The end of them happened so fast it left her stunned and weaving, like a bird that had just slammed into a pane of glass. The path once seemed so straightforward, and as she crumpled to the floor, she wished for another chance to take a run at it all, as if she could clear her vision the next time around just by picking up a little more speed.
Archive for the ‘Not so true’ Category
Minute
January 20, 2010She had grown used to tapping at the glass with the pads of her fingers, half hoping for a response, half hoping no one would raise the blinds and see her there. Over her shoulder, the moon rose, casting her shadow against the wall of the house.
She leaned her ear against the siding, listening for the heartbeats inside. In a minute, she thought. In just a minute.
At the edge
January 2, 2010They picked their way across the dark sand, approaching the edge of the ocean. The wind off the water wrapped her dress around her legs. He looked down at the outline of her knee beneath the twisted fabric, then out at the outline of the waves against the horizon. He wanted to scuttle, like a hermit crab, into the shell of her heart.
Impending arrival
December 30, 2009Though it was not her nature, she rooted her feet and waited, through the rainiest of weather, for him to arrive. She knew he was on his way, traveling as quickly as he could, his wounded heart flying across the stormy sky. When he arrived, she’d be ready.
In a blizzard
December 28, 2009The radio station faded to static as they drove through the blizzard, the voices fainter and fainter until the sound from the car speakers matched all they could see through ice-fogged windows.
“We’re alone,” she said. “If we ran off the road right now, no one would miss us.”
“I would miss us,” he said.
Peace as it all came down
December 26, 2009The building came down at the same rate of speed as all the rest, its walls crumbling under the weight of the wrecking ball, its rooms releasing memories to the air with the rest of the particles.
She watched the demolition from a car parked at the end of the street, her hands clasped in her lap, her eyes open as wide as she could hold them. She’d never expected to feel this peace as it all came down.
Delivery
December 24, 2009No, she said. I didn’t ask for room service.
But the tray was there on its cart, and the man who delivered it expected a tip. He swore the call came from her room, and she shook her head.
There’s no one here but me, she said. And I didn’t call.
He lifted the metal lid covering the plate, exposed a cheeseburger and well-done fries. Maybe, he said, the phone knew what you needed.
100 Proof 