Pollution

As I watched the car slowly creep down the darkened street, I had suspicions of who was driving. But as Tyler often upgraded his external devices on a regular basis, I couldn’t be sure. He was always the first one with a new car, the newest phone, the newest clothes. Everything. I never knew what he was going to have next and when. Kimberly lived down the street from me and Tyler had recently become enamored with her. He was bordering on obsession, but Kimberly so far was enjoying the attention. Which I took to mean as she was enjoying the presents Tyler was constantly bringing to her. 

Tonight was the first time I had seen this particular car slowly cruising our street so I was inclined to think Tyler was bringing another gift. But why was he driving so slowly especially since he had visited Kimberly’s house multiple times. I continued to watch as if suspended in time and waiting for the hat to drop. He had to be up to something, right? He was driving as if he was waiting for something spectacular to happen. What I wasn’t expecting was Kimberly’s house to explode and engulf Tyler’s car in the flames. 

As I grabbed my phone to dial 9-1-1, I watched as two figures slink into the street from a few doors down from Kimberly’s house. I held my thumb above the call button, mesmerized by the figures inching toward my front door. As they got closer, I could tell it was Kimberly and Tyler, but for the life of me, I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. Kimberly’s house and Tyler’s car were both burning brightly, but here they both were walking toward my house like nothing was wrong. When they walked under the streetlamp, I noticed they were ghosts of their former selves and from that moment on, my entire world was turned upside down.