First Short Story

 Anderson stepped out on to the street; at least it felt like a street.  Lately things haven't been feeling what they were supposed to feel like; solid but not quite solid things of that nature.  Real but not quite real.  It was so odd, he couldn't quite explain it.  Sometimes it went so far that he could only partially touch things.  His mind, don't even get him started; his mind sometimes felt like it was hazy, clouded; unclear.  All of this was going on at the worst possible time in his life.  

 His job had taken a turn for the worst; management was piling more and more responsibility on him and not giving him the means or the time to complete his jobs.  The paperwork was overwhelming too; the phone was constantly ringing.  Anderson thought that the best thing to do was quit but he desperately needed the money.  His apartment was a mess; hadn't the time or the energy to clean it or the supplies to clean it properly.  The landlord basically gave him a month to clean it or else.  It seemed like everything was falling apart; everything he worked for his entire life.  Then it happened.

 He was walking home one night; his car had broke down on the side of the road; engine failure.  No one even stopped to offer him a ride home.  It was cold, dark, and the wind was blowing right through his thin coat.  Then again, at this time of night in his area of town, no one really came out much past sunset.  The neighborhood changed after dark.  Took on a more sinister nature like it was just waiting for something to happen so that it could be protected under the guise of darkness.  Finally Anderson made it home, his shaky hands reaching in his thinly lined pocket for his keys.  Like the outside world his apartment was dark and slightly chilled.  Anderson flipped on the light and the heater; he couldn't afford to run it all the time though because well heat was expensive.

Dropping his keys on the dresser that stood silently by his door he headed to the kitchen to fix himself some dinner.  Pulling out some chicken breast to bake in the oven he decided he would take a shower while waiting for it and try to relax.  Anderson dropped his thoroughly chilled clothes on the bed and made the shower all steamy before stepping in.  It was going to be a long night as they always are when one lived alone.  Anderson didn't watch much television as nine times out of ten there wasn't anything good on anyway.  His stereo only picked up the local stations which to the casual music listener didn't offer much.  Tired, hungry, freezing and annoyed he stepped in the shower and let the water warm his chilled body.  The steam felt so nice to him and so did the sound of the water going down the drain.  Tomorrow would be a better day he thought, it has to be...he didn't know what tomorrow would actually bring.