Three to Five Years

He wanted to push him off the balcony. It didn't matter to me whether or not he did, but I encouraged him to do so. He could have made it look like an accident. Even if he got caught for irreputable manslaughter, obstruction of injustice or, at the most, the murder of an obnoxious individual, we figured, with good behavior, he'd be out of jail in three to five years. Would it be worth it? Was the sentence worth the relief?


He never did push him off that balcony.


Time and life's tortuous caress has tamed his torment. Twenty years later they never see each other. Yet they live minutes apart. Had he known that would be their fate, he may have never considered the act. But the fantasy was worth it. Similar to buying a lottery ticket knowing there is little chance of winning, but using the possiblity of winning as an excuse to mentally experience the riches.

Part of me wishes he had pushed him off that balcony. His prison stories would have been more interesting to hear about than those five years he spent working at K-Mart instead.