Now that I'm done with this story I should probably focus on the script I should be writing for Monday :-) I hope it works.
Currently listening to Manic Street Preachers' Send Away the Tigers. Though the best CD so far is 'This is My Truth Tell Me Yours' but I like this one a lot as well.
You can listen to Goodnight Travel Well here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG1MezAd2nw
Hope you enjoy the story
~PhotoKisser
***
Goodnight, Travel Well
"How long will you be gone?" he asked holding back the tears welling in his eyes. She couldn't see him this weak. But despite his efforts it was harder on him than she could ever imagine.
"I don't know," Melissa answered. Her eyes were dreamy, lips curved in a small smile, slightly open, showing off that tiny gap between her teeth. She tilted her head, looked above his shoulder at the view outside the window. Grey streets covered with sheets of rain. She looked as if she wanted to take it all with her. Every detail, every scent and sound. Should she not come back it would all stay in her memory. "It could be years, decades or months, a few days, an hour maybe."
Neil touched her hair and leaned over to kiss her. He stopped a few inches away from her rosy lips. Her eyes weren't closed. They looked beyond him with fear and a slight bit of pity. He sufficed himself with a peck on the cheek.
"See you in an hour then," he whispered into her ear.
She stood up and grinned. "Do you like my dress?" she asked.
It was a turquoise blue with black stripes matching her short, neck-length black bangs. He felt his throat become dry and his fists clench, hidden inside the pockets of his jacket.
"Beautiful," he forced himself.
"See you in an hour then, Neil!" she said after the bus had stopped. Despite the depressing rain she was radiating with selfish happiness.
She didn't wait for his answer and Neil was not going to give her one. He cursed the 221 bus where everything had started. He cursed his inability to make her stay. He cursed himself laughing and joking when he had wanted to force Melissa to stay. And most importantly he cursed the bloke she was leaving with. That spaceman. Alien? Maybe. She hadn't really explained. She'd only said she was going to travel with him to the stars, beyond the stars even. And on such short notice he couldn't even get angry properly.
He glanced at the red umbrella she had left behind and squeezed the handle gently. The bus' sudden stop shifted him forward but not enough for him to lose balance. He barely noticed the back of the seat in front of him only a few inches away from hitting his forehead. He took the umbrella and once he had gone out of the bus opened it.
The constant tapping of the drops against the plastic above his head felt somehow reassuring. He focused on the sounds around him one by one eliminating them from his head. Finally, he could only hear the ticking of his watch strangely loud comparing to the blurry sounds of the streets and his surroundings.
"Hey Neil!" he heard from behind. He turned around despite knowing what who he'd find. It was his "mate" Tom. For some reason that person would always catch up with him on the way back to the holes. No matter how early or late he would leave they always met up on the way home.
"What's up?" Neil answered as the convention required. He'd rather ignore him but was afraid of the consequences.
"I heard Mell left today for Birmingham," he said. "Did you guys break up or are you trying out that long distance thing?"
Neil felt his fingers grip the handle tighter. If only he'd look down he was sure that he'd see his knuckles paper white.
"No," he answered without any emotions and failing to give out any details. He knew well enough that even without his help Tom would drill the subject a lot further than necessary.
"That's too bad," Tom continued. "She's only mentioned it a few days before and just turned in resignation paperwork today. It was quite unexpected. Has she told you anything. Well, I suppose so I mean you two were a bit off for the past few days."
Neil didn't answer. In his mind he was thinking about how mistaken he was. Of course she'd only say it now because the opportunity had just arose. She'd only say that to make herself an alibi.
"But you can still visit her right?" Tom spat out word after word without stopping his stream of consciousness. "I mean how far can..."
At that point Neil shut out. The only sound left in his mind was the ticking of the clock. He looked down on the pavement and left Tom to his own pondering. Maybe his friend noticed at some point the blank and distant eyes or how Neil barely reacted to his questions but didn't care for all that and just continued.
He didn't notice when they separated. Maybe he did say a quick bye before leaving Tom at the holes, maybe not. His own flat was a few meters down the road and he'd just wanted to get there.
Upon opening the door he didn't know how much time had passed. Hours? Days? Weeks? He remembered everything as if it were just a few moments ago and at the same time didn't know if it was yesterday, today or a week ago. He also remembered a lot of things that happened in between separating with Melissa and now: going to school, coming back, talking, laughs around him, his mates, all that blurring together.
The quiet was relaxing. It was dark both outside and inside. Although he didn't know how much time had passed he knew it was more than an hour. Even if it had been less he knew that she wasn't going to come back. Ever.
He stepped out onto the balcony. He didn't notice the cold. Faint glows of the light streets hurt his eyes for a brief moment. He quickly turned his head towards the sky. The night sky was full of stars even in this congested city. He leaned against the metal bars and looked down. His hand was bleeding and he was still pressing the rusty blade of the pocket knife against his wrist. For a brief second his skin was white around the edge of the weapon before turning bright red when blood spilled from his veins. The cut was deep spanning from his forefinger to a few inches before his elbow. He stared at the cut, the dark-red liquid flowing out onto his balcony tiles.
He didn't feel any cold or hot, or pain for that matter. Even if he did his head was too occupied to notice anything from the outside world. His mind rewinded every moment of his relationship with Melissa at the same time. His head hurt and his mind was bewildered unable to distinguish anything, the memories too tangled and the world simply too far away. He felt weak and his body slid down without him able to prevent it. His face was now inches away from the dark stain and he could see stars glittering on the surface.
Suddenly everything went quiet. The stars creater a perfect replica of Melissa. Her face was smiling - a smile Neil had never hoped to see on her face. She looked so much happier than when she was with him. Her eyes - two white spots glittered with excitement. The silhoute of her hair made it seem more beautiful than ever before. Her lips with carmine-red lipstick laughed engrossing him in dreams of travel and adventure. He tried touching it and the image wavered and faded in the ripples.
"I'm comming..." he whispered meekly. His eyelids felt so heavy he couldn't help but close them. "I'll just take a short nap and be right with you..." see the stars, he added in his mind.
With a finaly effort he raised his hand and without opening his eyes wrote crookedly on the floor: "Goodnight, travel well".
His consciousness was drifting away. But just before that he lost all sense his ears recorded a sound.
Peep, his voicemail said. "Hi, it's Mellisa," a happy voice said. "I just arrived at--"
The rest disappeared in between his dreams.
PhotoKiser, II 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment