Two Individuals - Camden

PROMPT: Two People On The 83rd Floor Of The Second Twin Tower Who Have Just Watched The First Tower Fall

--

“I wonder what happens when you die.”
“I guess we’ll find out.”

The two men sit cross legged on the 83rd floor of the second twin tower. They watch New York through a gaping hole in the wall. A beam had fallen in the tremors, shattering the floor-to-ceiling window. Everyone else had already jumped.

The first tower falls. The first man sighs, pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and offers it to the other man.

“No thank you. I don’t smoke.”
“Are you sure? Last day on Earth.”
“I’m asthmatic.”

“Well, okay.” As dust wafts up from the ruins of the first tower, as smoke billows past them and out through the open wall.

“I never liked you,” he says, taking a drag. The other man nods.

“Me either.”
“Of course, I have a degree in Freudian Psychology, so actually, I think I’m in love with you.”
“What did you do with a degree in Freudian Psychology?”
“Got a job here.”

They fall silent, listening to the creak of the building above, the sirens below, the screams all around.

“I’m straight,” says the other man. “And I think I will have a cigarette.”

“Are you sure? Last day on Earth.” But he hands him a cigarette, smiling. A cigar may just be a cigar but a cigarette rarely is. It’s classic phallic fixation. He shakes his head, says, “I never really knew.”

“What?”

“Sexuality. Or Freud. Or why I got a job here. Or where we go when we die.”

The other man looks thoughtful. “None of that is very important now, anyway. Death is, as JM Barrie wrote, an awfully big adventure.”

“JM Barrie.”
“I majored in Children’s Literature.”
“And you got a job here?”
“I got a job here.”

The creaking and groaning of the tower grows more ominous.

“I suppose the tower is going to collapse.”
“Yes.”

They stand and throw their cigarette butts out the gaping hole in the wall. He feels heavy, but a little bit giddy, like a teenager.

“Shall we jump?”
“Nah.”

The creaking is louder and there’s rumbling from the ground. The smoke is darker, thicker, making his eyes sting. He realizes suddenly that he’s shaking..

“Are you leaving anything behind?” shouts his companion over the roar of the world rushing up to meet them.

“Not really, are you?”
“No.”

His companion turns to him, throws his arms around him and kisses him. The second tower collapses.