ROUND
1
Laurina
It was a dark and stormy
night. The wind was howling, and the trees were shaking with fury. Inside the
two were warm and cozy in front of the TV. They sat on either end of the
vintage red velvet sofa as they watched a movie. The bowl of popcorn was
emptied first. Then their tea cups ended up dry. Although their voices were
low, the emotion ran high between the two. It was a mutual decision, they both
said. They were both ready to let go and move on. But their body language
didn’t quite agree with their words.
After 28 years of
marriage, they had finally decided that “enough is enough”. Both of them wanted
a new life now, something different.
“I am sorry it had to
end this way”, Tracy said.
Matt felt tired and
sleepy now; he had no strength left in him. What was left to fight for? He didn’t
want to struggle to keep the marriage afloat anymore, and they had no children.
That was the last thought he had before his head fell over into the empty
popcorn bowl. Tracy smiled.
ROUND
2
Skydancer
Sleep was turbulent for
both Tracy and Matt that night.
At some point in Matt's
dreaming, he found himself afloat a raft upon the sea. There was nothing but
the sun glittering on the waves in all directions; no land was to be seen. But
the sea was gently rocking him and he seemed to be comfortably reclined in a
lawn chair with a colorful umbrella providing shade for him. In his right hand
was a drink and to his left was a small table with a book on it. He picked up
the book and decided to take advantage of the peace he felt here. He began reading.
Tracy's dreams were more
chaotic. She found herself shifting quickly from scene to scene with no control
over time or destination. In one scene she was at the foot of a long table
looking up at people who were becoming larger and angrier, all staring at her.
In the next scene she was dumped unceremoniously into a pool of stagnant water.
She found herself becoming fearful as each scene flashed by faster and faster.
And then she was falling from a great height and realized she had no parachute.
She jerked herself awake, panting hard and sitting straight up in bed. She
looked beside her to find Matt sleeping very peacefully, a slight smile on his
face. “Figures!”
But Matt was not to stay
that way for long. He 'awoke' from reading his book to find himself still on
the raft. But he was no longer reclining peacefully. The book, chair, umbrella
and little table had all disappeared. The waves were striking forcefully
against the raft, destabilizing it. The wind was blowing furiously and he could
see something coming up from the deep below him, but he couldn't tell what it
was. He knew this wasn't likely to be some otherworldly platform rising to the
surface to keep him from perishing. When the form breached the surface the raft
tipped up dangerously, upending Matt and the raft alike. He woke, truly this
time, with a start. He reached over to feel his wife's comforting presence, but
she wasn't there.
He got up and checked
the bathroom and then the kitchen for Tracy. She was seated at the table
drinking some tea. “Is there more tea?”
“Yes, of course there
is. You'll have to make it yourself, though.” Tracy's response was brief and to
the point.
“Bad dreams?” he asked.
“Yes” she replied, with
no further explanation.
Matt said, “Me too.”
There was no response from Tracy this time. He could see that this interchange
was going nowhere at all. What should he do?
ROUND
3
danushaj
The room was awash with
the glow of the morning sun, it pierced through the cute lace kitchen curtains,
making a pretty elongated pattern on the adjacent wall.
Matt's head hurt from
the indecision of decisions he would have to stand steadfast and make.
He thought back to a
time, many years ago when Tracey and he first moved into this house. They were
so excited, their first night together in the house, no sleep was had that
night. Not for the insatiable desire for each other, but because this was a new
chapter in their lives together, the joy of owning their own home.
Tracey and Matt had
stayed up all night arranging furniture, straightening rugs and hanging
curtains. They watched their first sunrise through those very same cute kitchen
curtains. The sun dancing on the wall, creating the same unmistakable elongated
pattern as the one Matt was looking at today.
A tear fell from his
right eye. Why did this choice have to be so difficult? They had been in bad
places before, making it through the other side, dusting themselves off and
chalking it up as relationship troubles. But it was different this time,
Tracey held all the
cards, and she wasn't being coy about it either.
Matt stumbled over to
the medicine cabinet and rummaged around for some Panadol, his head just
wouldn't stop aching.
Round
4
Liberty
Tracy sat in the living
room, not wanting to be around Matt at all. She slumped down onto the sofa, not
quite sure of what to do next. She was tired, yet knew she'd be unable to
sleep. The warm glow of their fireplace could be seen from across the room, and
she couldn't help but notice what was on the mantle- her wedding picture. She
hadn't looked at it in years, yet it had always been right there.
Tears began to fill her
eyes as she remembered how she'd felt that day- feeling his warm hand in hers
as he'd put the golden wedding band on her finger. Nothing in the world could
stop them. They'd said "till death do us part." She couldn't believe they
were throwing it all away.
Tracy wept aloud and
watched as the tears turned into violent sobs. She didn't want to throw their
marriage away after they'd worked so hard on it. Suddenly she felt a warm hand
on her shoulder, that same reassuring hand that had rested in hers 28 years
ago- a teary eyed Matt was looking down at her from behind the sofa. He walked
over to the sofa, sitting down next to her.
"I'm not okay,
Tracy." Matt shivered, "I can't help it. Twenty-eight years and I'm
still as hopelessly in love with you as I was then. I can't forget anything.
Every time I'm mad my mind won't stop drifting to how I felt 28 years ago when
I made you my wife- how your gentle curls fell around your neck, the sparkle in
your baby blue eyes when you said I do, your delicate hand in mine as I
promised you forever... Please forgive me, Tracy. You're beautiful and there's
no way I'll catch any sleep tonight until I know things are alright. I love
you."
ROUND
5
Sakubik
Tracy looked at him,
looked away. Her eyes were filled with tears. She breathed uneven. Tried to keep
her from bursting out in tears. What should she say?
„I'm not sure I can
forgive you“, she said, looking down on her knees. Matt came closer, he touched
her hands gently, tried to look at her face. Matts lips were moving but he
didn't know what to say.
He held her hands tight.
Tracey did not move, her tears dripped on their hands. Matt started crying.
„I can't“, she stood up,
swallowing down her emotions. „You need to go.“
„Please don't ...“, Matt
tried to convince her. Traces turned around. They looked each other straight in
the face. Silence. Matt ran over to her,
he held her tight. „I won't let you just walk out of my life“, he whispered.
Tracey broke down, she
sobbed heavily. „Maybe...“
No comments:
Post a Comment