know how much I care about them. None of them would ever get a chance to speak to me again. All of those beautiful people and the years of friendship we’ve built, the years of triumph and defeat, would disappear. They could cry; oh, how much they WOULD cry and how little it would do for them! I’d be gone forever, no longer able to make memories with anyone.”

His stomach winds itself tightly, and his racing pulse puts pressure on his temples. He closes his eyes and begins to imagine the faces of his parents. He sees the faces of old lovers and his best friend. Memories of grade school pour into his mind’s eye, and he remembers his grandmother’s loving presence reassuring him as a child.

A smile creeps in as his cheeks reflexively retract and his teeth reveal themselves proudly; his pulse begins to settle. With his eyes now open, he washes away any remnants of soap left on his body. He turns off the water, pushes open the shower curtain, and grabs a towel from the rack to his right. He dries his body with the towel, wraps it around his waist and picks up his dirty clothes from the floor; shutting the light as he leaves, he walks out of the bathroom and into his bedroom. There, he puts on his clean clothes and throws the wet towel and dirty clothes in the hamper. He walks out of his bedroom and into the kitchen to get something to eat. Later that night he will write about his experience in the shower.