I Might Be in Trouble

by Daniel Aleman

I’ve learned the hard way that sometimes dreams aren’t everything you’d made them out to be.

This would be a beautiful morning, if there wasn’t… you know, a dead body waiting for me upstairs.

Not good enough for a steady, successful career, not good enough for my family, not good enough for an exciting, genuine love story.

Slowly, she turns to face me. “David,” she says pointedly, “there are only two things you should never ask a woman: how many fake designer pieces she owns, and whether she’s killed any of her husbands.”

I wake up every few hours feeling like I’m drowning and gasping for air, reaching for the emptiness around me as if hoping to find a hand to pull me back to the surface.