Aaron Vitatoe

“The Only Thing Left is a Good Death” by Aaron Vitatoe

Death had never been so certain.Now, it was the only thing sure to come, and in that realization, I should have felt fear. I should have ran. But there was no running, there was no other way this could end, and I searched for a way to find comfort in the end, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to make it happen. I couldn't end things, not like this.But I needed to try, and I needed to decide quickly how to do it.I stared down the cliff, watching the monster waves crash against the flattened rocks below, listening as the wind and...

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“Winter's Hold” by Aaron Vitatoe

He was, for a time, everything I was, too, and for that, I resented him more than I had hated anyone else before. For him, I held such a hatred in my heart that soon became consuming, whether I knew it or not. I had been watching him closely, even without realizing it. Every day, that hatred would change. Sometimes, it would become a morbid curiosity. Sometimes, it dulled to become a lingering distain, hanging over me like an afternoon sun, blinding a corner of my vision, but not doing any real harm. Hanging there just in sight enough to in...

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“Fields of Gold” by Aaron Vitatoe

He often uses the desert as an escape from his otherwise busy life. He gazes onto the horizon as he drives, focusing inward and finding peace while taking in the view of the endless dust bowl.But the look in his eyes is one of exhaustion. Maybe he has been gone for too long, taking a trip with no end in mind. Maybe he finds the idea of rest tiresome; simply an obstacle in his journey onward.Perhaps, of course, he doesn't find the desert as appealing as I do. Likely just a traveler on his way home or on his way to his real destination, he pro...

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“Lost Souls” by Aaron Vitatoe

Submitted to Contest #196

Campfire Lit.I sit down to rest, replenishing what I will need as I enter what will surely be the most menacing part of the castle.The mage told me this part runs adjacent to the Chasm, which is filled with the soulless undead. I am told the halls are filled with soldiers, roaming as husks of their former selves as they walk aimlessly and kill mercilessly.I stand up and prepare for my journey. I put on my heavy armor and pick up my double-bladed sword.Carefully, I pass through a decrepit archway. On either side is a wall just tall enough to ...

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“Our Remains” by Aaron Vitatoe

I was only 21 years old when I died. Since then, it's like the world died with me.It was sudden, thank God, and mostly painless. Well, truth be told, it was the most painful thing I've gone through, but only for a second. For a quick second, I felt the anguish of everything, and in the next moment, nothing.Still, it was nothing compared to the ongoing anguish of my brother, Ben, who seems to have died with me. Ever since my passing, he's given up. On life. On himself. And I am powerless to help him.Well, mostly powerless. He visits me, every...

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“Promiscuous” by Aaron Vitatoe

Just over an hour ago, I had been sitting on my couch, wallowing in my own self-pity.It seems so strange to think about now, but at the time, life had seemed pretty hopeless. For over a year, now, I had spent nearly every night alone. Most of my friends have stopped talking to me, and my family only cared to talk to me when it was to unload their own problems. I didn't mind most of the time, but after a while, it clicked that they never asked me about my own life. My own problems.And there were a lot. Just recently, a few old friends had die...

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“Sunk Like Treasure” by Aaron Vitatoe

Submitted to Contest #189

It was so terribly cold.Snow was falling, and it was almost dark.An outside observer would be forgiven for expecting another quiet night. As the sun fell and houses filled with their inhabitants, silence roared outside as the fluff of the snow took most of the noise.But within a house sitting far from the town, a careful observer would have heard the wails of a man, long past the point of exhaustion, soon entering hysteria. His heavy cries were blunted by the snow, but anyone listening closely would have heard it instantly. Whether it was lu...

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“Fuel to Fire” by Aaron Vitatoe

I have always lived my life in extremes.I spent my life moving around, effortlessly cutting ties, losing everything from one life as I start another. And the people I care about have grown old, many of them too old, and some, unlucky enough to never experience the privilege of old age.What I'm trying to say is that goodbyes are nothing new to me. I've done it. I've gotten good at it. But once in a while, if I'm very lucky, goodbye becomes the hardest thing to do. It stays on my mind, weighs down on me, puts enough pressure on me to where I f...

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“From Boiling to Hot” by Aaron Vitatoe

"So, what's the catch?" I say to myself in the mirror.Everything had been going well. A little too well. Which, considering the day, had been a complete turnaround from the morning. It began when I woke up, already in a mood.7:57, my clock read. Which, by itself, would have been fine. Except for the fact that I was awake, and very unwilling to be. And my alarm had been set for eight.I felt around for my phone with my left eye open and my right unwilling to be, and when I was finally sure I held it in my hand, I brought the screen up to my on...

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“A Letter I Wish You Could Read” by Aaron Vitatoe

Submitted to Contest #187

Dear Gregory, I remember the first time I heard the knocking on the door. I don't think that was your intention. I'm not even sure you knew your intention. "Go away, Greg," I had said, violently sobbing. But you wouldn't leave. It was as if you knew what I was doing in the bathroom. But there was no way for you to know, it was impossible. Yet, you insisted on coming in. Sill, I didn't want you to see me like that. To see me sobbing, on the brink of ending my own life. Still, I suppose it was better than finding my body, however you might h...

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“Hindsight” by Aaron Vitatoe

Submitted to Contest #186

I move backward. Impossibly, the person in front of me, with whom I had been most intimate, was a total stranger. A stranger who held my heart in his hands, holding all the power of the situation, possibly aware of his impact, but seemingly not caring. As I took a step back, I wondered how he could do what he had done, how he could betray my trust, how he could take both our worst fears and make it real. His eyes swelled up and tears appeared; at least he felt something. His body remained stoic. No sign of intimacy, no invitation for repriev...

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