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Sunday, January 26, 2025

eddie



by nick nelson



i had traveled a long way down a dark road.

i came to a place. it looked like some sort of diner but was not well lit.

it looked small from the outside but when you went inside it seemed to have a lot of rooms.

this guy was sitting alone in a booth.

he looked at me and said hello. i did not recognize him but he looked like an ordinary guy, like me.

i sat down and we got to talking.

his name was eddie. he told me all about himself and i got to feeling i had known him all my life.

suddenly, he said excuse me, and got up and went into one of the back rooms.

i sipped my cup of cold black coffee and waited for him to return.

i waited and waited.

finally a waitress in a standard issue pink waitress dress came over to me.

i am waiting for someone, i told her.

you mean eddie?

that’s right, eddie.

i am sorry to inform you that eddie is dead.

i was stunned - more than i had ever been when anybody i really knew well died.

how did it happen, i asked.

i have some even worse news for you, the waitress said.

what is that?

eddie never really existed.

i woke up.

it was six in the morning. i had to go to work.



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