Erased, a novel
Chapter 25- When Given the Opportunity
Veronica- I took a man's life. He knows it, but we're still here. I'd heard the name Grace several times. That was all it was; a suitable name. A beautiful one actually, but into it I read nothing. Then all of a sudden when I walked out those doors and left all that steel and metal behind, into it I read much. Grace didn't show up early either. I'd served most of my time before a light-hearted wanderer dressed in mismatch patterns and with bouncing shockingly red hair showed up under the title Doctor. I think she knew I could see her, and it always took her a few moments to gather herself. Looking in, it just appeared she was gathering her things. My story never changed, I'd settled on it early on, but the heart around it grew and changed in many ways. The first time she exited the room, I felt a cool breeze, and afterwards for more than a day, a peace greater than the one I had, stayed with me. I could see that she was trying really hard, and that she had studied before every meeting. Then one day she showed up and her hair was pinned up, but she wasn't. Something changed. Maybe she'd found more time to dig, and I still don't know what all she found, but I walked out early with my story still in tact. I only had to agree to keep seeing her and I still do. We don't talk so much about the case anymore, but my life before I committed the crime, and sometimes we go as far as to look into the future. It's a thought I had learned to put down years ago. It's hard to do time with the future nagging at you. Now I'm unlearning what I tried hard to remember. I'd heard the question asked, "which came first... the chicken or the egg?" It's an interesting question and more so when you can use your own life in such a question. As it stands, and now that I think about it, the egg came first. The egg. My daughter. Her reaching out to me. It was just about that point when things started to stir. It's like a wave came and swept me up. Now I'm here. Well we're here, both of us can sense that we've been swept up, and it makes us take long stares and longer walks. It's only been a few weeks now. We talk about odd things, and we glide from one thing to the next like we're dancing. Yeah, like we're dancing. And in all the dancing he never forgets to stay in front. I've never dated a man like him. He knows things, and there are no kids around. I'm not trying to hold more than my hands can carry and make him happy. I'm not secretly following his eyes to see where they fall. I don't need to dress up to keep his attention, or wash his clothes to prove I'm worthy. Yet, perhaps if I have the opportunity I will. It's this desire to make his steps easier, and let him know that he's thought of. But we're not there yet, and there is not even on the board. We're just talking and dancing as we talk. We're just holding each other up, but my arms are on top. There's no rules, no norms, just room to create what feels reasonable to us both. Today it's dinner. It's our first. I'm unlike anything I seen before. I can't recall ever looking this special. It's a good gift and it makes the heart smile. He's a lot more casual, but we're not trying to mirror each other. We've decided to enjoy our individual view. It's good to be with him and see his eyes grow stronger; much stronger than the day we met. He doesn't refer to it much, but I know he's been down on his luck. I don't pry, and every now and then he trusts my ears with a small piece of the story. I took a lot away from the Shepherd's Way, and I try to listen for questions that open up more road for us to travel. Tonight, we're cruising... and it's the captain's night.
Chapter 26- Gaps Fade
Reece- Course. Sometimes the future comes horizontally. Who was I fooling, I'd never plotted a course. What is course when you have a corner. Fighting my way out of a corner had been the ongoing plot. I'd thought long and hard about how to gain my footing. I'd considered becoming a PI. It was the closest thing to what I'd been doing, and I could reckon with the fork at the same time. But I turned aside, and out of the corner of my eye, I knew I saw my brother. I hadn't seen him in forever. It's a crazy question to wonder if a sibling would remember you, but I had to ask the question. He was standing beside the pump at the back of me. I turned back and forth a few times to test my judgements, and they were correct. He has on thin framed shades with rectangular lenses. He's hip and looks like money. I've been around many groups of people, and he also looks like one of us. It's a far out thought and I quickly take it off the table. I hear the pump click, and I'm faced with the reality of loosing sight of him again. I'm also behind tints, and I remove them as I approach him.
"Eaton?"
"Reece?" He immediately peels of his shades and we hugged each other. I'm shocked and relieved. He remembers.
"Where have you been?" His question, a good one and yet not one I'm sure either of us can answer at the present moment.
"I've been living you know, and growing. You look good."
"Yeah, I found some decent work." He didn't identify his work, but gave credit to it, and I understood my first thought was not so far off. We passed words back and forth quickly.. mostly with short answers that led to nothing. We probably should have referenced family, but neither of us did. It was a sour and sore kind of spot that I knew hadn't changed, and so there was no need to look back. Just a few minutes had passed when a young girl emerged from the passenger side of his car. She looked suspicious and jealous at once. He looked over at her and smiled. We were all on the same page. I thought to introduce myself and turn that page, but he waved her over and introduced me instead. She has a pop of star appeal and she's clear about it. In fact her shades are not letting her live any of it down, and although she doesn't remove them, she gives a warm smile and sounds off, "I'm Radiance Dunbar, nice to meet you." They kiss and not a bashful kiss and she returns to the car.
"She's a singer. She's doing a show tonight. Maybe you'll come out and hear her." It was a solid invitation. I accepted it and left them behind. Back on the road, I'm moving slowly. I have no way of verifying it, but there's a course of sorts plotting its way before me. It's like something at the back of all my considerations just came and got me. I'm also slow at attempting to point at it, but the fork is fading and the corner is receding.
Erased, a novel
Copyright 2018 by Natisha Renee Williams, All Rights Reserved
Grace Call Communications, LLC Copyright 2018
Chapter 25- When Given the Opportunity
Veronica- I took a man's life. He knows it, but we're still here. I'd heard the name Grace several times. That was all it was; a suitable name. A beautiful one actually, but into it I read nothing. Then all of a sudden when I walked out those doors and left all that steel and metal behind, into it I read much. Grace didn't show up early either. I'd served most of my time before a light-hearted wanderer dressed in mismatch patterns and with bouncing shockingly red hair showed up under the title Doctor. I think she knew I could see her, and it always took her a few moments to gather herself. Looking in, it just appeared she was gathering her things. My story never changed, I'd settled on it early on, but the heart around it grew and changed in many ways. The first time she exited the room, I felt a cool breeze, and afterwards for more than a day, a peace greater than the one I had, stayed with me. I could see that she was trying really hard, and that she had studied before every meeting. Then one day she showed up and her hair was pinned up, but she wasn't. Something changed. Maybe she'd found more time to dig, and I still don't know what all she found, but I walked out early with my story still in tact. I only had to agree to keep seeing her and I still do. We don't talk so much about the case anymore, but my life before I committed the crime, and sometimes we go as far as to look into the future. It's a thought I had learned to put down years ago. It's hard to do time with the future nagging at you. Now I'm unlearning what I tried hard to remember. I'd heard the question asked, "which came first... the chicken or the egg?" It's an interesting question and more so when you can use your own life in such a question. As it stands, and now that I think about it, the egg came first. The egg. My daughter. Her reaching out to me. It was just about that point when things started to stir. It's like a wave came and swept me up. Now I'm here. Well we're here, both of us can sense that we've been swept up, and it makes us take long stares and longer walks. It's only been a few weeks now. We talk about odd things, and we glide from one thing to the next like we're dancing. Yeah, like we're dancing. And in all the dancing he never forgets to stay in front. I've never dated a man like him. He knows things, and there are no kids around. I'm not trying to hold more than my hands can carry and make him happy. I'm not secretly following his eyes to see where they fall. I don't need to dress up to keep his attention, or wash his clothes to prove I'm worthy. Yet, perhaps if I have the opportunity I will. It's this desire to make his steps easier, and let him know that he's thought of. But we're not there yet, and there is not even on the board. We're just talking and dancing as we talk. We're just holding each other up, but my arms are on top. There's no rules, no norms, just room to create what feels reasonable to us both. Today it's dinner. It's our first. I'm unlike anything I seen before. I can't recall ever looking this special. It's a good gift and it makes the heart smile. He's a lot more casual, but we're not trying to mirror each other. We've decided to enjoy our individual view. It's good to be with him and see his eyes grow stronger; much stronger than the day we met. He doesn't refer to it much, but I know he's been down on his luck. I don't pry, and every now and then he trusts my ears with a small piece of the story. I took a lot away from the Shepherd's Way, and I try to listen for questions that open up more road for us to travel. Tonight, we're cruising... and it's the captain's night.
Chapter 26- Gaps Fade
Reece- Course. Sometimes the future comes horizontally. Who was I fooling, I'd never plotted a course. What is course when you have a corner. Fighting my way out of a corner had been the ongoing plot. I'd thought long and hard about how to gain my footing. I'd considered becoming a PI. It was the closest thing to what I'd been doing, and I could reckon with the fork at the same time. But I turned aside, and out of the corner of my eye, I knew I saw my brother. I hadn't seen him in forever. It's a crazy question to wonder if a sibling would remember you, but I had to ask the question. He was standing beside the pump at the back of me. I turned back and forth a few times to test my judgements, and they were correct. He has on thin framed shades with rectangular lenses. He's hip and looks like money. I've been around many groups of people, and he also looks like one of us. It's a far out thought and I quickly take it off the table. I hear the pump click, and I'm faced with the reality of loosing sight of him again. I'm also behind tints, and I remove them as I approach him.
"Eaton?"
"Reece?" He immediately peels of his shades and we hugged each other. I'm shocked and relieved. He remembers.
"Where have you been?" His question, a good one and yet not one I'm sure either of us can answer at the present moment.
"I've been living you know, and growing. You look good."
"Yeah, I found some decent work." He didn't identify his work, but gave credit to it, and I understood my first thought was not so far off. We passed words back and forth quickly.. mostly with short answers that led to nothing. We probably should have referenced family, but neither of us did. It was a sour and sore kind of spot that I knew hadn't changed, and so there was no need to look back. Just a few minutes had passed when a young girl emerged from the passenger side of his car. She looked suspicious and jealous at once. He looked over at her and smiled. We were all on the same page. I thought to introduce myself and turn that page, but he waved her over and introduced me instead. She has a pop of star appeal and she's clear about it. In fact her shades are not letting her live any of it down, and although she doesn't remove them, she gives a warm smile and sounds off, "I'm Radiance Dunbar, nice to meet you." They kiss and not a bashful kiss and she returns to the car.
"She's a singer. She's doing a show tonight. Maybe you'll come out and hear her." It was a solid invitation. I accepted it and left them behind. Back on the road, I'm moving slowly. I have no way of verifying it, but there's a course of sorts plotting its way before me. It's like something at the back of all my considerations just came and got me. I'm also slow at attempting to point at it, but the fork is fading and the corner is receding.
(Beginning Aug. 10th.. "Catch Up Now!")
Erased, a novel
Copyright 2018 by Natisha Renee Williams, All Rights Reserved
Grace Call Communications, LLC Copyright 2018
Comments
Post a Comment