One Man's Trash...
I first see her hurrying toward the elevator. She calls out, and I hold back the doors. Thanking me, she steps inside and starts flipping through a stack of legal briefs. As the ascent begins a series of muffled ‘fucks’ escape her.
‘That idiot…,’ she sneers, then looks straight at me. ‘Are you a contract killer by any chance?’
Her short-cut hair is ink black, her eyes brown, almond-shaped, and on fire.
‘I’m…, eh…?’
‘Oh, never mind.’
This morning, as we wake up in her bed, a blackbird is singing on the roof ridge of her neighbor’s house.
- Category: True Stories Told As Fiction
6 comments add one below
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D.M. almost 9 years ago
'Love the leap of the last line!
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Richard Charles Davidson almost 9 years ago
Pushed the door more open? Note to self, if someone ask if I am a contract killer...say yes..? I love the muffled "fucks"...along with pretty much everything else...
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T. Willemann almost 9 years ago
Thank you all for your comments – it feels good to know you’re out there reading along.
Is the blackbird symbolic? I didn't think so while writing, but who knows?
As for the door opener / door more open question … I’m afraid my limited English vocabulary may have shone through here – I’m not even sure about the correct term in Danish.
What I meant to describe is the thingyoupushinanelevatortopreventthedoorsfromclosingprematurely … I didn’t think ‘door opener’ looked quite right, but didn’t know that to use instead.
Any suggestions?
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D.M. almost 9 years ago
Tricky with only one hundred words, no point wasting precious numbers!
Perhaps "I held the elevator door"? Keep it simple. Your language skills are
inspiring Thomas! (Not sure there is a technical word for that button...) -
T. Willemann almost 9 years ago
Thank you for your suggestion D.M. I rewrote and fixed the problem – I hope. And thank you for your kind comment about my language skills. It’s one of the benefits of growing up in Denmark, a (generally) good educational system and the fact that only about 5.5 million people in the world speak Danish – you really need to know other languages, and the educational system provide the means for you to learn.
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T. Willemann almost 9 years ago
And of cause I missed the ‘s’ at the end of ‘… and the educational system provide(s) …’.
Perfect timing!
