the sound of nothing by Vanessa Finn

read by James Lott Jr.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Some nights, Jacob talked out loud, just to make sure
his voice still worked. A comment to the empty kitchen,
but how the seat was too salty, A muttered joke
when the TV sitcom landed a punchline no one else
was around to hear. He hated the sound of his
own laugh when it bounced off the walls and reminded

(00:24):
him of how little space it had to travel. He
should think loneliness was just absence, no calls, no plans,
no one in the passenger seat. But it was heavier
than that. It was the way the air sat thick
in his apartment, the way the clock's tick sounded louder

(00:45):
when he had no reason to care what time it was.
It was lying in bed and realizing that no one
alive on earth was wondering what he was doing at
that very moment. He'd scroll through all messages, not to
read them, just to see proof that once he had
someone to text, proof that there was a time when

(01:09):
his name lit up someone's phone and meant something. Now
his phone was silent most days, except for reminders to
pay bills or update apps. There were no arguments, no
inside jokes, no casual touch on the arm and someone
passed them in the kitchen. There was nothing to be

(01:31):
missed except everything. Jacob got up, crossed the room and
stood by the window. The street lights flickered outside, casting
long shadows on the floor. He wished someone else could
see them too. The hardest part wasn't the silence, It

(01:55):
was knowing it was all his. That was the sound
of nothing by Vanessa Finn, read by me James lode
Junior for The Really Short Story Podcast