The River. Very, very rough draft. Like it was retrieved and unscrunched from the rubbish bin.
It was like it would never end. The voices, that churning voice of the river calling her calling her downstream. Would she ever reach the sea? Does the river ever end? The years wasted, the time spent hoping and dreaming and waiting.
Hope awoke to the sound of the morning coming alive. She sighed as she left the comfort of her bed and set her mind in order to face the day. Throwing on her running outfit she took to the road. The morning air hit her as she began jogging at a steady pace. Thoughts, desires, dreams, yearnings, urges ran through her head like a churning, swirling current. Never ceasing to end and always the same thing.
There was something inside her that urged her to hurry, move forward, move forward, yet she felt like she was treading water. She likened it to a bad dream where you were being chased by some terrific monster and you couldn’t run fast enough, the monster always took four steps to your one and you were stranded on something like a treadmill going nowhere meanwhile the monster was catching up. Time was her monster.
“Morning” Hope nodded to another early morning walker passing by.
The smell of the Jacaranda tree’s wafted on the breeze as Hope sucked it in. The neighbourhood where she lived was nice enough. Rich homes towered along the river she jogged by. White, majest homes with large iron gates baring their teeth at passerbyers uninvitingly....she often wondered what type of lives where being lived behind those gates. Hollywood couldn’t always be right could it? Money must bring some form of happiness.
The Jacaranda’s lining the sidewalk sprayed their delicate flowers along the road and footpath, only to be squashed by passing traffic and ambitious runners. Hope, would note there existence, there fleeting beauty would not go unnoticed to her.
Panting and out of breath she reached the end of her route. Leaning on her knees she caught her breath. Suddenly the air she was breathing was mingled with some form of men’s deodorant. Rising swiftly she came in full view of a t-shirt clad abdominal. Stepping back quickly her gaze moved even higher and she came to looked into a pair of soft, dark brown eyes. An automated smile came to her mouth unconsciously and she spat out a bland hello.
“Hi”. The 6 foot something of a guy replied in a warm, deep voice matching the aura of his form. He smiled big, revealing a straight row of glowing, white teeth. “I saw you drop this”. Handing her the small ipod shuffle that was usually meant to be attached to the band on her upper arm. She took a glance where the ipod was supposed to be situated and naturally she discovered an empty socket.
“Damn”. She swore to herself. She had strapped the shuffle on totally forgetting to actually use it. Today of all days.
“Oh thanks!” She found herself unconsciously saying as she took it from his outstretched hand. “No problem” he replied smiling again. She began to reattach the ipod back to the belt on her arm, trying to ignore the stranger a little so he’d get the hint and move off. He didn’t take the hint. Turning back around she said “Thanks so much again, have a good day-”. “James” he almost cut her short as he stuck out his hand introducing himself. Surprised but trying not to show it she shook his hand routinely and replied “Hope”. His shake was firm and strong matching his commanding build. “Nice to meet you, Hope”. “You too, thanks so much for that. See ya”. Hope smiled as best she could and swiftly took off running. In the wrong direction. She almost swore out loud, but continued jogging not wanting to appear a complete fool by turning around mid run and jogging in the correct direction towards home. Quickly deciding, she chose to jog till she was out of sight and make a detour back through the graveyard. She swore again.
By the time she reached the graveyard she was again out of breath and panting like a dog. She plopped herself on a patch of grass next to a gravestone and laughed at herself despite her dismal surroundings. “Gosh! What a morning” she breathed.
Back at the house Hope ignored all distractions and made a bee line for the shower. Letting the cool water fall over her body she felt as if this was the smartest thing she’d decided on all morning. The sound of a car crash interrupted her mixed thoughts. Her phone vibrated and shuffled across the sink where she’d left it the night before. The sound of the car crash continued to announce the existence of an outside world, a fraction of part of that world was waiting on her.
Life. Car crash. Work. Her life.
Hope ignored the vibrating car crash which was her phone and finished showering. Drying down she scanned her tailored wardrobe. Lifeless, starched-stiff corporate wear hung coldly in a long array of grey in her oversized wardrobe. She selected a stiff, tailored skirt and a white, collared shirt. Dressing, her mind kicked into gear, driving away all the twisted thoughts of the morning into a dark corner, she began to meditate her daily schedule..
Hope awoke to the sound of the morning coming alive. She sighed as she left the comfort of her bed and set her mind in order to face the day. Throwing on her running outfit she took to the road. The morning air hit her as she began jogging at a steady pace. Thoughts, desires, dreams, yearnings, urges ran through her head like a churning, swirling current. Never ceasing to end and always the same thing.
There was something inside her that urged her to hurry, move forward, move forward, yet she felt like she was treading water. She likened it to a bad dream where you were being chased by some terrific monster and you couldn’t run fast enough, the monster always took four steps to your one and you were stranded on something like a treadmill going nowhere meanwhile the monster was catching up. Time was her monster.
“Morning” Hope nodded to another early morning walker passing by.
The smell of the Jacaranda tree’s wafted on the breeze as Hope sucked it in. The neighbourhood where she lived was nice enough. Rich homes towered along the river she jogged by. White, majest homes with large iron gates baring their teeth at passerbyers uninvitingly....she often wondered what type of lives where being lived behind those gates. Hollywood couldn’t always be right could it? Money must bring some form of happiness.
The Jacaranda’s lining the sidewalk sprayed their delicate flowers along the road and footpath, only to be squashed by passing traffic and ambitious runners. Hope, would note there existence, there fleeting beauty would not go unnoticed to her.
Panting and out of breath she reached the end of her route. Leaning on her knees she caught her breath. Suddenly the air she was breathing was mingled with some form of men’s deodorant. Rising swiftly she came in full view of a t-shirt clad abdominal. Stepping back quickly her gaze moved even higher and she came to looked into a pair of soft, dark brown eyes. An automated smile came to her mouth unconsciously and she spat out a bland hello.
“Hi”. The 6 foot something of a guy replied in a warm, deep voice matching the aura of his form. He smiled big, revealing a straight row of glowing, white teeth. “I saw you drop this”. Handing her the small ipod shuffle that was usually meant to be attached to the band on her upper arm. She took a glance where the ipod was supposed to be situated and naturally she discovered an empty socket.
“Damn”. She swore to herself. She had strapped the shuffle on totally forgetting to actually use it. Today of all days.
“Oh thanks!” She found herself unconsciously saying as she took it from his outstretched hand. “No problem” he replied smiling again. She began to reattach the ipod back to the belt on her arm, trying to ignore the stranger a little so he’d get the hint and move off. He didn’t take the hint. Turning back around she said “Thanks so much again, have a good day-”. “James” he almost cut her short as he stuck out his hand introducing himself. Surprised but trying not to show it she shook his hand routinely and replied “Hope”. His shake was firm and strong matching his commanding build. “Nice to meet you, Hope”. “You too, thanks so much for that. See ya”. Hope smiled as best she could and swiftly took off running. In the wrong direction. She almost swore out loud, but continued jogging not wanting to appear a complete fool by turning around mid run and jogging in the correct direction towards home. Quickly deciding, she chose to jog till she was out of sight and make a detour back through the graveyard. She swore again.
By the time she reached the graveyard she was again out of breath and panting like a dog. She plopped herself on a patch of grass next to a gravestone and laughed at herself despite her dismal surroundings. “Gosh! What a morning” she breathed.
Back at the house Hope ignored all distractions and made a bee line for the shower. Letting the cool water fall over her body she felt as if this was the smartest thing she’d decided on all morning. The sound of a car crash interrupted her mixed thoughts. Her phone vibrated and shuffled across the sink where she’d left it the night before. The sound of the car crash continued to announce the existence of an outside world, a fraction of part of that world was waiting on her.
Life. Car crash. Work. Her life.
Hope ignored the vibrating car crash which was her phone and finished showering. Drying down she scanned her tailored wardrobe. Lifeless, starched-stiff corporate wear hung coldly in a long array of grey in her oversized wardrobe. She selected a stiff, tailored skirt and a white, collared shirt. Dressing, her mind kicked into gear, driving away all the twisted thoughts of the morning into a dark corner, she began to meditate her daily schedule..