Pearled Embers

Few men could stand the fire in her stare. She was hesitant, but whatever started that flame could not die. But she was like the unruly waves of the ocean that call out to an audacious sailor. She gave herself, then she withheld. She gave, then she retracted.

Precisely two years ago the man she loved had walked out that door – she screwed her eyes on it and felt nothing – days later she had received a call
“Hello, report on Mr. Dubois?”
“Yes” she squealed
“Today we located his body on the shores of Fonte-Ambre”
There was silence from both ends of the line. A few dry leaves rustled outside her window, agitated by swirling winds. The reporter suddenly looked around his cubicle to make sure – he had begun to suspect that time had taken a short break.

Tone. Short pause. Tone.

There would be the usual Frenchwoman; red-eyed, locked up in her condo, eternally wrapped in her nightgown, getting drunk on occasion. But that didn’t happen here, she never really broke the silence of that morning. That moment remained frozen in her mind, like a tight coil yearning for release.
In her eyes you saw desire, a faraway flame cocooned in ice. What you could not observe was the muted, watery boundary between now and then, if there was a boundary at all. One moment she was your typical woman-of-steel, sure to entice any man itching for a challenge; the next – a gasp when you noticed that she appeared not to be watching the room, but a scene happening four inches behind her pupils. So it was, that boundary, you may call it the ocean gate; it gave then it withheld her, she gave then she retracted.

Precisely two years ago the man she loved had walked out that door – she screwed her eyes on it and felt nothing – days later she had received a call
“Hello, report on Mr. Dubois?”…

You’ve stared for too long, you’ve now been pulled into her mind which is this everlasting loop.

 

Thanks for reading!

The image was originally a picture prompt on Esther’s blog, the best response was to win a free feature. Esther’s been a supportive follower, you may want to see what she’s up to.