"Are you just gonna stand there?" asked Em. Trev hesitated. "Pick her up."
Trev lifted Mairi into his arms, her legs hanging loose, neck cradled in the crook of his elbow. Between lips dry and cracked she managed one word: "Never."
Zoe held Von's finger like a child to parent, lying in bed white with the eerie stillness of the infirm. Through lips dry and cracked, with eyes opened to another world, she spoke in a paper thin whisper. "If I see Ceru before you, I'll tell him how much you love him."
On the nightstand, Rog's comm blinked. Lost in the space of union divine, memories of one betraying the physicality of the other, eyes open, to the movies of his mind. Yul was too high to care, too lost in lust to wonder.
Kyra stood before the ocean, her chest matching the gentle swells. The watchet sky, endless as the hazy horizon. Licking her lips, an odd copper taste in her mouth. Reaching forth, her white fingers returned crimson bright, her gut tight in intuition.
"Dad?" asked Ariel. "Are you okay?"
John nodded, listening to the last message on his comm, sender unknown. "Your friends are in trouble. You've been warned."
---------
The head Chatelaine stood before the new class. We have, she said, many rules, and in time you will learn them all as the wind learns the path between the trees. However, as the full moon bows before the rising sun, we have one rule above all others. She paused, eyes glassing the room, looking through the new recruits. Mairi sat straight, hands placed evenly on her desk. The Chatelaine continued. Never become attached to a client. Placing her hands behind her back, she repeated. Never.
12 comments:
Ah, but despite the best intentions, we feel... even when we know we shouldn't...
Gorgeous fractal, Tree.
I always learn something from you here, always. Whether it is the beauty of your writing, the visual picture you give through the way you see/describe/feel things - or just that you make me think. Your blog bring out the alive in me... that inner mystery of connection os some unknown high level. I can't really explain it, but your story is addictive... It has a real ness to it, even though it is fiction. Maybe it isn't fiction, and you speak through a guide...
Annie, you have no idea how I wish I could see my writing the way you describe it. I wrote this chapter earlier today, almost as an exercise to get back into the flow of the story. Then, I let it sit, something I almost never do with a chapter. Thoughts of not posting it or posting it under the label of 'aborted' crossed my mind. Your comment humbles me and makes me want to go back to see what I've written, to see if I can see what you see, that moves you to leave me such a wonderful comment. For that, thank you. Your comments are deeply appreciated.
I like this image. I see two hearts bonded and wrapped in their glow. Magnificent.
Cléa, thanks for the kind words. I was so locked on the jaw-like part of the image, I didn't see the possibility of two hearts. Thanks for sharing. :-)
I'm with Annie. There's something about these chapters that open the door for a moment into the rooms that each occupy, a short glimpse as to where they are at the present moment and what they are doing, separately and yet all connected, generally, and by the events that are unfolding around them which will to some degree or another have an effect upon all. Zoe, Mairi and whatever is the subject of the message that John receives, are at least the known. This life to the next as Zoe speaks words so moving reminding us all that those connections are never broken, that love survives and that those gone live on in hearts. The child, their child, I'll insist there's something within or instinct, rather than wishful thinking, that foretells that losing Zoe is possible, but the child not. Von's eyes must see, but this only serves to remind us of his words when he knew not whether he would find Ceru alive or deceased, but either way he would see his son again. Rog and Zoe reflecting one another here also, she expecting that she is about to undertake a lone journey, but her present is with Von, her future with Ceru as Rog lies with Yul, alone. One wonders if everything happening at the moment is connected including the flashback, new shoots, strong and multiplying. Loved the part in Annie's comment at the end there "Maybe it isn't fiction, and you speak through a guide...", that would make perfect sense. Superb story chapter.
Sweetest, some chapters do feel like they are written on their own. This is not one of them. :-)
Most of the time I feel as one walking a path in the dark, flashlight in hand, able to see only what is a few feet in front of me. Sometimes, the sun rises and I can see further, but most of these chapters are intimate, close to my chest and what happens next is as much a surprise for me as for you. Sometimes I wish it were otherwise, and sometimes I'm thankful it's not.
As always, thank you for the kind words. :-)
The art on your header is spectacular. Really.
This chapter was so intense. I love the way you do a flashback in Mairi's life to pull it all together. So easy to read while being suspense building.
Hubby is 'standing at the edge of the ocean' feeling the disgust and shock that is his job. You men carry the weight of the world on your shoulders and we gals carry the weight of the world on our heart.
Thank you for your compassion toward my son this evening. I read the comments to him from that post. I wanted him to feel the love and support that I was feeling from everyone.
You know Tree, as crummy as the world is, PEOPLE are basically good.
Glad to hear from you my friend.
Jen
Jen, thanks for the kind words on the header image and the chapter. Sorry to hear that the job is not going as well as hoped for. Knowing he has you at home and those wonderful kids to love and support will keep his head above water.
As for my son, I've seen him puke on soccer fields, on football fields and on basketball courts. As petrified as I was as a parent, helpless to do anything, I can only imagine his horror as such a public spectacle. Somehow, we've both survived the ordeal. Now if I could just get him to eat something besides peanut butter sandwiches.
As for people, I agree. I think most are basically good. As Papa might say, together, we can.
yeah..nevah evah! :D that is indeed a golden rule!
I love the way your mind sketches vivid imagery with words here..a myriad scenes, each powerful in its own right!
It is like watching flashes on a screen!
:D the impressionistic fractal reminded me of tomatoes in a bed and my first impulse was to reach out and pluck them! & at the end of first line I read " Pick her up" & that made me smile! :)
You are a good Dad and a good friend. Thanks Tree.
Jen
Mona, stay tuned. The next scene with Trev, Mairi and Em is going to get rather interesting in a way that is going to make Trev have to do some 'splaining. :-D
Thanks for the feedback on this chapter style. Sometimes I wonder if these little snippets around the horn don't come across as lazy or cheating. I like your interpretation. I think I'll adopt it. :-)
Jen, sometimes I am and sometimes I'm selfish, especially with my time. I do try and I remind myself that if I fall down seven times, as the Japanese say, to get up eight.
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