Tuesday, January 26, 2010

map : highlighter : $34.99

By the river it's quiet, because you marched through the woods, battled branches and bushes, to find such a place. There's the muddy bank a mile or so north, but it's muddy from the traffic there. Everyone knows how to get there. No one knows how to get here.

These thoughts were in her head. Unfortunately they weren't enough to drown out the sounds of the traffic on the bridge nearby. She'd have to admit that she wasn't completely tucked away, hadn't completely disappeared.

She laid curled up in a ball, listening to the ground, watching things crawl. The sun felt good, the river sounded healthy. She slept with her head on the ground.

She woke when the sun was setting. Still alone, only now she was disoriented. She had been dreaming of Salt Lake, where rivers sound different - more angry, more high-pitched. She'd been sitting on the side of a mountain, and the water falling was hitting her left side. She was soaked and dusty, half and half.

Just before she hiked down, she looked across and saw a little girl on the other side of the fall. She was alone, too.

What's your name?
Nadine.
Why are you alone?
Don't you know?
She thought for a moment. She had never seen her before.
I don't know you!
We gotta jump.

It suddenly sounded normal, even natural to do so. Half inside a memory and half inside a dream, they jumped. Nadine looked more like she was floating down, or flying. She made her way close and held her hand. Then she disappeared.

Our heroin watched her reflection get larger and larger until it and she were the same size.

She woke up and had forgotten where she was. It didn't take her long to remember.

The sun felt good, the river sounded healthy.

No comments: