Oneshots

[Diz]

A trecut ceva vreme de cand n-am mai deschis Word-ul in afara de proiecte, insa cand mai prind niste timp liber imi place sa scriu. Oneshots sau lucrari mai lungi. Aici o sa pun oneshot-urile, n-are rost sa fac cate un topic separat pentru fiecare.

Ah si da, scriu in engleza, dupa cum se va vedea. Eventualele avertizari vor veni cand va fi nevoie de ele. De asemenea, personajele/lucrarile imi apartin si nu sunt preluate de nicaieri.

Critici, pareri, comentarii sunt bine venite oricand.

The element bus

I only had six dollars left in my pocket, maybe enough for a ticket home and a sandwich, and, if I was lucky, a bottle of water too. Juice is too expensive nowadays. 6:15 PM and I got lucky. The girl at the counter gave me a bottle of water, even if I was 30 cents short. She added a wink to the receipt and a phone number. I never was much of a social outgoing person, but people always found a way to be around me. I threw the number away. Wouldn’t do much good now, would it? Plus, my girlfriend would disagree.

Have you ever noticed while sitting at the bus stop, that if you stare at people long enough, you can see their tics? This girl for example. She was leaning against the pole and switching her leg once every 2 minutes. The guy some feet away kept staring at the clock, maybe thinking that time would pass faster if he did so. The man next to me on the bench kept popping his knuckles once every few minutes. It’s amazing how much you observe by just standing still.

6:30 PM and it was time to get rolling. It’s a good thing I never carried large suitcases because then it might have been complicated to find a spot where to put it. People should remember that. Take only what’s necessary. But then again people aren’t known for their reasoning. My train of thought was interrupted by a lady passing by. One thing I noticed about her, and that was the fact that she was wearing a long brown coat and a scarf while it was raging hot in the bus. I gave her another look before reaching the conclusion that some people were just weird. Looking out the window I noticed that the man on the bench got up and joined the line to get on the bus. He stopped popping his knuckles but began licking his lips. Now I’m no psychologist but I’m sure he was nervous. My eyes drifted to the clock, seeing that it was still 6:30. I took out my phone and texted my girlfriend, telling her that I should arrive in about 8 hours. And then it died, making me remember that I’d forgotten to charge it this morning.

15 minutes later the bus closed its doors to the world and started its engine. The driver announced that there will be regular stops for us to get refreshments and food. A rather tall girl with red hair and blue eyes sat next to me giving me a quick smile accompanied by a “hello”. I answered back, trying to be polite but I don’t think she heard me. She had her earphones on and was muttering the lyrics to a song. Her attire had me startled for a minute, because contraire to the rather cold weather outside, she was wearing shorts and a tank top, but she didn’t seemed to be bothered by it.

The bus started rolling down the street, not as silently as I’d hoped it to be so that I could get some sleep. Well, that’s what you get for a low price ticket but at least I had my bottle of water. One last look at the bus station showed me the girl at the ticket booth winking at me again before turning back to her duties and the clock next to the now empty bench, resting its hands at 6:30.

An hour or so on the road by now and the only person that moved was the weird lady with the brown coat and the scarf. Initially she was sitting at the end of the bus but now she moved closer to the place where I was sitting. I gave her no importance at the time and continued my looking out the window routine. After half an hour or so the bus stopped. Someone needed to buy some food. It was a thin man with a big orange moustache, matching his hair, and baggy looking clothes. I watched him as he entered the store and waited for him to come out. Five minutes later the bus began moving again. I got up, not sure what I wanted to do until the girl next to me gave me a weird look. “What are you doing?” she asked taking off her headphones and when I told her that the bus left without the man that went to the store she gave me an even more puzzled look and asked “What man?”…and that’s when I sat back down. I kept thinking about what I saw for the next hour but then it all faded away as my attention was caught by an elderly lady trying to put her bag on the seat next to her. When I tried to remember what I was thinking about, I couldn’t seem to get a firm grip of it. It was something about a store, maybe…or wasn’t it a store?

“Want some cookies?” The girl asked and then I completely forgot about it.

“Sure” I said and then returned to my natural state of looking out the window, thinking that maybe I should finish my story. Alicia’s been pestering me for the last three weeks to hand it in so I might as well do it now while I have the time.

~It was a gloomy Monday morning. Nothing changed in that, not even his routine. Monday morning were always gloomy and he always woke up at 5 AM, washed, had breakfast, got dressed and then headed out the door. Now you have to understand, it’s not because he wanted to. He just had to. You know how you feel when you just have to close and lock the door after you leave home? Well, he just had to get up at 5 AM on Monday mornings and go out and do that. So he did. He walked up to the alley he usually does and then took a right (like he usually does ), walked for a hundred meters and took a left. He stopped and looked behind him, checking if someone followed him. If he’s alone, he puts on his gloves, stays in the shadows and waits. Usually no more than ten minutes pass before someone shows up and that’s when he gets out, knife in hand and gets the job done…because he has to. It was a Monday morning after all. ~

The bus driver announced a five minute stop but since I had no more money left and half a bottle of water, I stayed in while the others went. I counted 6 people getting off the bus, because I like numbers. My dad usually said that I should become an accountant, but then I went off and became a writer. I still like numbers; I count every time I get the chance to. After everybody got out, to stretch their legs or just get some supplies for the way, I returned to my thoughts. What should I do next with my newly created character? It was always like this. I got the idea, the beginning and the ending, but the middle was always the problem. I mindlessly looked around the empty bus, not really seeing anything until I heard a voice next to me. “Yes?” the girl asked in a rather annoyed tone. “You were looking straight at me. Something wrong?” she asked.

“Oh no, not at all, sorry, I was….I was just thinking…about…something…I guess. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or anything” I apologized with the truth. I haven’t even noticed that they came back on the bus, nor heard anything. I looked around and realized that there were less chairs occupied since when we first left, but the weird thing was that I couldn’t remember how many people were on the bus to begin with. Six? Seven? Nine? We were only 5 now, counting the driver. Maybe that’s the number of people the bus always had. I couldn’t remember so I took it as a hint to get back to my thinking and stop procrastinating.

“Excuse me.” I asked the girl next to me, “Do you happen to have a watch?”

“Sure, it’s…” she checked her phone, reminding me that mine was dead on my own account. I always forget to charge it.

“6:30”.

“Thank you” I said before she got to put her headphones back on. I looked out the window and saw that the sky was a mix between light and dark blue with a few taints of violet and orange. Must have been on the road for about 3 hours. Since it was 6:30, we must have left the station at 3:30, but I could have sworn it was a bit dark there too, almost dusk like. Probably because of the location, or maybe I was waiting indoors for the bus to come, or maybe it was cloudy. Must have been cloudy then.

The lady with the fur coat moved again, further down, in front of the bus, still dressed. It puzzled me. How could she stay dressed in this heat? Was she afraid that someone would steal her coat? Was she cold? Maybe it was something she had to do, just like my character.

~On Tuesdays he would wake up at 8 AM, have breakfast, shower and watch TV until 10 AM. Then he would get dressed and head down the main boulevard, making a left turn after precisely 500 meters. He would arrive in front of one of those new buildings, with a fancy inter-phone next to the door. He would call Samantha so that she could let him in, and then he would climb to the fifth floor, always on the stairs. After entering her apartment, he would take her in his arms and caress her hair, lowering his lips to hers. He’d kiss her long and passionate, while he would carry her to the bedroom and lay her on the bed. Only then, would he part his lips from hers, with the sole purpose of removing her clothes. Then, he’d start kissing her again. On the lips, on her neck, on her breasts and abdomen and then back to the lips again. All this time, she’s make busy with his clothes, taking them off, starting with his shirt and then with his pants, never the other way around. It was a Tuesday, so it must be done right.

They’d lay in each other’s arms for about half an hour, kissing and whispering until he would bring her close to him, almost glued, and make love to her the way it should be done on Tuesdays. Then, she would get up and check the window. If she started getting dressed, he’d pick up his clothes and dress on his way to the door. If she would come back to bed, they’d stay a while longer entangled in a fiery embrace. But never longer than 3 PM. ~

“What are you writing?” the girl next to me asked, making me misspell the last word.

“It’s a story I have to turn in to my publisher in a few days.”

“You’re a writer?” she eyed me as if not really believing what I was saying.

“Yes, but I’m just starting, so I don’t think you’ve ever heard of me.” I was trying to correct the word while talking to her.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I startled you didn’t I? Your writing is not symmetric anymore.” She peeled over my hand looking disappointed.

“It’s alright, I…wait, symmetrical?”

“Yes, you’re the only person I ever saw that has an equal writing. Usually people make one letter bigger than the other and so on, but yours is beautiful. Well…was.” She added looking at the last word on the paper.

“I…thank you, I guess.” I didn’t really know what to say, firstly because everyone else said that my handwriting was atrocious, and secondly because she was looking disappointed that she ruined the symmetry of my writing.

“What kind of books are you writing?”

“It depends really. I don’t specialize in one genre; I write whatever I feel like at the time.”

“Ah it’s like eating then.”

“Pardon?”

“Like eating, you eat what you feel like eating, and you write what you feel like writing.”

“I…guess that’s a legit comparison, yes. What kind of books do you like?” I asked trying to get the discussion moving along.

“Oh, I don’t read. I have all my adventures up here.” She said pointing at her head. “I can have an adventure anytime I want.”

“Ever thought of putting those adventures on paper? Maybe some other people would like to read about them.”

“No, I don’t want to. They’re private and plus, some of them are too dark to share. They’re my pleasure as much as they’re my burden. But don’t let me distract you any longer. You were concentrating on your writing” she said and put on her headphones before I had the chance to say anything else. In all honesty I was a little relieved. She was starting to give me an uncomfortable feeling, but I couldn’t exactly put my finger on what it was. I wasn’t scared of her, I just rather preferred sitting next to her in silence.

I remember that when I was little, I used to look out the window during any car ride, and imagine great adventures. I still do that when I’m out of inspiration, it’s a habit that never died even though someone complained that it’s a bit annoying since I’m giving the impression of ignoring anyone around me at the time.

~On Wednesdays he sat on his favorite chair and read. Last Wednesday he read a play, so now he wanted something different. He wanted fiction, he wanted detachment from reality. His finger usually played on the books before he finally settled it on a title.

From time to time he made a pause, rejoining the real world, as he looked out the window at the hustle and bustle on the streets below his apartment. But then again, nothing was better than an imaginary realm so the pause never lasted more than a couple of minutes. What could be better than fairies, dragons, knights, sometime brave, sometime cowards, kings and queens and grand adventures? Nothing, of course. Because on Wednesdays, imagination ran free.~

I suddenly realized that I had no idea what day was today. I’ve been so wrapped up in my writing that I lost track of time in general. My first instinct was to pull out my phone, but then I remembered the battery problem.

“Something wrong sonny?” the woman next to me turned with a concerned face. It took me a while to register the long brown coat and the scarf wrapped around her neck like a snake.

“No m’am, I just realized that I don’t know what day it is today.” I answered while my mind seemed to be struggling with something.

“You looked lost there for a second” she laughed at me, drawing back her white hair.

“Somebody told me that I usually look lost” I answered back with a smile. She brushed something off her shoulders while trying to get comfortable.

“Being lost is nothing to be ashamed of sonny. Why, I find myself lost all the time I travel somewhere. Oh, and it’s Friday.”

“Thank you m’am.” I let my gaze wonder over her, finally noticing what she was brushing off her shoulders from time to time. It was snow. She probably noticed my look because she apologized.

“It just keeps gathering, the damn thing. If I don’t brush it off, then I won’t be any different from a snow man. It’s quite upsetting really. I’m sorry.”

“It’s no problem. Better snow than rain.”

“Snow does look better, doesn’t it?” she smiled at me and then sat back in her seat, closing her eyes. I took her example and drifted off. I’d finish my story at home, no use in pushing myself. I had enough time.

I woke up some time later, shivering. The lady next to me seemed to be sleeping without being disturbed by the cold from the falling snow.

“Excuse me…” I gently rocked her, trying to wake her up.

“Eh? Wha…Oh, sonny, what can I help you with? Sorry, I seemed to have dozed off…not as young as I used to be.” She smiled at me and then noticed the snow falling around us. “Oh blast it, I can’t even get a decent nap without it gathering all around me.” She waved her hands in desperation, clearing the inside of the bus of any patch of snow. It was starting to get warm again. “Terribly sorry about that.”

“It’s ok, just that I don’t think the other passengers appreciated the cold.” I said looking around the bus, noticing that there was no one but us and the driver.

“Oh? The others? Oh they left a long time ago sonny. Business to take care of.” I think I looked lost again because she started laughing and patting my shoulder. “You poor soul, you bought the wrong ticket didn’t you?”

“I…ehm, I don’t know. What are you talking about?”

“My dear boy, you’re in the element bus! I thought there was something strange about you. That’s why I kept looking for a seat where I could see you from.”

“The element bus?”

“Why sure, how do you think we elements travel?”

“I…don’t know what you’re talking about, I’m sorry.” Now I was really confused. She started laughing again, seeing the expression on my face.

“Oh dear me, I tend to talk like you know who I am or what my business is, when in fact you have no idea where you are, poor dear. You’re in the element bus, and that, right there” she said pointing at the driver, “is Father Time.” I opened my mouth to speak but she shushed me with her finger, pointing out that she wasn’t done talking. “We elements need to get around quite quickly and we couldn’t do that if Time wasn’t at our side, now could we?”

“I guess not.” I said, forgetting that she was in the middle of an explanation. I apologized.

“I’m Lady Winter, of course. The girl that sat beside you was Miss Summer, a really sweet girl, though her imagination gets the better of her sometimes. Sir Autumn and Misses Spring were also in the bus, but I doubt you noticed them. They don’t really like company, always in a hurry. Mister Hurricane got off in a hurry too.”

As she paused to brush off some more snow off her shoulders, my mind struggled with the new information it just received. I remembered some people on the bus, there had to be, but all the details were fuzzy. Like I just woke up and tried to remember a dream and the more I tried, the more the details seemed to vanish.

“Don’t worry sonny, we’ll get you on the right bus.” she said winking. “You just rest now, no use in staying awake when you’ve got all the time in the world.” she pointed out chuckling. I followed her advice and fell asleep almost immediately.

The sound of closing doors woke me up some time later. I looked around puzzled just in time to see the bus leaving the station. Cursing and not realizing I dozed off on the bench, I checked the clock in a hurry, and then headed for the ticket booth. Counting the change in my pocket, I realized that I only had 6 dollars left.

“When’s the next bus to London?”

“At 7 sir. You just missed the 6:30 one.”

“Yeah, I know. One ticket for 7 please.” I said fishing for the money in my pocket. I came across a piece of paper I didn’t know I had. Out of curiosity, I read what was written on it. It was a phone number, but I didn’t remember anyone giving it to me. The number didn’t seem familiar either, so I left it there thinking that maybe I’ll remember who it belongs to.

“If it helps, the 7 o’clock bus runs more silently than the 6 o’clock one. That is, if you want to catch some sleep.” The girl at the booth said smiling.

“Thank you.” I said and at that point, I got a better look at her. “Excuse me for asking this, but…were you always here, today I mean.”

“Yes sir.”

“Somehow I got the impression that there was another girl here, don’t know why though.”

“You must have seen the Friday girl then. She came here some time ago. She forgot her purse. But Saturday is my shift.”

“Ah, then that must be it. Thank you for the ticket.” I said, heading back to the bench I previously dozed off on. Thinking that I might as well get some writing done until the bus arrives, I took out my pen and notebook and started on my new story. Somehow, I knew exactly what to write, although I never thought of a plot for it.

~It was a gloomy Monday morning…~

[Lia]

I've just finished re-reading the piece you've written, and I must say, you have improved greatly since I've last read anything written by you three or four years ago. I really fancy this oneshot, because it's greatly original and it has its small fireworks that keep you reading on and on. Even though it's just a short story the plot is very well thought and it has accomplished its role, leaving no unanswered questions along the way.

I am sorry for the rather short critique, but I humbly say to you that I like it.

I expect more from you, Master. The force is strong with you *bows*

[Wunderbar]

Desi nu ma simt in masura sa comentez fic-ul tau, o voi face..dar sa-mi ierti lipsa de experienta in domeniu. :P Mdeah...o sa fiu scurta si la obiect: Imi place cum scrii, love the style, nu simt nicio influenta majora desi imi amintesti pe alocuri de Lawrence Block(nu stiu daca l-ai citit, but I fuckin’ love him) Also imi pari foarte atenta la detalii, ceea ce-i great, detaliile sunt totul! Firul povestii e bun, e original si interesant/captivant.

Give us more ! :P

[Diz]

Multumesc pentru comentarii. Sunt oricand bine venite, mai ales ca n-am mai scris de ceva timp, and I think I'm getting rusty. I'm glad you like it, that's what matters.

Wunderbar, am luat cartile, urmeaza sa le citesc. Multumesc pentru recomandare :D

Here's more.

The Line

“What are you looking at?”

“I can’t recall getting here…did I walk here? Or did I float?” he looked around him and tried to recognize the scenery.

“You were always here…I mean…since 5 years ago…you only moved a couple of steps. Your turn is getting near.” the woman next to him gave him a rather radiant smile that, compared to the grim looks around them, made her seem like she was actually enjoying this.

“I seem to have…fallen asleep. It’s all a daze, I can’t even remember you.” his eyes drifted off in search of something familiar. They passed over an old man looking rather peculiar with his large robe and washed out eyes. His mouth seemed stitched with red string, contrasting violently with his black lips. “What’s his problem?”

“He kept complaining that the line’s too long and that he needed to get there first. His wife is waiting for him on the other side” the woman let her eyes gaze in the direction of the old man. “They don’t like people complaining too much, so they set up a system after dealing with him. People are scared of this place, you know, so if someone complains or comes up with a plan of escape, they send us a couple of rows back…that quieted everyone down. This place has no back doors” she explained with a blatant gesture of the hand towards the pillars. “They did however advanced him in line…he’s been here for over 10 years so... he started withering away. I don’t think he’ll last long.” her voice dropped and she shifted from one leg to another. “This usually happens here you know…I’m not far away from his situation either.” she lifted her shirt to show him the black lines that formed on her stomach and on her back. “I hope my turn comes soon, I don’t want to know what happens to those that don’t make it in time.”

He stood silent for a couple of minutes, demanding his brain to assimilate the new information. After some more seconds he decided that it was time to speak again, but his body thought otherwise. It seemed that the question at hand was improper so his mind stipulated change. “Who are you?” he imposed his will over his own mind.

“I think that names are not relevant here. I mean, I told you my name 5 times before, you always seem to forget everything after you wake up.” she smiled and brushed a mutineer hair strand out of her eyes.

“You told me all this before?”

“Oh yes, yes I did, 5 times actually, 6 if you count this one, but the old man is rather new. He’s only been in that spot for the last 5 months…he doesn’t speak much these days…I can see him occasionally trying to tear off the stitches, but they always grow back on, so he gave up. I pity him, really…he must be lonely. From time to time, he gives way to tears, but I guess he realized that crying doesn’t mean much here, so he gave that up too.”

They advanced a couple of steps as the crowd moved forward and then stopped. He peered above the heads before him and saw a massive wooden door. It was closing slowly with a humble creak for a door its size.

“How come I forgot you? And everything you told me? You seem to know a lot about this place.” he asked as he was turning back to her, just in time to see her shirt go back down.

“I don’t know actually. I think it’s their way to make us forget any lies we may think of along the way, some sort of security system.” she scratched the tip of her nose and smiled at him. Raising her hands above her head, she stretched with a loud sigh. “Getting kind of crammed in here, isn’t it?”

“Did you ever fall asleep?”

“No… I never thought of a lie to get me out of this, so there was no need. That’s why I remember everything from the day I came here till now.” she stopped and looked at her shoes before continuing. “It’s been 15 years, can you imagine?”

“No…I can’t…”

“The first time I came here I was scared and didn’t know what would happen to me.” she gestured around and brushed some stray strands off her face again. It was quite pleasant to see how the black contrasted with the white of her face and sometimes, when it felt courageous, even with the blue of her eyes. “She talked me out of my fear of this place and made me smile the first time. I grew quite attached to her.” the woman looked nowhere in particular, but rather seemed lost in thought and memories.

“Is she still here?” he advanced when he saw that someone moved again. “The line is moving faster.” this was more of an observation to himself than an actual line per say.

“No, I wouldn’t be here talking to you if she was, now would I? She grew cold and black.” she wasn’t looking at him…maybe he brought out something that should have been left undisturbed in her. Some things are better left as they are, people need to remember that. “You were the same as me when you first got here. I guess I’m lucky they advanced me in line, now I get to stay with you.” her smile was back, but now, it was of a lower intensity. “She told me I have her smile though…that’s why I keep smiling a lot. To remember her, just in case I actually fall asleep…I guess I’ll really miss her after I go in there…you too.”

“What happens beyond the doors?” he moved again, this time almost slipping and falling to his knees. There was someone at his feet, someone looking a bit like being dead.

“No, don’t touch it, it’s not your job anyway.” she grabbed him by the hand as he was leaning towards the body.

“What do you mean?”

“They disappear eventually, you shouldn’t bother too much with them, just watch out not to trip over them” she jumped over it and headed forward with the crowd. He, however, stood still and watched the body. It was black and its skin was cracked. “Seems like a cruel way to go…no?” she turned towards him, gesturing for him to come next to her.

“Is this what will happen to you too?” he asked with a quiver of his lips.

“Oh gosh, I hope not! You see, that’s why I’m kind of in a hurry to get there. You should think that way too. I don’t really know how this works here, but after some time, you get like that…”

“What exactly is….that?” he asked wanting more than just a look at a dead body.

“If I knew I would have told you by now, which means I don’t. But it doesn’t look nice now does it?” she straighten her back and looked at him with wide eyes. “Oh look!” she pointed to her left. “The old man”.

Indeed, he was right next to them, but they didn’t actually see him until now. The crowd shifted again, or they just brought him back, for something he did. “He was ahead of us, what happened?”

“I guess they don’t want him there…after his complaints” she lowered her voice a little and then added “He won’t make it…”

“But…you said he has someone on the other side, waiting for him…” he looked stunned.

“What makes you think that one life would make a difference to them? Look at this place; it’s crawling with people just waiting to get in. You can call it a natural filter, or something close to it. No one says it’s humane, but I’d rather have someone else go black and cold so that I can advance.” she explained her logic to him with the platitude of an old woman knitting on her chair.

He didn’t quite know what kept him silent. He frowned and lowered his eyes to his shoes to contemplate on what she just said. “Don’t sulk, you know you’d choose that too.” she grabbed him by the chin and made him look at her. “It’s sad, but that’s how the world goes. Some die in order for others to survive”. Gazing at the old man, he nodded slowly and took a few steps forward. Their eyes caught sight of each other for a couple of seconds and he realized that the old man knew it too. He won’t get on the other side. His cheeks were cracked and almost all his face turned to black. The only thing that was vibrant off him was the red string. His eyes were watery but there were no tears flowing, they wouldn’t impress anyone anyway.

“Stop looking at him, you can’t change anything.” she made him look the other way, towards the imposing doors. The woman shifted her shirt again and gave a sigh. “Why aren’t they moving faster?” she asked with a frown.

“When do these things appear?” he became interested of his own fate right now, realizing that he too, had been there for a while now.

“They don’t have an exact time. It depends on the person I guess. The young ones seem to get them later than the old ones. I find that normal…oh we’re moving again.” she clapped her hands and advanced, dragging him along. He noticed that the black marks appeared on her hands and throat too. She didn’t have much time left…it must be frightening for her to know that, but at the same time, it was for everybody. He was curious to know what exactly happened to those who died, but he didn’t want to experience it on her. She was the only person there that was actually smiling. Somehow, that made him feel better. Everyone there was gloomy and they all kept to themselves. She was different…she shouldn’t even be there, in the line with them.

“We’ll get there soon, don’t worry.” he tried to assure her even though they both knew that it was more to assure himself than her. She was right. Humans were selfish, because all he cared about was the fact that if she died, he’d be alone and become like everyone around him. Leisure was no more an option when it came to being alone in there. You started having thoughts, thinking of lies to escape your fate, so you ended up sleeping and not remembering anything you thought about. If you slept, you stood still while the others advanced. “Why did you stay behind with me?”

“I didn’t, I dragged you along.” she answered naively.

“Isn’t that against the rules?”

“Of course it is, I had to be careful not to be seen, but I couldn’t afford leaving you there nor leaving you behind…” she gestured to the back of the line, “…you’d be thousand of rows back if I didn’t do it.”

“I guess I have to thank you then.” he grabbed her by the hand and caressed the back of her palm. There were black marks there too, expanding, threatening to take over her body sooner than planned. “I can’t remember what I thought about that put me to sleep…”

“You’d better not think about it, I had a hell of a time trying to drag you, I don’t want to do it again. Whatever you were planning to lie about, leave it be, fate is the same no matter how you try to avoid it.” for the first time, her tone became cold and threatening. She was looking more rigid and her eyes had a different spark in them.

“I can’t remember what I did and how I got here…” he rested his forehead on his palm as he was trying to remember, but something almost made him jump from his spot. He extended his arm and looked at the shining black marks on it.

“I know for sure I was killed, but you never told me what you did. Must be something bad if you fell asleep 5 times already.” she presumed and took another step forward. The old man tried to say something but the strings on his lips tighten, not letting him speak. “Poor man.” she said pithily, “He just wanted to be with his wife, but now he’s at the end of the line.” as she spoke, the light in his eyes faded and was covered with cracked black. He fell, firstly to his knees, as he tried to reach one of them with a begging look, and then collapsed on the ground…cold and black. “Another body for them to toil with.” she said sternly and looked the other way.

He realized that watching this old man brought up a slight fear in him, a different one from the creaking black that started to take over his body. “I don’t have anyone on the other side…” he said with a blank look towards the body.

“I don’t either, my parents are still alive.”

“How…exactly were you killed?” curiosity got the better of him at this point.

“I was walking home one night from a party, I can’t remember exactly whose it was, but…anyway I was walking home and someone attacked me. It happened too fast for me to comprehend what was going on, but it seemed that the person had a knife. I remember being pushed against a wall and blood dripping on my clothes, and then I ended up here.” she looked at her hands.

“I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry.”

“Oh no apologies necessary, what’s done is done. I have nothing against talking about it now.” she massaged her wrist and looked at the doors. “They’re opening again; maybe it won’t take that long now.”

He tried not to look directly at her because then he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from staring at the black creaks that started appearing on her face. “We’ll make it.” he reassured himself.




“No, I can’t remember anything sorry.” he said looking at the man beside him. He had a rather peculiar look that was given to him by the scar that covered half his face. He too, was almost all covered in black.

“I don’t recall seeing you here, I think they advanced you.”

“That’s a spiteful scar…how did you get it?”

“Ah this? I was attacked and when I tried to fight him off, he gave me this. Apparently he wasn’t really pleased that he didn’t manage to kill me so he came back and finished the job properly this time. I’m just glad my wife and daughter escaped.”

“He?...you remember the man?”

“Ah, no, I just remember it was a man. I don’t have many memories of my life since I came here, don’t know why, but I only think about getting through to the doors still alive.” the scared man touched his cheek. “How long have you been here?”

“She said something about 5 years, although I seemed to have slept through them.”

“You must have something serious to atone for then, but take my word, lies never work here. They know when you lie.”

“I can’t remember what I wanted to lie about, if I did, it’d take something off my mind.” he said looking at the extended black marks on his own arms. He still looked better than the scared man next to him though. He had more time to get to the door than he did.

“Who was she? You mentioned her a while back too.”

“I don’t know exactly, a woman, the first one I met when I came here. She stood by my side until she…became black.”

“Ah I see…that usually happens around here to people that stay too long…but it’s not our fault that the line advances so slowly.” the scared man drummed his fingers on his crossed arms.

“Only a couple of more rows to go, hang in there.” he said not really thinking about the current situation. He was thinking about that girl. He missed her, that was true, he missed her smile, just as he predicted he would. People there never smiled.

“I know I’m not going to make it, it’s better to give up hope than have something crush it for you.”

“That’s not the right attitude to have about life.”

“What life?” the man asked looking at him with wide eyes. “Because, if this is life too, I’m better off black and cold.”

He didn’t know what to say. Indeed, the man was right, this was no life, but he couldn’t make a comparison to being black and cold…he wasn’t sure he actually wanted to either. They kept moving in silence for a while, as the man repeatedly checked his marks. The door was getting closer but that didn’t trigger in him any signs of relaxation. Yes, he was beginning to get covered up in black marks too and yes, he did want to get out of that line, but what was behind that door made him rethink the situation. For some reason, he was scared to pass the border and go in. He looked to his left to ask if the feeling wasn’t only his, but the scared man was gone.

“He didn’t make it…” he said to himself and lowered his head. Just one more person in front of him and then, it was his turn. Several feelings took over him at once. He was happy to get out of there still alive, he was scared to go in, anxious to see what was behind the door, sad that the others didn’t make it with him and penitent that he ended up there in the first place. Taking one step forward, he came into a large room, heavily decorated with wooden and golden figures that stood out threatening to launch themselves at him the moment he said something wrong. An imposing lion was carved into the left wall, his mane gently sculptured by a master’s hand, teeth and claws sharp as daggers, eyes watching him everywhere he moved. On the opposite wall, drinking valiantly from a dew pond, there stood a lamb, half the lions’ size but with the same majestic touch to its sculpted curls. His eyes were closed and his tongue barely touched the water, making small circles that extended until they faded away. Wolfs were chasing sheep on the ceiling, among trees and lakes with mountains that could be seen far in the background. The floor was covered with sculpted grass on the sides, and one paved path in the middle leading to a single chair. The whole animal kingdom was shown there, in small wooden details, from the minute creatures that lived among the sculpted grass, to the birds that flew lackadaisical above them.

“Step forward.” a voice commanded him and, almost instantly, he found himself obeying. His feet carried him to the chair, where he stood still awaiting what was next to happen. There was no other person in the room but him. However, the voice sounded human. “How did you get here?” the voice spoke again.

“I was shot.”

“For what reason?”

“I was running from the police. They came to arrest me.” he said passively.

“What did you do to get arrested?”

“I killed three persons. A young girl, a family man and an old man. When they came I got scared and ran.”

“Did you have any reasons to kill them?”

“No…I just wanted to see how their blood looked like, I didn’t take their money or any possessing.”

“Do you regret your actions?”

“I…don’t know…I wasn’t even aware that I remembered what I did to end up here” he looked at his black arms. “Why did you make me forget everything if I was going to remember it in here anyway?”

“People chose their own fate by choosing to lie or not.”

“But the old man, he just wanted to be with his wife!”

“You are not here to question us, but rather you are here to atone for your actions.” the lion started waving his tail as he spoke.

“I didn’t want to put them through this…” he spoke looking around him.

“Yet you did.” this time, it was the lamb who addressed him, raising his head from the dew pond and looking straight at him with plain black eyes. “Your sins, although regretted, can not be forgiven human. Your soul cannot be saved.”

His limbs became numb and he noticed that he couldn’t speak. Gazing at his hands, he took note of the creaked black that covered them fully. Even his vision started getting blurry. For some reason he felt light, like there was no more gravity pinning him down. “Farewell.” there was one last sound before he collapsed on the ground. He wasn’t really sure what was happening to him, just that reality started fading away, replaced by a void. He couldn’t think, although he wanted to understand what was happening to him. All this took only but a moment and then there was nothing left….nothing but a pile of ashes that were swept away by the lion’s tail into the sculpted grass.

And then….the next person stepped in.