The urinal

It was a mistake bringing her here. He could barely smell the perfume in her hair anymore, just the acrid scent of men. That would not impress her. He stole a look at her face and saw that luckily she was ensconced in being with him, which was appealing. If he could get her out before she realized it he could delete this awkward moment and illustrate that she meant more. She knew that and never held this mistake against him.

Fan in front of face

She spent most of her time acting invisible, seeing herself in black and white. Hours were spent contemplating her bearings as she watched the rush of colours streaming by every day. It was starting to look desirable to jump into this river of life where the rest of the world seemed to be, but she remained cautious, occasionally dipping her toe in simply to test the temperature. When it felt right she stepped in. Her colour returned and she never looked back.

Creepy manaquin boy

He had left suddenly and silently. She picked up as best she could, running things with unconscious control. Numbness seized her like an evil puppeteer’s hand, forcing her way though the darkness. As the grip released she found joy in hidden moments of humour and soon others caught on making life breezy and bearable.

1970s playboy

He shrugged off his possessions without a second thought and faced his future with resolve. He thought his visual attitude toward life would be enough but he found he needed to support that. He shamefully hid the discrepancies since it glaringly clashed with the personality he was creating. That's what started all the trouble.

High heels

Things might change if her saw her this way, primped to the nines. Her desperation faded, as she owned this new self-presentation it to a point that she easily absorbed. The difference was empowering and she liked the power in the feminine sway it gave her. He instantly became less important.

Buildings and sky

Nothing would keep him down. The sky gave him that sign everyday and it was how he passed his time in a positive manner. These glimpses let him dream away while locked down in the concrete bunker that had been his hold for far too long. His mind went beyond the block walls to call up these images and imagine his future. It was a simple thread through the complicated web in which he dwelled.

Airplane

They had advanced much further than She ever thought possible. If only they knew how close they really were it would likely hobble their progress. They enjoyed the striving, the adventure of discovery and the press toward the unknown. Like fish swimming upstream, it had become innate. She let them have that knowledge, keeping the pure discovery of herself hidden.

Sloan backyard

Some people strained for a perfect life. She helped them keep the surface neat and clean, dust-free, fingerprint-free, stress-free, emotion-free, still and stagnant. He liked it, but she could tell the wife was on the verge. She had compromised her soul away and it was only a matter of time before she admitted to who she really was. And this wasn’t it. At the end of the day, it wasn’t her business. She had a job to do, for now

Daisy

She was blind wandering around under her own personal halo of grey. It felt selfish to be mired in one’s own problems, of that she was aware, and it guided her toward an unexpected shard of beauty. She picked one and stuck it behind her ear. It pierced the grey nicely.

Mindful meditation

He pressed her into doing it. She told him she had pursued it though in truth her search was lamely done. She preferred to sort things out on her own and resented this issue of ultimatums. Of course, he was trying to help her, help her so the way could be paved for his admittance. It was all he wanted. This was his final stab at getting her back.

Part 6

She would spend her life saying she didn’t mean to do it. But the dark truth would always be seeded within her, gnawing away over what she had done and the destruction it had caused. At times she mentioned it as a funny anecdote, no one had died after all, it was a child’s accident she claimed, so it fell out of her mouth like a joke. Her intent got her what she wanted, which was admittedly childish at that point, to go live with grandma and eat rhubarb pie every night.

Part 5

He stared dead-eyed at the broken life. Numb didn’t even cover it, it was pain and hurt covered in darkness. Gutted and otherworldly, he stood within, without belonging, wondering who he was now. Within the veil of opportunities he considered recreating himself and starting anew. They would treat him for shock afterwards.

Part 4

She wondered whether she’d fallen asleep with a cigarette again. It wouldn’t have been the first time. The TV was on loudly when the fellow in his army uniform yanked her off the couch. She thought it was that recurring dream again, the one on that fiery night of bombs in London. He fooled her because of his helmet. She had to admit, that senior’s community in Lauderdale that her kids wanted her to move to was looking better and better.

Part 3

The job was his second wife, his mistress and lover. It encompassed his soul and entire being in a way that overwhelmed even he, to which he responded by maintaining the wall he built around it. It was impossible to explain it to her that it would never be easy to leave, though she pressured him constantly. This morning he rescued a little girl trying to get back in, and saving her made it all worthwhile. He could breath today and maybe attempt to describe the satisfaction.

Part 2

She still had sleep in her eyes and rubbed them in her childlike way, to ease the stinging, her other hand firmly grasping her big sister’s flannel shirt. The adults kept asking if she was okay. She was fine, but Bear wasn’t and who would get him out. It was easy to disappear, so she ambled down the alley toward the back door to get Bear.