"What, no apology now?"
Lu rolled his eyes and muttered,
"srry."
"Darn white! So, what you gonna do to fight off the snow and the no powa and the cockroaches?"
"I don't know Ms. Li, probably just sleep it all away. Bye now," replied Lu.
Ms. Li, a bit offended at Lu's apathy towards her, offered one more hook:
"You know, i've got a problem Lu. I've got cockroaches all over my place, and I need someone to squish 'em fo me."
"You want me to be your cockroach squisher?" asked Lu.
"Yes. Lu, you owe me fo something. Lu!"
"Sorry I...I have to feed my cat."
As Lu starts to walk away, Ms. Yung Li yells out,
"You don't have a cat!"
"I do now!"
"Cockroach!"
Sidda sat on the curb outside the bookshop. Her shoes slurped slush from the street; sewer grime soaked into the soles of her shoes. Her feet wrinkled, like wet book pages, and felt numb. Not felt at all, rather. Her feet numbed.
ReplyDeleteWind slapped her cheek, stinging. Sidda appreciated hard feelings. She liked sharp feelings, sharp slaps and rude awakenings. Soft glances and daintiness made her weary. She lived within soft edges, and the occasional corner made her tingle.
Sidda twiddled a bent, crinkled card in her hand. She'd found it on the sidewalk: an advertisement for Le Royale. She flipped it over with her thumb and finger, then flipped it back. Over, back. The edges curled and split.
Lu rounded the corner. He threw a glance over his shoulder, to make sure Ms. Li hadn't followed him. His fingers dug into his pockets, pulling at the skin beneath the thin cotton. His shoulders twitched. He glanced at the sky, blue today. Slush crowded the sides of the sidewalk.
Sidda leaned back on her hands. Her fingers dug into the slush, melting the watery snow so it dribbled through her gloves. She glanced at the sky, grey earlier.
Sidda didn't feel Lu step on her hand. The pressure felt good: the numbness felt.
"Oh!" Lu gasped. He knelt beside Sidda, then hesitated. "Uh, are you okay? I mean, uh, are your fingers okay?"
Sidda's lips curled. "I couldn't feel it, anyways," she drawled. Lu's brow wrinkled. Her accent startled him. Unfamiliar.
Lu noticed the card beside Sidda. He wrestled a hand from his pocket, and slid the card into his coat pocket, for later.
Sidda stood, embarrassed now. Lu stood with her, and nodded tersely. Sidda turned. Lu hesitated, then turned back towards his shop. Dead leaves swirled in the breezes around their heads.
"He walked through the rest of the day in a dream, dully punctuated by screaming sirens. He spent hours looking over the city from the roof of Jupiter, only to have to leave because of the fire alarm. On the way out, an hysterical elderly chinese lady almost plowed him over running to an elderly chinese man. She was screaming, "Lu! Lu!" It was late in the day, and Aaron didn't feel like sticking around Lu or his girlfriend. He went back to the church, and sat in his room, thinking. He needed someone to pick the locks. He had seen the blind man with a lockpicking kit in the coffeeshop before. He could hear Father McKenzie mutter to himself as he knotted his socks alone. At some point in the darkness, Aaron fell asleep. He dreamed of jade dragonflies. "
ReplyDeleteI awoke with a start. There was a siren wailing past the window to the outside. I pulled on another blanket and curled up next to the wall next to my bed, the one with the heating vents running through it. That wall was always warmer at night than the rest of the basement. I dreampt of a sunny day I once spent lounging below a huge oak tree. Unbidden memories of Sarah sprung into my mind. She had been there. Her face swam up into my dream. My subconscious was trying to torment me this night, forcing me to relive moments from before. Before everything went black.
ReplyDeleteI jolted awake into the blackness of my world. The light and smiles and fleeting happiness were gone. I was back in my place. In my time. I fumbled for the alarm because Shadow hadn't gotten to it first. I stumbled around the room to the shower, cursing whatever cruel gods or trick of fate which would connive to bring those memories into my dreams. I slipped out of the shower and poured Shadow's breakfast into a bowl for her and was nearly dressed before I realized that I didn't hear Shadow crunching away at the food. I called for her but got no response. I scrambled over to her bed but she wasn't there. I called out again and again. I quartered the room on my hands and knees but she was nowhere.
I grabbed the cane that was by the stairs and rushed up and out to the street. As i left the door I slipped on a patch of ice and crashed to the ground hitting my head on the doorframe. I rushed around the sidewalk frantically calling for Shadow, but i heard no response. I tried to navigate by memory and made it all the way around the block. I heard the mechanic in the car repair shop yelling at someone, but still no Shadow. I Eventually staggered into the woods behind my basement apartment. I found my way down a small path to an oddly shaped stone construction. It took me several minutes to realize what it was. It was a well. I slumped down beside it and began to weep.