written by TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter
I thought it might roll beneath the ottoman and be lost in the darkness beneath never to be seen again.
I thought it might fall into the abyss of a wormhole to another dimension just out of reach.
I thought it might befriend the lonely sock I lost in San Francisco, 82 miles away.
I thought they might be fast friends.
I thought they might be a good match because the color of the ring’s gemstone complements the colors of the socks striped pattern. But I would never know for sure because I’m color blind.
I thought they’d band together to fend off the hoard of ferocious spiders that are surely native to the world beneath the furniture.
I thought in 30 years, or in 80 years, or in 10 years when the new owners of the house redecorate, they might find it under the fridge or beneath the carpet.
I thought they might take note of the engravings on the ring and search the internet for “TreVaughn Roach-Carter SFSU class of 2019” and discover a famous author who once lived in their daughter’s bedroom.
I thought they might try to track me down to return it.
I thought they might sell it on eBay.
I thought they could search “TreVaughn Roach-Carter SFSU class of 2019” and find the Facebook page of a failed writer and send him a message telling him he could drive the 15 minute drive to retrieve his ring whenever he wants.
I thought they might not even try to find the ring’s owner and just stuff it away somewhere to be forgotten.
I dropped my ring and I thought it might roll beneath the ottoman,
But it didn’t.
TreVaughn Malik Roach-Carter is a queer black writer born and raised in Modesto, California. He attended San Francisco State University, obtaining a B.A. in Creative Writing with a minor in Education and is obtaining a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative writing from SFSU. An excerpt of his short story “Where the Heart is” is published in Ramblr Literary Magazine, winning runner-up for the Ramblr Fiction award. His poem “Entitled” is published in Tayo Literary Magazine’s special issue: SOFT. His short story “Fishing” is published in Transfer Magazine. His poem “Every time” is published in Borderless magazine. He is the author of the young adult novel ‘The Marked Ones: Uprising.’ He is a broke college student accepting Venmo donations at: TrevaughnRoach-Carter
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