Kal

this was an exercise for an introduction to a book

Kal had checked her Louis Vuitton luggage in faster than expected considering it was peak hour Monday morning at Cape Town airport. In her already detached state of mind she barely even noticed her bags whisked away on the conveyor belt. The continual buzz of service announcements became an indecipherable almost meditative hum in the back of her mind. She paid no regard to the bored looking guard or the wand he waved passively over her body as she passed through the metal detector, and she had not given any attention at all to the purpose driven businessmen and women zipping their way impatiently through ticket lines and security checks to fly in and out of the country. It was only a few weeks ago she herself had been caught up in the same all too consuming and frantically paced business mode. Not anymore though. Right now Kal found herself seated alone, on an overly tall black and chrome stool in the airport bar. Not another customer in sight. Perhaps, she thought, seven thirty in the morning was too early for most people to order a glass of the best champagne in the house. It wasn’t too early for Kal, not today. Nor was it too early for the barman to flash a sparkling smile her way and attempt at conversation. He was flirting. Men openly flirting was something Kal had become accustomed to throughout her life. Timeless classic brunette beauty is what she possessed, well, that's what people had told her time and again. Kal noticed the barman’s playful mood, but like everything else this morning she didn’t give it another thought and instead watched the bubbles rise and pop, rise and pop on the inside of her frosted champagne flute. The bubbles, she thought, were escaping their fluid confines, and once popped, they were no more. Staring blank-faced at the golden liquid inside her glass Kal found herself envying the tiny beads of sweet smelling air surfacing then departing in the quickest of succession. If only she could just disappear. Pop and she'd be gone, just like the bubbles.

Author's Note

I would love your honest thoughts and feedback - love ya's all X

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Feeling lured after reading that.. wanting to know more, wanting to explore what's ahead and surely - that's the true craft of a good intro.

The atmosphere of the airport is brief but enough, tho' maybe so many people in queues, nobody else at the bar, slightly conflicts.. . maybe a meandering couple of people would be a happy middle of the road, so to speak.

The woman's persona zings! Her luggage smells of money!) and her looks go along with the same.. she 's used to admiration, she seems to have it all. However, there's that thought about disappearing.. wonder why. You're such a fine writer i think you could write about a dot and still make it fascinating!

[KWP]

You are as gorgeous as ever - I love it that you speak what I need to know so that I am able to reflect upon what you have gained, or not gained from the reading :)

I am currently on holidays at the most southern tip of Australia - hard not to think of you loving it down here X

[samparks,sam]

really that truth of life. I like it

[wordman]

great story,i enjoyed it !