Page 8 - By Any Other Name Spring 2018

Page 7 By Any Other Name

Man is an Empty Shell her tone. It was harsher, colder than her usual brusque man-
ner, as if in that moment, she had erased any remnants of
By Samantha Greenberg, Grade 12 our familiarity.
I suppose I shouldn’t have expected a love letter
I have been told many times that I possess a “nasty from the woman. Yes, I shouldn’t have been shocked by her
habit of lying, one that might get me in trouble someday.” abrupt message, given that we hadn’t talked in over nine
Regardless of the childish cautionary tales that may pervert months; and our few conversations (the term I use quite
your perception, the following events are indeed the truth, at loosely) could be boiled down to her application of a wide
least my truth. You can choose to believe me or not.
variety of expletives and murderous mutterings. But, despite
her lack of sweetness, which I assume withered away long
ago, I held no animosity towards the woman, even if on our
The note Suzanne left was brief.
last anniversary, she gifted me the experience of ducking
from flying dishes. After all, how could I, seeing as as she
8/18/1997
only got me twice?
Truly, I felt indifferent about our divorce at the time I
City Hall. 3:00 P.M.
received her note. I felt indifferent when she first brought up
the idea. Our relationship had not laid its foundations in love
~Suzanne
but rather impetuosity and obligation. Initially, we recklessly
attempted to attain the picture-perfect life, but we did not an-
ticipate the harsh reality of a life untouched and unedited. As
Her words twinged my chest, leaving traces of the time passed, we drifted apart in a rather unglamorous fash-
intense revulsion and detestation she felt for me — the kind ion. I engulfed myself in
she had never consciously revealed during our seven years work, quickly losing in- Man is an Empty Shell,
of marriage. Perhaps it was the acute finality of her periods, terest in our relationship,
but there was something else — something different about Continued on Page 8...

(Above) Elektra (Stargirl 1), Haley Brown, Grade 11, Pen and ink. (Above) Elektra (Stargirl 2), Haley Brown, Grade 11, Pen and ink.