Bridget Miller-Coogle “No Secrets”

About the Author:

I live in SouthCentral Kentucky. I found that I was inspired to write after my aunt died back in 1994. That is when I wrote my first poem and then later a short story which has since been lost. During a stressful part of my life, I turned to writing again and started working on No Secrets back in 2001. Since then I have off and on worked on it. It is still in progress. Outside of writing, I enjoy role playing, playing with my 2 toddler kids and spending time at home with my husband watching movies. My friends and husband encourage me to follow my dreams. Both my husband and I have native american roots which we are both interested in furthering. We both love animals and family, which is a very important thing to us.

“NO SECRETS”

Part One, Chapter On

By Bridget Miller-Coogle

He stepped out onto the foggy streets from the tavern, pulling a crushed pack out of his coat pocket and lit up his last cigarette, throwing the empty pack in the trash barrel next to the exit of the building. The bright full moon cascaded its light upon the lowering fog and opaque clouds in the dark velvety sky and illuminating the pavement that he began walking down from the pub. He looked down the bustling streets and crowded sidewalks that were still wet from the heavy rain earlier that evening. Sprinkles continued to fall from the sky, dotting his long, black trench coat as he walked on. Wrapping it around him to cover his tight leather pants and black shirt that clung to every muscle on his chest, he looked at the people walking into the building that he just left. He pinched the filter end of the cigarette and puffed the smoke out, exhaling the toxic fumes and finally breathed a long drawn out relaxed sigh. Looking at the street lit storefronts, he turned the corner from the bar and continues on his way.

Exhausted by the natives and their visitors walking in, trailing with them the clamor from the ongoing parties, he decided to head back to his hideaway. As a group of people walked by him, they gave him odd and fearful looks. He stared through them with his intense, piercing, dark eyes sensing all the emotions that he had at one time. The intensity that came from them, but the consciousness of others’ feeling, daring them each time to keep it inside and not to lash it out at others. He smirked at their inhibited lifestyles and continued on. He flicked the cigarette into the running water along the crevice of the street and watched it slip into the water drain and out of sight

Feeling strange in this new structure and frame of mind, he was becoming quite accustomed to it and knew that it was something that he could grow into easily. Although it wasn’t what he was quite expecting, he still revered the change, be it for the better or worse. Although set in his thinking, he still treasured his instilled values and beliefs that he held dearly to his heart, or what was left of it. He knew what the emotions that they were feeling felt like, but now, he couldn’t really regret choosing to live this way. There was no emotion that he would have to deal with, he had tried to train himself to this life previously, after many failed attempts, but not until now could he actually fit the mold that he was looking for.

He continued on down the street and looked over at the mini-mart with the people coming and going in their cars and on foot, carrying out paper bags of booze, packs of cigarette, and other random things that could come from this establishment. Starting to head toward this small building, he could hear the faint sounds of the conversations with his keen hearing, he barely had time to cross the street until his mouth started hurting from the alien growth piercing into his lower gums. He turned his head in agony out of view of the people around and darted to a nearby dumpster where he hid and muffled his screams of pain.