Ball Drop

Dean assesses his past at the turn of the year. 300-word flash.

Ball Drop

Dean prepared himself a beverage. He sat down on his couch and turned on his set. They were just counting down. He sat up straight, raised his glass just as the screen erupted with the sound he had been waiting for.
“Happy New Year!” He toasted the set and took a sip of his coffee. Even five years sober, he couldn’t say he didn’t miss having an alcoholic drink on this night but was glad he didn’t.
“It’s never just one,” he reminded himself as he drank from his cup a little at a time.
Quitting alcohol was one of the hardest things he’d ever managed to do. Even today, the longing was there still. The second hardest was giving up hard drugs. The craving for them was gone, but the longing for the oblivion they gave him, still lingered.
“I will stay strong, I will not give in,” he repeated to himself like a mantra. He reached for the bowl on the table.
“Handfuel nuts! I love the coconut especially!” he told himself as he munched away. He quickly changed to an old movie channel.
“This is great, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is on!” As interested as he was in one of his favorite movies, he found himself nodding. As he drifted off, he began to dream.
He woke up suddenly, a scream echoing through his apartment. He wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his pajamas. He blinked.
The TV screen was dark, so he turned it off. He got up and went to the window. The streets were lit up and full of revelers. Dean stood shivering as he looked, unseeing, out the window.
“I feel like Scrooge and George rolled into one. How different my life would have been if I hadn’t changed myself!