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Past Workshop Prompts / Prompt 1B: If Tomorrow Never Comes
« on: 04/05/2017 at 20:17 »
The last rays of the day filtered through the window, casting golden streaks across the worn floorboards and across the woman's lap. She was sitting in a rocking chair by the window, bare toes only just brushing the floor. A couple of sealed boxes -- untouched and gathering dust -- lay against the far wall, right where they'd planned on putting the cot.
It was too late to return those now, which was just as well, because she couldn't quite remember what they held. A playpen, perhaps, or a set of building blocks.
"Once upon a time," she began, breaking the silence that had settled in the empty house.
The baby mobile was still revolving slowly above her head, casting soft and flickering shadows across the patchy blue walls. Even from down here, she could see the fairy's wings flutter, the Jobberknoll's beak silently open and close.
"There was a girl, and she loved a boy very much."
Her fingers moved unconsciously to rest against the curve of her stomach. All too often now, she found herself reaching for something that wasn't there, but the warmth of her skin beneath her fingertips was enough to temporarily ease the pain that lay heavy in her heart.
"She didn't know this right away -- in fact, it took her an awfully long time to figure out. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. When she finally discovered that he had stolen her heart, she was no longer a girl and he was no longer a boy. They were all grown up."
Her husband would be home any moment now, as soon as he'd locked up for the evening, but she needed to finish her story, so she leaned back against her chair and continued: "They were married not long after, and they found a little house that was just big enough for the two of them. They settled into a happy life: they worked and they played, they laughed and they smiled; sometimes they argued--"
A pause, a twitch of the lips that could've been a smile if it hadn't looked so tired, "Alright, often they argued... But they always forgave each other in the end."
The sun was winking through the hedges across the road now, dipping lower and lower into the sky. The room had grown dark, but the woman made no effort to move.
"There was something missing, though, something they both wanted more than anything in the world. And for one brief moment, they thought they had been granted their wish, but it was not to be."
A single tear slid silently down the woman's cheek and splashed against the back of her hand.
"Still, they keep on waiting and they keep on wishing, and they keep on hoping that maybe one day -- maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, maybe even in five years -- they might finally be able to live happily ever after."
It was too late to return those now, which was just as well, because she couldn't quite remember what they held. A playpen, perhaps, or a set of building blocks.
"Once upon a time," she began, breaking the silence that had settled in the empty house.
The baby mobile was still revolving slowly above her head, casting soft and flickering shadows across the patchy blue walls. Even from down here, she could see the fairy's wings flutter, the Jobberknoll's beak silently open and close.
"There was a girl, and she loved a boy very much."
Her fingers moved unconsciously to rest against the curve of her stomach. All too often now, she found herself reaching for something that wasn't there, but the warmth of her skin beneath her fingertips was enough to temporarily ease the pain that lay heavy in her heart.
"She didn't know this right away -- in fact, it took her an awfully long time to figure out. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. When she finally discovered that he had stolen her heart, she was no longer a girl and he was no longer a boy. They were all grown up."
Her husband would be home any moment now, as soon as he'd locked up for the evening, but she needed to finish her story, so she leaned back against her chair and continued: "They were married not long after, and they found a little house that was just big enough for the two of them. They settled into a happy life: they worked and they played, they laughed and they smiled; sometimes they argued--"
A pause, a twitch of the lips that could've been a smile if it hadn't looked so tired, "Alright, often they argued... But they always forgave each other in the end."
The sun was winking through the hedges across the road now, dipping lower and lower into the sky. The room had grown dark, but the woman made no effort to move.
"There was something missing, though, something they both wanted more than anything in the world. And for one brief moment, they thought they had been granted their wish, but it was not to be."
A single tear slid silently down the woman's cheek and splashed against the back of her hand.
"Still, they keep on waiting and they keep on wishing, and they keep on hoping that maybe one day -- maybe tomorrow, maybe next month, maybe even in five years -- they might finally be able to live happily ever after."
