Lost | Teen Ink

Lost

February 22, 2009
By Nicole Teng BRONZE, Singapore, Other
Nicole Teng BRONZE, Singapore, Other
1 article 1 photo 0 comments

'We're lost, aren't we?' She asked.

He gritted his teeth, unresponsive. He leaned forward and squinted through the cold, misty fog.

'No. I know where I'm going.' He leaned back and jerked the steering wheel.

'We're not getting anywhere. We're just circling around, again.'


'Just shut up and let me drive.'

'It's no use driving aimlessly. Just pull up and we'll look at where we are and then decide how we'll move on.'

'I already know where we are.'

'Lost?'

'We are not lost.'

'Pull up, will you? Stop being so stubborn. I'm just trying to help.'

'Help? You're not helping. You're being a nuisance.'

'Well, if you will get over your stupid pride already, we wouldn't end up in the middle of nowhere like we are now.'

'We are not in the middle of nowhere,' he roared.

'We are not on the highway like we're supposed to. We're not even on a road.'

'What is this that I'm driving on then?'

'A dirt path! A dirt path that leads to nowhere near where we're supposed to be. I told you to listen to me. I have a map!'

'You and your saintly map can't save us even if you tried hard enough! You can't even read a map. You barely passed geography in high school!'

'Stop throwing a tantrum! At least I'm trying! I'm trying to get us out of this mess. Why do you insist on not listening to me?'

A loud bang echoed and the engine sputtered.

And it died.

He swore and she sunk her head into her hands.

'I told you to listen to me! I told you!' Hysteria shook the car.

'Shut up! I have been listening to you repeating 'I told you so' for the hundredth time in the last two hours. Will you shut up already?!'

'Fine!' She grabbed her bag and opened the car door. 'Fine! You want me to 'shut up?' Fine! Consider it done.'

The car rattled with the force of a slamming door.

'Where do you think you're going?' He shouted at her retreating back.

Then it was silence.

Dead silence.

And then the mist hung even lower, falling, like a white sheet, into the space between them and onto the cold ground.


The author's comments:
This was inspired by Raymond Carter's "Little Things" and the minimalist short-story genre. The main focus is on the tension between the characters, highlighted through minimal details but enhanced dialogue, which contains a deeper and perhaps more significant meaning than if it were taken literally.

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