Writing exercise.... There was no prospect of taking a walk that day.....

This is a writing exercise with a given first line, written in 20 minutes, not a complete story just a snapshot!

 

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day, the rain hammered against the windows, and the wind wailed down the chimney, causing the fire to splutter. Although it was only two o’clock, the room was lit by the glow of the standard lamp, sending out reflective pools in the soft brown leather of the arm chairs. The weather outside seemed to emphasise the cosiness of the room, the cooling cups of tea, the plate of biscuits the rounded generosity of the teapot with its woolly coat.

 

She sat, legs hooked over the arm of the chair, soft silk cushion at her back, the tea within arms reach, munching a biscuit as she read the book. Softly, somewhere in the distance a clock struck the quarter hour,  and when the chime finally died it continued its soft ticking, a reassuring sound. It was nice for once, not to have to march to time, not to have to do something.

 

She turned the page, and the sound seemed loud in the room, as if the sudden movement had disturbed the tranquillity, the biscuit now gone, she twiddled with her hair, and at that moment she was totally at her ease, the  long golden hair swept past the side of the chair and nearly reached the floor. Her pose emphasised the length of her legs, the curve of her back implied the relaxation of the moment. He wanted to take a picture then, to capture her as she was, not posed with a cheesy smile, like everyone does when you point a camera near them. No, it wasn’t just the pose, it was the moment, he wanted to capture it, forever.

 

 The weather outside seemed to isolate them into a world where there was just the two of them, no children, no parents, no clients and no demands. He couldn’t remember the last time he had just sat like this, taken the time to just sit and watch, and, like the last time it had happened, he asked himself why he did not do it more often.

Author's Note

I just like to capture a shapshot rather than write a complete story.