Summoning Stillness

Short story - capturing moments!

She sat and waited. Inhaling the promise of a new beginning.

Exhaling remnants of a distant memory.

The outer edges frayed and distorted.

Inhale.

The expectation of something untouched: something pure and clean.

Exhale.

The dirt. The negativity. The noise.

Inhale.

Inviting nothingness.

Exhale.

Filtering through the black.

Inhale.

Summoning stillness.

Exhale.

 

The wooden bench creaked as the man sat down next to her.

“Hi. Mind if I sit here?” The light of the day reflected in his eyes.

She acknowledged him with a slight move of her head.

Inhale.

He crossed one leg over the other and gazed out at the park in front of them.

She, aware of his every move, was still except for her breathing.

Exhale.

He tried to engage in conversation. “Beautiful day today.”

The corners of her lips stretched slightly in agreement.

Inhale.

He took a chance. “I have to be honest. I see you sitting on this bench every day. You just sit here for hours, as if you’re waiting for someone. But no one ever comes and then you leave, just to repeat the routine the next day.”

She turns her head towards him; the action blurs her eyes.

Exhale.

He laughs nervously, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not stalking you or anything. You see I’m an artist and I come to this park every day to draw the landscape.” He produces several sheets of rolled up paper from his bag. He unrolls the paper to reveal coloured sketches of the park, the same familiar view that was etched in the woman’s mind.

Inhale.

She glanced at the sketches but the colours blurred into each other.

Taking her action as a sign of interest, the man dug into his bag and pulls out more paper, but these were different to the ones he’d shown previously. These drawings were all of her.

Exhale.

“At first it was not my intention to draw you, but then I kept seeing you here every day. And well, what can I say. You intrigue me.”

She tilted her head slightly, trying to focus on the man’s face. But her distorted vision made it seem as though his eyes, nose and mouth were smudged into one big, black gaping hole.

Inhale.

Ignoring her lack of words, the man again read her body language as a sign of curiosity and so continued to speak.

“This time every day I sit over there.” He pointed at some point behind them, but she didn’t follow his gesture, instead continued to stare at the talking abyss. “I sit and paint and wait for you to move. But you never do. Why?”

Exhale.

She said nothing.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

Inhale.

She nodded. She had heard and understood the question. But still couldn’t make out the man’s features.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he forgets his manners and presses further.

 “Who?”

But she just continued to stare at him.

The dirt. The negativity. The noise.

Exhale.

The man had pity for the woman. He thought she must be so sad and lonely to sit on this bench by herself every day, waiting for someone who would never show up. She was looking up at him with those big, glossy eyes. She seemed so vulnerable, so fragile.

He thought of his own journey to the city, how he’d left his job, his family, his former life behind in pursuit of his artistic dreams. It had been a tough road so far and at times he felt sad and lonely. He wanted to reach out to this woman and let her know that he understood. He wanted to be her friend and give her a reason to smile again.

Inhale.

“See I’m new to the city, I gave up my old life to be an artist. I thought for sure I would be happier here. Little did I realise just how challenging it was going to be.”

He continued to babble on about his life, but the woman wasn’t paying attention. For along with her blurred vision, her hearing was now also distorted, making his words sound like a jumbled mass of noise.

“Bla bla bla bla bla bla bla”

She twitched at the noise.

Exhale.

The man continued his monologue, oblivious to her sudden jerking movements. His voice made a high-pitched ringing that tickled her inner ears in a most unpleasant way.

She twitched and shook her head, willing the sound to fall out of her ears.

Still he continued, his resonating echoes burrowing deeper into her brain until she just couldn’t take it anymore.

Suddenly her arms moved and in one quick motion she snatched him, pulling his face towards hers. The man didn’t have time to react as she searched for his lips with her own and when she finally found them, she opened her mouth and took a deep breath.

Inhale.

She drew him in, gaining strength with each gulp, her vision and hearing slowly returning to normal. She could feel her cells stretching, thirstily welcoming the pure, clean air. She savoured the delicate taste of life, every pore of her being bursting with vitality. She felt invigorated and alive and devoured him hungrily until there was nothing left. The man’s body went limp and she pushed him away so he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

She sat for a moment, enjoying the stillness of her surroundings.

But a new beginning beckoned to her, so she stood up and walked away from the bench and the deceased man. She smiled, for she knew that she would not be returning tomorrow. 

Copyright © 2015 by Caroline Hart

All rights reserved. The author retains all copyrights in any text, graphic images and photos in their work. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Reviews

[C. Rose]

I like the "inhale exhale" and that it starts with her meditative thoughts before going into the setting. I had a few theories toward the middle like vision problems, face blindness, learning disability, but then she consumes his existence. I didn't predict that. This peace left me feeling calm, very conscious of my breath, and a bit nervous about being consumed as I am in a dark room. Well penned.

[Caroline Hart]

Thanks C. Rose Glad you enjoyed it :)

[Caroline Hart]

Thanks all for the feedback! :)

[The Floral Waltz]

Short but wonderful and the inhale exhale kept the tension up for what was going to happen next. And the plot twist, unexpected but unexpectedly great.Written wonderfully well. :)

[Caroline Hart]

Thanks Floral Waltz for your feedback. Glad you enjoyed it :)

[The Cheshire Nouk]

Wow, that sudden plot twist was well... sudden. Very intriguing in fact. The "inhale" "exhale" make the story rather tense. Very well written :)

[Caroline Hart]

Thanks Anouk for reading and commenting :)