A soft breeze rustled through the trees and sent a few fallen, crumpled leaves rolling across the concrete ground with a dry crackle. A lone figure sat, rather forlornly, on a rusty swing, allowing the periodic creaking of its chains to lull her senses into a dull calm.
Grace felt totally alone at this particular coordinate in the space-time continuum. None of her cats had come out to meet her, despite the bowl of delicious mackerel she had brought with her, now set aside untouched and unneeded. To think she had really looked forward to discussing her recent lapse of emotional control with them. Sighing to nothing in particular, she decided that the dead-looking rain-tree seemed a marginally better conversation partner than the cold air that surrounded her.
What shall I think about first? Grace asked the tree with her mental voice. The tree merely swayed in companionable gentleness, and waited patiently for her to continue. She felt like she has much to think about tonight. She could think about her getting-from-bad-to-worse aversion to males in general. Or that inexplicable panic attack last night. And then, there was Daniel.
The name came unbidden, and stilled her restful rocking. The sudden cessation of the creaking broadcasted a silence that filled every tiny crevice in the area. That name seemed to echo all around her.
Daniel, she mouthed the name timidly, afraid that even the softest whisper of its syllables could be heard by the shadowy darkness.
Daniel. She wanted to know him. Like, really know him, short of the biblical way. She wanted to know how he laughed, and cried; how he slept, and woke; how he likes his coffee and eggs. She wanted to know his person, his being. Even his very soul.
But most bewilderedly, she wanted him to know her.
How did it come to that? Two weeks ago, she barely even knew he existed. Was she really so starved of comforting human contact to be imprinted on the first being who offered her a reassuring embrace? No. Surely, that doesn’t explain why she had felt safe in those arms in the first place.
Why then, was this man…… different?
Grace closed her eyes and let herself feel the air chill her even more. She inhaled the scent of moist earth, mingled with a tint of iron. She listened intently to every hiss and whistle the winds uttered. Suddenly, she heard it. The answer she was looking for rang clear as a bell in her ears. Her eyes shot open in surprise at that hallucination.
Just then, her eyes widened in wonderment at what she saw. There, right ahead of her, a man was striding purposefully towards her; and she found she could not look away.
It was Daniel. The same man she was just thinking about. But how?
“Dessstiny,” the winds whispered again. And she felt like she would never breathe properly again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Grace felt totally alone at this particular coordinate in the space-time continuum. None of her cats had come out to meet her, despite the bowl of delicious mackerel she had brought with her, now set aside untouched and unneeded. To think she had really looked forward to discussing her recent lapse of emotional control with them. Sighing to nothing in particular, she decided that the dead-looking rain-tree seemed a marginally better conversation partner than the cold air that surrounded her.
What shall I think about first? Grace asked the tree with her mental voice. The tree merely swayed in companionable gentleness, and waited patiently for her to continue. She felt like she has much to think about tonight. She could think about her getting-from-bad-to-worse aversion to males in general. Or that inexplicable panic attack last night. And then, there was Daniel.
The name came unbidden, and stilled her restful rocking. The sudden cessation of the creaking broadcasted a silence that filled every tiny crevice in the area. That name seemed to echo all around her.
Daniel, she mouthed the name timidly, afraid that even the softest whisper of its syllables could be heard by the shadowy darkness.
Daniel. She wanted to know him. Like, really know him, short of the biblical way. She wanted to know how he laughed, and cried; how he slept, and woke; how he likes his coffee and eggs. She wanted to know his person, his being. Even his very soul.
But most bewilderedly, she wanted him to know her.
How did it come to that? Two weeks ago, she barely even knew he existed. Was she really so starved of comforting human contact to be imprinted on the first being who offered her a reassuring embrace? No. Surely, that doesn’t explain why she had felt safe in those arms in the first place.
Why then, was this man…… different?
Grace closed her eyes and let herself feel the air chill her even more. She inhaled the scent of moist earth, mingled with a tint of iron. She listened intently to every hiss and whistle the winds uttered. Suddenly, she heard it. The answer she was looking for rang clear as a bell in her ears. Her eyes shot open in surprise at that hallucination.
Just then, her eyes widened in wonderment at what she saw. There, right ahead of her, a man was striding purposefully towards her; and she found she could not look away.
It was Daniel. The same man she was just thinking about. But how?
“Dessstiny,” the winds whispered again. And she felt like she would never breathe properly again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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