2014 - excerpt
As always, he rang the doorbell in their distinct five push pattern before slotting in his key and opening the door. The familiar mess greeted him on the other side, with his sister sat on the sofa in the middle of it all like a queen atop her throne of junk. She grinned up at him.
'Sup?'
He sighed. 'Would it kill you to at least try and keep this place tidy while I'm gone?' he asked, picking his way across the minefield of strewn clothes and dirty dishes to deposit the groceries on top of the kitchenette counter.
'I would, you know, but I'm just so busy with all this stuff I have going on...'
'Oh yeah?' he said, unpacking the bags and putting the contents into the fridge and various cupboards. 'Like what, exactly?'
'You know, all that stuff... Learning Braille, keeping up with my studies and whatnot. Takes up a lot of my time!'
'Oh please,' he said, closing the last cupboard to punctuate his point, 'you've got nothing but time.' There was no venom in his words though; they went through this same song and dance at least twice a week. He made his way over to the couch, plopped down beside her with an 'Oof' and closed his eyes.
'Hard day at work?' she inquired.
As per usual. How about you?'
She shrugged. 'Same as ever. Bit more Braille, a few more practice papers. I've got them down so hard I could probably ace the exams with my eyes closed.'
He half-opened one eye and peered at her, grinning. 'Bet you've been waiting all day to use that one, huh?' She stuck out her tongue and punched him on the arm, eliciting a chuckle from him. 'You heard about the plans to scrap the current exam system though?'
'God, yeah, what's that all about? If they change the syllabus before I can-'
She was interrupted by a knock on the door, causing them both to freeze momentarily. They exchanged a glance, then he pushed himself up out of the chair and walked over to the door. He sucked in a deep breath before opening it... to come face to face with his landlord. The breath whooshed out of him.
'Hey Alan, what can I do for you? Rent isn't due for another week or two, is it?'
'Oh no, no, nothing like that. I was just passing by, thought I heard you talking to someone. You've not got anyone in there with you, do you?'
He stood aside to give Alan a good view of the empty room, making a vague sweeping gesture as he did so.
'As you can see, no one here but me. I was just chatting to my sister over the net though, that might have been it? I tend to crank the volume up a lot, sorry about that.'
The older man took the gesture as an invitation and strode in, peering around suspiciously. He waited patiently at the door until Alan was apparently satisfied.
'Yeah, well... keep the volume down in future, will you? And remember, flat rules stat e you need to keep the place in a good state, not just that you can't have any visitors after seven.' He made a distasteful face as he stepped over some of the detritus.
He rubbed the back of his head, every picture of the apologetic tenant. 'Yeah, sorry about the mess. I let it get a bit out of hand what with trying to balance school and work, I'll spruce the place up over the weekend.'
'See that you do.' Alan paused again as he made to leave, his eye caught on something. He followed his gaze and almost burst out laughing - his sister had somehow managed to leave one of her bras draped over one of the light fixtures - but he managed to turn it into a cough and a sheepish smile.
'Fashion design, you know... very spontaneous at times.'
'...Right. Just... keep what I said in mind, yeah?'
'Yup, will do.' He ushered his landlord out, and - politely but firmly - shut the door after him. When the footsteps had faded, he let out a sigh of relief and made his way back to the sofa.
'Man, what is his problem?' said his sister, appearing beside him and picking her laptop up from where she'd left it. He shrugged.
'Dude's just trying to protect his investment, I can respect that.'
'Whatever, guy is a total creep anyway. I bet he was just lurking in the hallway with his ear pressed up against the door trying to catch you out.
'Yeah well, it's tough finding places that let you pay in cash. Worth putting up with the occasional eccentricity.'
'The last place was better though. I managed to convince that landlord I was a ghost by staying in his peripheral vision whenever he came round.
Her brother laughed at that, which promptly turned into a yawn.
'Damn, I'm knackered. Think I might turn in, you okay for making dinner?'
'Cooking isn't the problem; it's the cleaning up afterwards.'
'Hah, true,' he said, getting up and stretching. 'Aite, I'm off to bed. Maybe with all this exhaustion I'll actually manage to sleep through the whole night.'
'I wouldn't hold my breath, if I were you.' He raised an eyebrow at that, and she grinned at him. 'Okay, that one I've been waiting all day to use.'
*
He was by a lake, in a large clearing surrounded by tall, deciduous trees. The grass smelt sweet and fresh, and the sunlight sparkled off the clear blue water. There was a small wooden jetty just off to his right; he walked down it, boards creaking under him. When he got to the end he dipped his feet into the lake, relishing the feeling of the cool water and its contrast with the sun above. he watched the waves ripple out, then closed his eyes and lay back.
After a little while, he realised that there was someone else there with him. He turned and saw a beautiful woman standing at the foot of the jetty. She was dressed in an elaborate kimono, and had a fan not quite covering her coy smile. There was something inexplicably enticing about her, and before he realised what he was doing he'd gotten up and taken several steps towards her.
'Wait,' he thought, struggling to regain control of his thoughts, 'this isn't right...'
The instant that thought formed in his mind, his surroundings immediately changed. The sun disappeared, the clear blue water turned black as night and the temperature dropped precipitously, causing him to shiver. He turned back to the woman and found that she had progressed several paces down the jetty, but he hadn't heard it creak underneath her steps. he took an involuntary step backwards, and her smile grew wider. Too wide.
With every step she took (and he could now see that she floated imperceptibly above the ground, rather than directly on it), he took one back, until there was nowhere left to retreat. There was nothing left for it; he'd have to charge past her. the thought of doing so made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and his stomach turn, and this must have been reflected in his eyes as her smile grew ever wider. She opened her mouth and he caught sight of her teeth - beautifully white and incredibly sharp.
'Why are you running from me? Didn't you promise to join me?' Now she too was changing - the bright colours of her fine garments fading and growing waterlogged, her long straight hair growing tangled and matted, dark marks appearing across her skin and her fingernails - but still her smile kept growing ever wider.
When she extended an arm out towards him, something inside him broke. Deciding he'd be safer in the glassy waters, he turned and dived into the lake. Immediately it felt as if there were hands grasping around him, pulling him down, down down...
*
He fell with a thud out of the bed, a messy tangle of arms, duvet and pillow. Swearing softly under his breath, he dragged himself off the floor and into the sitting room. his sister waved to him with a lopsided grin, and he returned both the smile and the wave.
'How long did I manage this time?' She checked her watch.
'Wow, three hours, forty three minutes! That might actually be a new record, congrats!'
'Woo. Maybe I'll be able to hit a whole 5 hours by the time the year's over!' He regretted the quip the second it left his lips, and the lack of a response from the sofa pretty much confirmed it. He changed gears a little. 'How about you? You manage to get any sleep?'
His sister shook her head. 'Nah, I don't really sleep at night anymore. Too many... it's just easier during the day, y'know?' He nodded his agreement. 'I don't know why you do it.'
He shrugged, heading over to the kettle and boiling some water. 'I sleep when I can, yeah? Night shifts have their own share of terrors, after all.' He made two mugs of coffee and brought them over to his sister.
'Cheers.'
'No worries. Hey, you okay?'
He took a good look at her; she'd drawn her knees up to her chest, and it occurred to him just how young she was. 'C'mon, talk to me,.'
'It's just...' she trailed off, then shook her head and continued in a voice barely above a whisper, 'I really miss mum and dad, you know? Do you really think that... that we might really be stuck like this for another year?' She was visibly trembling now, the spoon in her mug clinking against the sides. He pulled her into a tight hug.
