3WW #83

Inspired by 3 Word Wednesday: Picture, Reflected, Stop

Blind Sculpture Rusted by ASePT!C © All rights reserved uploaded here

Clearly Blinded

when I looked into your eyes
I always thought them blue
like the color of the sky
reflecting loves desires

little did I know
that vivid shade of color
was only made to clothe
the lies you tried to hide

funny how they changed
those irises of wonder
fading into gray
as your nature was revealed

pictures of our life
lay scattered on the table
every one reminds me
how blind I was to truth

this is my remembrance
of what we had between us
the color of the sky
grown dark and faded gray

I’ve learned to never look
into the eyes of love
until I’ve learned to see it
clearly with my heart

soon my tears will stop
and colors will return
to what they were before
you took my sight away

3WW #80

Inspired by Three Word Wednesday
This weeks words: Parallel, Bounce, Mysterious

dark spin vortex by ~Jryen45 on deviantART

The Addict

Keeping parallel to the row of parked cars, she struggled to walk in a straight line. Anonymous faces of those she passed bounced in her peripheral vision, making it even more difficult to hold back the bile threatening to overcome her at any moment. Soon, it all became too much and she had to stop to grasp a nearby light post for support.

Slowly, she focused her eyes on one particular spot on the horizon. Breathing deeply, she felt her mind clearing and the nausea receding. She had sworn to herself that this would never happen again, but here she was kicking herself for thinking she could overcome the addiction simply with willpower alone.

She knew she needed help. But how? How could she explain this mysterious need she had, an obsession really. She had never been able to deny the compulsion she felt to make this time better than the last. To feel the rush and the thrill in the pit of her stomach that no other experience could offer. Then the remorse of what she’d done would hit, and she would swear that it was going to be the last time. But it never was.

It would be so much easier she thought, if the temptation were removed. But why ruin everyone else’s fun just because she couldn’t control her own urges? It seemed so easy for the others. She wished she knew their secret; that she too, could learn to recognize when enough was enough. Someday, she said to herself, I will kick this addiction. Someday I will be able to pass that damn playground carousel and not insist on riding it faster, harder, and longer than the time before.

3WW #79

This weeks words are: Glass, Question, Token


Courtesy of Photobucket, picture by josephconti

Recognition

Initially she had refused to come. However it quickly became apparent that there was no way to reason him out of his decision. Thus she had agreed to attend, promising to stay by his side, guiding him through the night, helping him shed his shyness around these strangers. But the evening had not gone as planned, and he soon found himself sitting alone and feeling sorry for himself. Setting his glass of bourbon on the table, he began to question his motives…and hers.

Having buried his head deep into his hands, he was oblivious to the woman carefully coming up behind him. Not until he heard the rustle of her skirt did he realize he was no longer alone. Hesitant fingers gently covered his. Leaning back into the chair he tilted his head so he could see her better.

Their eyes met: hers in apology, his in painful acknowledgement.

“I told you it wouldn’t work.”

“We had to try.”

Getting up from the chair, he noticed a shadow in the doorway. Stepping into the light was an older woman, her eyes glistening with the tears she had been holding back since the moment He and Gwen had arrived. Gary could only stare back in confusion.

“Gary?”

“Yes?”

Behind him Gwen was shaking her head furiously, trying to get the woman stop from doing what she had been waiting to do all night.

“I…I…”

Gary turned to Gwen hoping for some support, imploring her with his eyes to help him understand. His tortured look was more than the woman could stand. She fled the room, her choked sobs barely audible as she returned to the gathering below.

“Who…”

Before he could finish his question, Gwen touched her fingers to his lips. This was no token gesture made in pity, it was obviously made in love. Instinctively he reached for her waist. Leaning in toward her, he could see that she too was on the verge of tears. Gently, slowly, she moved her hand along his jaw and reached up to brush away a loose lock of hair that had fallen out of place. It was then he noticed that that she wasn’t looking at him, but at his scar.

“Is it that hideous?”

“No! I was just noticing how well it’s healing.”

Even though they had only met weeks earlier, he knew she was telling the truth. One look into her eyes told him everything.

“You aren’t going to tell me are you?”

She looked away hoping he couldn’t see the hurt in her face.

“Can’t you see how hard this is on all of us?”

“Hey. I’m the one with amnesia, remember?”

As soon as the word left his mouth he realized the irony of what he’d just said. Expecting to get another stony look, he saw a smile begin to grow at the corners of her mouth. They both burst out laughing, each releasing the tension that had built up between them.

Taking him by the hand, she led him out of the room and toward the stairs.

“You sure you want to go through with this?”

“I have to. I need to.”

“Together?”

Again, his wife’s eyes told him all he needed to know. Holding tightly onto the hand of his present, he descended the stairs to face his past.

3WW #78

This weeks three words: Money, Tangled, Understood

Simple Things

“Five, ten, twenty….”

One after another, each bill, representing hours of hard work left my finger tips and landed softly onto the counter. My nervousness showed as my fingers tangled toward the end of the stack nearly causing me to have to gather up the loosely stacked pile of money and start over.

The clerk gave me a reassuring smile letting me know that she understood my discomfort. Knowing she sympathized only slightly lessened the pain of handing over the last of my savings. Good. This meant I now had power for at least another month. Food? Well, there was enough macaroni & cheese and tuna to last the week.

I looked toward heaven, giving thanks that I was paid weekly. Between my base pay and tips, I was able to stay one step ahead of homelessness – barely. As it was, I was eating less, wearing jackets around the apartment, and continually dusting cobwebs off a car I no longer drove. I couldn’t afford the gas. I thought about selling it, but didn't. If things don’t turn around soon, it may be my next place of residence. Trying to keep my sense of humor, I began wondering how you put in a change of address for such a thing.

Old Address:
Jane Q. Public
123 Main St., #4
My Town, USA 11111

New Address:
Faceless Statistic
Corner of Park & Main
Any Town, USA 00000

Sighing, I let myself into the apartment. Pulling my jacket tighter, I headed to the thermostat. I hesitated as I raised my hand to turn the knob. Oh what the hell I thought as I turned it all the way to the right. Throwing off my jacket, I danced into the kitchen to boil some water. If this was my last month here, then I was going to make the best of it. Turning on the only lamp I could still afford to use, I settled onto the couch with a warm bowl of Kraft. Closing my eyes, I sat there and savored the moment. Not until then did I understand the importance of the simple things in life, like food and shelter. And not until then did I realize how sad it was, that facing the possibility of losing everything finally makes you appreciate having anything.

3WW #76

For this weeks Three Word Wednesday, the words are: Rest, Sidewalk, Twice

On Being Hank

Twice I’ve been stepped over. And each time I refused to acknowledge the violation, at least not outwardly. However on the inside, my feelings are quite different on the matter. Can’t they see? Don’t they know? This is my space, my place to rest. Grrrrr.

I picked this patch of sidewalk specifically for its view of the street. I can see everything from here. Nothing, not even that sneaky little Pomeranian escapes my glare. He thinks I don’t know about that little spot under the hedge, the one where he buries his treasures. They are stupid, all of them. I hate dogs. Pitiful creatures. Not worth the fur they were born in.

No. I do not rest here. I keep watch. Oh, it may look like I could care less, my gaze seemingly distant and arrogant. But no, nothing escapes me, except these stupid people who seem to think that they have the right to invade my space. Grrrrr.

“Honey? Would you please do something about this?”

“What?”

“He’s at it again.”

“Who? Hank?”

“Yes Hank. Goddamn cat thinks he owns the sidewalk. Look at him.”

Yes. Admire me human, for I am cat. Go ahead. Step over me again. I dare you.

“Uh. Honey?”

“Huh?”

“He’s staring at me.”

“Yeah, so?”

“He’s giving me that look. You know the one.”

“Yes. Yes I do.”

“What should I do?”

“Stop annoying him.”

“I’m annoying him. I’m annoying him?!”

“Do you remember the last time you ‘annoyed’ him? Hmmmm?”

“Uh, yeah.”

Going inside now? Good. I like a human who knows his place. Yes. This is my spot. So warm, so nice. Yes, I am cat - hear me purrrrrr.

3WW #75

This Weeks Words are: Apology, Consider Distant

Well Played by J.C. Montgomery

“No apology is necessary, really.”

“But…”

Her words trailed off as she realized that he was slowly coming to accept what had just occurred. The mixture of emotions showing in his eyes told her everything. He was having difficulty in dealing with this turn of events. It was obviously a scenario which he had never considered possible.

There was no use in delaying the inevitable. It was over. And there was nothing either of them could change or take back in order to alter the outcome. Looking into her eyes once more, he saw something, something he had not noticed earlier.

Suddenly, a thought, once distant and untenable, rushed at him so quickly he was nearly knocked off his chair.

“Oh my god. How could I have been so blind?”

“It’s not that you were blind, you were simply too distracted by your own arrogance.”

“But…”

“But what? You really didn’t think I would be such an easy conquest did you?”

Her smile unnerved him. She was gloating. He struggled to understand. How did this happen? He had always been the one in control, but now it was in someone else's hands - and it confused him.

“For such an accomplished player, you should have known better than to be taken in by such a simple ploy.”

By allowing him to believe her weak, she had out maneuvered him. His obsession with adding yet another trophy to his collection blinded him to the fact that perhaps he was the one being ‘played’. He shifted in his chair nervously. Looking down into his hands, he began to scrutinize every move, going over every detail in his mind. He replayed it all, slowly and deliberately, seeking desperately to figure out where he went wrong.

It was all so clear, and yet he missed it completely.

“Checkmate?”

“Checkmate.”