“Are you ready?” asked Cori.
“Umm… well I think we’ve got everything. You?”
“I feel ready,” said Cori, “I’m so excited!”
No! We can’t go yet. Maybe next year Cori. Maybe we’ll go then.
I smiled, “I know! Me too. Okay, well let’s go then.”
Cori walked out of the house and waited for me by the cab that would take us to the airport. The morning sun reflected off her perfectly smooth skin. A more beautiful woman could not exist.
The man inside the cab waited for us as he read a paper, unaware that he would be taking us on a one way trip.
What’s that? Maybe I can punch a hole in one of the tires. Maybe I can kill the cab driver.
“You look radiant!”, I said and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, “Ladies first.”
Cori entered the cab and I sat next to her. It smelled of a musky pine odor, a freshener too old to be pleasant.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this. Hey!” she leaned forward to talk to the driver, “Did you know we’re going to climb Mount Everest?”
“Really? Wow,” the driver looked at us briefly, “You guys look fit. I could never do something like that. Good luck! Are you ready to go?”
Ummm… no. Sorry, I… I’m not ready, I’m sorry I wasted your time sir. I’ll still pay you for the drive to the airport, but we’re not going.
“Yeah, let’s go.” I said.
No! No. Stop! Sir, we’re not going! Stop the car!
“This is going to be the best,” Cori looked at me from her side of the cab, “We’re never going to forget this. I love you!”
Let’s not go honey. Please. Let’s stay, let’s go inside and cook dinner. Let’s go inside and make love. Let’s go back and forget we ever wanted to do this.
But I could not say those words, and I could not convince her, because she was only a memory. I opened my eyes and found myself laying on a bed of rocks on the scorched Earth that had killed humanity so many millions of years ago. And I shed a tear. And I closed my eyes again.
