Morning Microfiction 4.22-4.28

4/22 -- curio

    He examines the strange little trinket, tucked away behind a vase. It's a necklace, but it also looks like it might be some sort of key. The arrangement of jewels on it is quite nice, and the metal beautifully rusted--on closer inspection, it actually seems to match the design of his grandfather's locked trunk in the attic, that he could never manage to open. A quick glance tells him the shopkeeper is looking away, and he flirts with the idea of pocketing it.
    Instead, he puts it back on the shelf. It's not really his fiancée's style, after all.


4/23 -- safety

The window slammed shut, keeping the howling wind at bay for the moment. She took a deep breath, reveling in the silence and stillness of the hallway. Her fingers trembled, still resting on the lip of the window she had just closed. There was a flash as lightning sparked from sky to sea outside again, but she didn't move, just took another slow breath.
Then, just as the thunder rolled through the building, she pulled the window open and climbed back out onto the roof.


4/24 - fallen

She tries to stifle a cry, but it doesn't work, and the tears start to flow from her eyes. Look, look, she thinks, look at how much pain I am in. Come rescue me, she thinks. Of course she doesn't say anything, she just cries.
After what feels like an agonizing eternity, her mother comes and picks her up, and brushes off her bloody knee. "There now, dear, you're alright, you're alright. Hush."
Accepting this, she lets her mother rock her to sleep in her arms.


4/25 - temptation

He tiptoes carefully through the house, knowing exactly which floorboards to avoid. He of course made sure his wife was sound asleep before he got out of bed, but she's a light sleeper. He can't be too careful. Foot by foot, he makes his way to the kitchen. Agonizingly slowly, he opens the silverware and gets out a spoon, careful not to jostle the rest. It is soon joined on the counter by a bowl. Finally, he gently pulls open the freezer, and takes out his beloved, his dear, his Ben and Jerry's Rocky Road.


4/26 - lakeside

It's one of the longest moments he's ever felt, and he loves it.
Sitting there on that high rock, overlooking the whole lake, with his daughter in his lap. There are birds, and wind, and the sun, and the gentle rustling of the pine needles, and the rough stone under him, and the reflection of their house seen upside-down in the ripples of the lake.
And there are the two of them, sitting in that moment for hours. For once, she is calm. She is watching. She is seeing.
It's a perfect moment, and he will treasure it forever.


4/27 - training

"High!"
She kicks high.
"Low!"
She punches low.
"Left!"
She jabs with her elbow.
"Drop!"
Her knees bend almost instantly, dropping her flat as the staff swings past inches overhead.
"Roll!"
She pushes off the ground, hand almost instinctively finding the wooden sword waiting ahead, and coming up already holding it in a perfect cross grip.
"Cut!"
The sword comes up, and slices back down in front of her face.
"Stop!"
She stands up straight, sword dropping to her side, bows to her sensei, and removes the blindfold. "How did I do, master?"
He snorts derisively. "Not terrible, kid. Still got a long way to go, though."


4/28 - meeting

They'd been talking online for weeks, if not months. They'd lost track of how long, at some point. It was finally time to get together in person--after all, they only lived half an hour apart. Same time zone, same city... it was inevitable.
They met for coffee, then went out for a movie.
The whole experience was incredibly awkward.
They didn't talk much, after that.