Branch

The television was blaring, bright colors were quickly crossing the screen. One would think it would be distracting, but she just stared out the window at the one lazy branch she could see from the couch. I moved slowly in the wind, nothing particularly interesting about it. The branch looked too weak to even support a birds nest. It was fairly gnarled, and had four leaves randomly placed along it. The seemed to be fainting in the heat, slowly dancing to make sure they were still living. The movement was entrancing to her though. She couldn’t pull her attention anywhere else in the room. Even with that television, she had no idea why she bothered turning it on anymore.

Perhaps it was just a ritual; after class: walk home, kick off shoes, turn on television, sit on couch, stare out window. How long had she been doing this? She’d be to bed before her mother got back from her second shift job, and out the door before mom would even be awake for the day. Kids dream of independence, but if this is what that meant, it was more like purgatory. Wash, rinse, repeat. Every day the same series of events. The uniform they made her wear didn’t help either, it just added to the monotony of the entire experience.

She was so lost in thought, she didn’t notice the lull in the sounds from the television and the creaking sound of someone ascending the rusted metal staircase leading to their tiny apartment. The light sounds of an old key slowly fitting into a lock. The door lethargically opened shining a strong beam of sunlight on her foot that grew up her leg and rested on her hands in her lap. The heat from the sun finally drew her attention to the door.

A man stood there, dark long hair matted down underneath a check patterned flat cap. He had a full beard, not terribly well groomed. His eyes were alight with a fire and a deep soulful fear. Part of her brain screamed, another part tried to sooth her. She knew this person on some deep corporal level. Her body trusted the part that was calming her.

She sat in place and just stared. Showing what she hoped was an expectant look on her face to the newcomer. He motioned as if he were about to speak, but just fell to the floor in a heap instead. Her mind screamed to her, “protect.” With decisive movements she was up and walking over to him. She leveraged herself under him and hoisted him onto her back. He was much lighter than she expected. It could have been the adrenaline, but even accounting for that he was certainly light.

She dragged the unconscious body into the well aged bathroom and rolled him over into the bath. Her sense of smell came slamming back to her, as the all the previous moments actions didn’t seem to need it. A world of scents her upon her, so many she had no way to describe, and one subtle light scent under the rest. One she knew, and could not place, but it was there.

-V-