In an effort to get rid of my writer's block, I thought up this. Be gentle.
Whiskey Lullaby
Hitomi sighed, breathing in the familiar scent of home. It had been so long since she had been here, decades it seemed. She couldn’t wait to see Rika again.
A laugh down the hallway alerted her that her lover was in the bedroom. With a smile, Hitomi made her way towards the sound. The bedroom door was cracked, allowing light to spill into the hallway and another giggle filtered through to Hitomi’s ears. She gave the door a push and the two figures in bed looked up at her entrance.
There were no words spoken, none were needed, the crime was obvious. When Hitomi left, Rika followed her out, shouting for her to come back. Hitomi hopped into her truck and drove away.
She put him out,
Like the burnin’ end of a midnight cigarette
Taking a long swig from the bottle in her hands, Hitomi looked up into the blue sky through the branches of the tree above her. It was by chance that they’d found this hidden niche, but it had quickly become their favorite place. It was the place that Rika had promised Hitomi that she would wait.
She broke his heart,
He spent his whole life tryin’ to forget
She couldn’t remember how she’d gotten to the bar, or when she’d started dancing, but suddenly any happiness she’d felt was gone and she was thrashing against the restraining arms of the bouncers. They escorted her to her truck and left her with the threat not to come back again.
Hitomi reached into her truck and pulled out the Jack Daniels underneath her seat, ripping off the cap and guzzling a mouthful. She leaned against the bed of the truck and emptied the contents of her stomach next to the tire. On the street, a familiar car drove slowly past.
We watched him drink his pain away,
A little at a time
Leaning her back against the rough alley wall, Hitomi caught the scent of home that seemed to pass by right in front of her. Eyes tearing up, she took a sip and Jack, absently watching the light flicker above her head. The sound of heels on the pavement had her whipping around and looking for a familiar face to pass by the alleyway. No one was there.
But he never could get drunk enough
To get her off is mind
Until the night
Sitting huddled in the front seat of the car, Hitomi took a long drink of Jack. She’d sold the truck to buy more whiskey and had gone down the row until she’d found an unlocked car. All she wanted was a place to drink. An arm reached in and pulled her out roughly, making her struggle instinctively. A man whom she assumed owned the car pushed her down onto the concrete, yelling something at her. She couldn’t understand.
He put that bottle to his head
And pulled the trigger
Hitomi tilted the bottle upwards, attempting to get the last drops from the bottom and coming out empty handed. Suddenly angry, she threw the bottle against the wall, feeling satisfied at the sound it made when it shattered. She turned and headed to the liquor store.
And finally drank away her memory
Life is short, but this time it was bigger
Than the strength he had to get up off his knees
Crouched in the door frame, Hitomi sobbed against the bottle in her arms. Everything was empty. She took another long drink of whiskey, trying to forget. Slowly, she sank down to the floor.
We found him with his face down in the pillow
With a note that said, ‘I’ll love her ‘til I die’
She struggled with the curtain, tangled deep in its hold. Her bottle dropped to the ground and smashed against the hard floor, whiskey spilling across the tile. It seemed to happen in slow motion, but then the floor was coming up to meet her and Hitomi fell.
And when we buried him beneath the willow
The angels sang a whiskey lullaby
The preacher’s words were muffled by the sound of her heart breaking. Rika stood dressed in black and staring at the freshly turned earth mound in front of her, a simple wooden cross marking the grave.
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la
Rika locked eyes with one of the older women at the modest service, and watched her lean up to whisper something to her husband. Rika knew that the whole town knew why Hitomi drank. Shame colored her heart.
The rumors flew
But nobody knew how much she blamed herself
Her hands sunk uselessly in the dish water, the southern comfort sending a shadow to loom over the sink. Rika shook her head and cleaned the small glass in the hands, rinsing it and drying it at once. Then she took the whiskey and poured until the glass was full.
For years and years
She tried to hide the whiskey on her breath
She wiped away a smudge of lipstick, her hand not steady enough to apply it right the first time. She glanced at the Comfort sitting on her dresser, watching over her. She stood and stumbled over to snag the bottle, taking a drink and savoring the burning in her throat.
She finally drank her pain away
A little at a time
Rika allowed the man to twirl her around, giving a laugh and a smile to make it seem like she was having fun. He pulled her to him and she was staring into Hitomi’s eyes, being spun around by her lover’s hand. The man faded back into focus and Rika was running out of the bar before he knew what happened.
But she never could get drunk enough
To get him off her mind
Until the night
Rika kneeled next to the grave, dropping the rose on top of the mound and taking a drink from her bottle. She held up the whiskey in a salute, then chugged back the last few gulps. Unsatisfied, her hand fell limply by her sides and she stared forlornly at the simple cross, reading the name again and again.
She put that bottle to her head
And pulled the trigger
Angrily, Rika shoved the half naked man out of her room, unable to fathom what she’d been thinking earlier when she’d let him into her home. Feeling the tears come to her eyes, she blindly searched for her southern comfort.
And finally drank away his memory
Life is short, but this time it was bigger
Than the strength she had to get up off her knees
In one hand she clutched the whiskey bottle sitting on the bedside table, and in the other hand she held a picture of Hitomi. Lying face down on the bed, she looked to Hitomi’s side of the bed. It had been so long since she had seen her lover, she knew that she had promised to wait, but she didn’t know how much longer she could take being alone. Her eyes drooping, Rika wondered when Hitomi would get home.
We found her with her face down in the pillow
Clinging to his picture for dear life
The service was small, the tragic death just another sad story in the town. The preacher’s words were barely heard over the absent thoughts of those present, the simple wooden cross barely standing out against the freshly turned earth. A few flowers were laid on the new grave and even fewer on the older one next to it.
We laid her next to him beneath the willow
While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby
A young girl lingered behind, staring at the willow tree as her parents moved on. She smiled, seeing the shadows dancing together in the shade.
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la
la la la la la la la…
----- The song is Whiskey Lullaby by Brad Paisely. It's really very touching, you should give it a listen, they have it on Youtube.
Topic: Whiskey Lullaby (Read 4423 times)