Rebuilt
The mirror was broken, just like him.
An eye here, an ear there, his lips by the corner, withered.
She came inside, soundlessly, swept the shards away and, with a finger-snap, said: “Wake up.”
He opened his eyes, looked into hers, and finally saw the leather collar around his neck. It was a perfect fit.
Today was one of those days where everything that could go wrong, went wrong. I wrote the first thing that came to mind, and that’s it. Tomorrow, will be better. It has to be.
A Day to Remember (Although Forgetting Might Be Wise)
“Elliot, why are all these letters dated February 10th?” His friend, Miles, asked.
“I don’t know,” he muttered.
“That’s the third time this week. What happened that day?”
“Not sure but you were there, and so was your wife. She brought a metronome… and a donkey.”
They gulped, simultaneously. February 10th was never mentioned again.
So… bad days. We all have them.
Awful, confusing moments where nothing makes sense, where the whole world falls beneath our feet no matter how hard we try to hold on to things. If I were to write down everything that happened to me yesterday, I would type for hours and I don’t want to do that. Instead, I’ll just focus on a small fragment of it. At one point, I was so out of it, I got my dates mixed up. Even though I knew exactly what day it was, my mind kept going back one month, which resulted in me typing February 9th an embarrassingly awful number of times in quick succession. That strange mismatch between my thoughts and reality all around was on the basis of what I ended up writing, today. It’s silly, it’s dumb. No animals were harmed last month… I think.
His Favorite
“Is that Mint Chocolate Chip?” Vanessa asked.
“Yeah. It’s my favorite,” Alec nodded.
“I thought it was Strawberry Cheesecake.”
“You’re right.”
“Lemon Pie, huh?”
“Exactly,” he kept on nodding, holding the empty bowl of ice-cream as if it were the Holy Grail. “What about yours?”
“Frozen Mind Swirl,” she laughed.
“That’s my favorite,” he concluded.
Do you like ice-cream? Of course, you do. Who doesn’t, right? Do you like being mindfucked? Having your thoughts jumbled in such a way that they become indistinguishable from another person’s? If you do, you’re definitely in the right place. Now, open your mouth and eat whatever she tells you to eat, okay?
The Flying Consciousness
The waves were crashing, threatening to sink the world. She stood at the deck, spinning the wheel, as sparks from the thunderous skies above reflected on her eyes and then on his.
“This isn’t real,” he muttered, afraid.
“It will be…” she beckoned, pulling the sail from his heart.
Together, they made the ship fly.
Today’s entry is a metaphorical piece about stepping out of one’s comfort zone, inspired by the quote below.
A ship is always safe at the shore – but that is NOT what it is built for. – Albert Einstein
Unlike previous entries in this challenge, there’s no overt mind control in this one, but it’s there if you don’t forget to read between the lines. The strange title came to me because I was reminded of the legendary ghost ship The Flying Dutchman and thought it was fun to subvert it because we all know imagination has more wings than the ones we often give it credit for. It’s the most powerful tool/weapon at our disposal and it’s at the basis of our greatest achievements. Going from imagination to action can be quite hard sometimes, but it’s always rewarding, especially when we realize we continue flying. May your ships sail uncharted waters, and may they always find their way home.