Ask the Sky

By Thomas LaCosta

In "Ask the Sky", a haunting tale of self-realization and the pursuit of meaning, we follow the journey of Steven, a man whose life takes an unexpected turn when he comes across a chilling video - the self-recorded suicide of his childhood friend, Iggy. Returning to his small hometown for the funeral, Steven confronts his memories and reunites with his high school crush, forcing him to reckon with his place in the world, the meaning of life, and the nature of death itself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Eclectic Esquire Media, LLC
• Release date: Aug 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223714668

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Ask the Sky

A Short Story

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Thomas LaCosta

Table of Contents

Ask the Sky

About the Author

Copyright Information

Ask the Sky

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I think Iggy said it best when, cocking the hammer back, he looked directly into his iPhone’s camera lens and muttered, Fuck it.

Then he pulled the trigger and blasted his brains onto the wall behind him. Thankfully, the vibration from the gunshot moved the frame of his camera, sparing everyone the worst of the aftermath.

The framing issues did not stop the news media from playing the unedited recording on their broadcasts or stop people from reposting it all over YouTube, TikTok, and all the rest.

That is how I found out my closest childhood friend killed himself. I had been watching videos of Ukrainian drones dropping grenades on luckless Russian soldiers when I saw the title of the video: Man’s Suicide Recorded on His Phone and clicked the link. It was morbid curiosity in a world with too many distractions that made me do it.

I clicked play on the video just as I dipped a tortilla chip into the bowl of salsa I had been working on for about ten minutes. I never pulled the chip out. I had become frozen in place as I saw Iggy’s face appear on the screen of my computer. He was smiling almost lasciviously and then he spoke his final profane words and pulled the trigger.

I sat there, briefly existing outside of time. My world rocked. My head spinning. I noticed a thumbnail for a dancing cat video in the Suggested Videos sidebar as I stood up and ran to the bathroom to vomit.

I had just finished washing my face and flushing the toilet a second time when my phone rang. I went back to the table where I had left it. I answered with a shaky voice.

Hello?

Steven?

It was Iggy’s mom. Between sobs, she told me that Iggy had killed himself around noon, and it was only now she was able to compose herself enough to call me. Despite the fact that her son and I had not seen each other for at least five years and hadn’t talked