It's another rainy day in the small town of Ashtabula.

A town that once prospered, but now has nothing to offer.

Gray factories, once booming, shut down.

Efficacious men hang their heads in shame.

Children grow up knowing they must depart.

The streets are littered with empty, tattered buildings.

 

I am looking out my window, wondering why anyone stays here by choice.

I want to kill myself.

The rain is cheerless and the sky is dull.

Clouds cry dramatically.

Opportunity is depressingly nonexistant.

Living here is not an option, but finances will not support relocation.

I want a family of my own and they must be cared for.

 

A vacant mall is the center of town.

Parking lots are abandoned lke orphans

Half of the elementary schools have been demolished.

Elderly citizens ramble on about Carlisle's, a forgotten complex.

What is there is show the next generation besides our lost hope.

More is lost than there is gained.

I'm sorry, life isn't fair, the real world is rough.

The cold muzzle presses against my temple. Click.