Abstractions in Romance
The Scene: Midnight, in an empty bar. Shelves in the back, replete with exquisite liquor, their colour reflected from a long mirror above, running along the length of the bar counter, its wood burnished a dull gold with the light above. Man and Woman, alone, together, close, their drinks in front of them (Scotch for Him, Daiquiri for Her). French windows behind them show nothing but a full moon in the distance. No one else around.
Woman: (contemplative, staring at her glass) Tragedy never strikes when one is in the throes of sorrow. It has a knack for picking the sweetest, happiest moments to descend and skewer a heart. Is it life’s way of being merciful to man in his sorrow, or painful in his joy? (To Him, smiling) I absolutely loved our day together; it was all I ever wished for; in fact, much more. And yet...
Man: I did what I did because I wanted to. I love you, and a day in your life spent happy is a day in mine fulfilled. (Aloud, to no one) Our choices are all made long ago, even indecision is a choice we are conditioned in. Mercy, sorrow, pain, joy are all bad substitutes for us letting surprise rule our existence.
Woman: (To the glass) And still we live so, only peeling the surface of our existence, playing a fool’s game with a brilliant hope, not so that we might delay the inevitable, but to keep at bay the very knowledge that there is a limit to our actions, a limit we made ourselves, a limit we cannot cross. (To Him) Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to stay for another drink? I would if you’d only say you want me to.
Man: (Smiling genially) Oh, No! Not at all! I’ll be quite all right here. I won’t be long after you’re gone, anyway. (Blankly staring above at a point in the mirror) Reflections in space are needlessly complicated. And deceitful. They never cease to remind you that ever distant is ever smaller.
Woman: (To the glass) Hmm... At least those in time are courteous, if nothing else. They wait for you to come back once you walk away; ever clear, ever honest. The murkiness here is in you, not in time. (Downs what’s left of her drink. To Him) Well, I must be getting along! He’ll be waiting for me outside by now.
Man: And if he isn’t?
Woman: Then I’ll be waiting for him! Goodbye! I’ll miss you.
Man: Goodbye dear.
Woman walks out in the shadows. Man stares at the glass for a minute, picks it up, and finishes the drink in a gulp.
Man: (Slowly, whispering)
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang,
But a whimper.
He gets up, opens the French window, takes a deep breath, and steps out. 15 seconds later a taxi parked on the side of the road, next to a hotel is destroyed by a man falling with great speed through its roof.
Woman: (contemplative, staring at her glass) Tragedy never strikes when one is in the throes of sorrow. It has a knack for picking the sweetest, happiest moments to descend and skewer a heart. Is it life’s way of being merciful to man in his sorrow, or painful in his joy? (To Him, smiling) I absolutely loved our day together; it was all I ever wished for; in fact, much more. And yet...
Man: I did what I did because I wanted to. I love you, and a day in your life spent happy is a day in mine fulfilled. (Aloud, to no one) Our choices are all made long ago, even indecision is a choice we are conditioned in. Mercy, sorrow, pain, joy are all bad substitutes for us letting surprise rule our existence.
Woman: (To the glass) And still we live so, only peeling the surface of our existence, playing a fool’s game with a brilliant hope, not so that we might delay the inevitable, but to keep at bay the very knowledge that there is a limit to our actions, a limit we made ourselves, a limit we cannot cross. (To Him) Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to stay for another drink? I would if you’d only say you want me to.
Man: (Smiling genially) Oh, No! Not at all! I’ll be quite all right here. I won’t be long after you’re gone, anyway. (Blankly staring above at a point in the mirror) Reflections in space are needlessly complicated. And deceitful. They never cease to remind you that ever distant is ever smaller.
Woman: (To the glass) Hmm... At least those in time are courteous, if nothing else. They wait for you to come back once you walk away; ever clear, ever honest. The murkiness here is in you, not in time. (Downs what’s left of her drink. To Him) Well, I must be getting along! He’ll be waiting for me outside by now.
Man: And if he isn’t?
Woman: Then I’ll be waiting for him! Goodbye! I’ll miss you.
Man: Goodbye dear.
Woman walks out in the shadows. Man stares at the glass for a minute, picks it up, and finishes the drink in a gulp.
Man: (Slowly, whispering)
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang,
But a whimper.
He gets up, opens the French window, takes a deep breath, and steps out. 15 seconds later a taxi parked on the side of the road, next to a hotel is destroyed by a man falling with great speed through its roof.
Comments
Idea's from Life. Where else? :)
Very realistic and your description has been apt..I could get the essence of the entire setup.
And when u feel she is ur soul sister, She has someone else. The other guy is always there.Mysterious are the equations of nature
I am going to read it again just now :)
@alfa thanks dude!
Julia Swenson
I liked it.. :)
maybe im dense, but can anyone make this clearer.
And thanks, PsycheBubbles!
Kate Swenson
For some reason I wasn't following your blog!
Didnt quite get the reflections in time bit though.
@Abha see if this makes sense:
Reflections in space are just regular reflections, the ones that become smaller as you move away, and become murky by things outside.
Reflections in time come from looking back in time. They're memories, which are always there at the back of your mind. You can think of them any number of times, and they're as vibrant as you make them. The parts that you don't remember are because you've let yourself forget them for some reason, maybe irrelevance, or too much pain, or whatever.