Arnold's abode was haunted by a specter. She was a pretty one, too. As he puttered about his dwelling his eyes glimpsed flashes of attraction she seemed to present for his benefit - the tender outline of a hand, a bare shoulder, or the tempting impressions of loosely-covered breasts. Despite the visual suggestions, the entirety of her form remained shrouded in delightful mystery. He lay for her, feigning sleep in an unlit corner of his rooms, hoping she might hover in range of his touch, and - in the right moment - be drawn upon him. It never came to pass. And would he boldly charge the silhouette she presented him, he found an intangible nothingness where she had ineffably stood. Day and night she obsessed his imagination. He tried to meet her eyes, but obtained not even this slightest of satisfactions. It was as though she saw right through him. That in itself should not have surprised him, had his awareness encompassed the detail that he was the spirit, and she the flesh. True, she sensed a presence, but that was where it ended. No one ever told her about the old man who had lived in the apartment before her, and died of loneliness.
Story #291
13 comments:
It is amazing how you succeed in uniting erotics, drama, suspense with a hint of irony and humor, crowned with a surprising twist in such a short piece of fiction!
Huh? Who? Did I do all that? Thanks.
Two sides to every coin, and you're a slick flipper.
Tom & Icy: For a second there I thought you wrote "sick" ;-) I've been called sick a lot more often than I've been called slick.
Hi indie,
It's lovely how you chose such a soft voice to match the picture. Standing a bit watching without much urgency or investment in the outcome, but still maintaining a warmth and humanity.
They say the old man died of loneliness, but maybe he was just on a quest to get to where he thought she might be. Were this a children's story it would be a circular tale.
Thank you for this morning read.
smiles,
Liz
Thanks for those warm words, Liz. It's nice to know I was able to contribute to your morning.
I keep reading every now and then,that picture did talk to me but I believe since it's your blog I better not write if you don't offer us to do so.
I don't know why I like a story so I can't explain what are the qualities or else of what I read.
so: I like it.
GPV: What you wrote those last times was so beautiful. If you have an inspiration I please please share it with us!
Two halves make a whole. And she looks good in a shim. Hopefully the old guy has made up for what was missing and can continue onward in his spiritual journey (some believe that if a spirit is stuck in a location, it is trapped there until its business is finished).
That poor fellow is hanging around for some reason.
I feel sorry for him.
He stretched on the sofa,kicked out his shoes and closed his eyes in sheer delight,right after supper
he liked to dose for a few minutes,
sometimes he would just let his mind wander and dream awake.Justine
used to pop up during those rare moments of relaxation with a bitchy
remark of some kind as aggressive as she could be, never again,the divorce was pronounced yesterday,it was Samuel's first day
of complete freedom.
He thought he might move on to another job,sitting on a chair all day long in front of piles of undone work is unhealthy,first things first:1-look for an interesting job.2-Tell Harry,his boss,to go and.....3-Start looking
for a cool broad...come to think of it that could be number one.
Sam smiled and thought about the girl he would like to meet.
It sure would be cool if we could
build the woman we wanted unstead of meeting random chicks that didn't know anything about how to make a man happy.As in Science-Fiction;you choose a place in the
appartment(latitude-longitude)the shower room for example then you make an effort to have a shematic
woman-like shape,Sam's wandering thoughts searched a way,an able spot in a corner of his brain and something like a click or releasing
sound moved his head,he didn't notice it and kept on shaping his perfect match female-yes a little bit less breast and some round butt
here,average height is good,the face-hmmmmm-rather long with high cheek bones and very dark hairs,oh
eyes,I want them green,almost menthol green....Sam kept on imagining,putting in shape his dream until he decided to make her move some,she's in the shower room
so she's taking a shower-->logic.
His eyes opened up as a sound of falling water seemed to come from the bathroom-"Somebody here?" his voice was shaky-the answer came sharp-"Of course not,it's the wind that turned on the shower,you moron"--It was Justine's voice.
Oh, I enjoyed that so much. Reading it, I found myself wondering which was which... If I had more sense, I should be worried; that's me you are writing about in the future. And I'm not telling you which one. ;)
GPV: Excellent, brilliant. Your narratives are all so gripping and real. Totally believable. Wish I could do that. I don't think I have one believable story here.
Jamie: Yeah, it is kind of sad. But Liz's comment makes me feel less guilty.
Mush: I hope he has better luck in part two. By the way, I have a wonderful mushroom photo I found that I may just use some day soon ;-)
Livewire: I hope you have lots of happy ends and happy beginnings.
Everyone: I've turned those verification words for comments back on. Just too much spam lately to deal with otherwise. Hope you all are still willing to comment ;-)
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