Transient

On a damp February morning, I found myself in the kitchen again.

Letting the countertop drain the last ounce of warmth from my palms, I stood immovable like the air that was pressing against my chest. 

A dull thud broke the silence as each second passed. The leaking faucet was shedding hefty tears in remembrance. My eyes glazed over as I watched the clock on the microwave, while its garish digits rearranged themselves like clumsy children in a school play. They spelled out half past four. 

Oddly, the street lights were out cold. The ground and sky were melting together into a thick black ooze that entombed everything in its path.The darkness was so profound that it filtered into the room like swelling beams of sunlight. 

In one corner all the pots, pans and glasses were cuddled together in a confusing heap, lost in the depths of a dreamless sleep. Instead of fixing myself a cup of coffee, I stood there adoring them with envy. 

Maybe if I stood still enough,

I too would gather dust,

Forgive all the days unlived and lost,

Shed the skin of everyone I ever was.

A vessel emptied and upturned,

At last defying its coding. 

The mournful tears of the faucet had now pooled at the bottom of the sink. As I gazed into it, it shot the same empty stare right back at me. Suddenly, the smooth surface of the misshapen puddle erupted into a furious boil. Behind my vandalised reflection were a thousand hungry fish, clamouring at the water’s edge. When I looked up, I found myself on the banks of a murmuring pond, as little waves lapped at my feet like curious dogs.

The first light of day fell like delicate threads of silk, but the emerald water wielded them like mighty swords, slicing through the blanket of fog that was swirling inches above it. As one ripple followed the next in perfect repetition, I felt a sense of ease wash over me - like the warm surprise of hearing the familiar riffs of a beloved song. 

But with every passing verse, I found it harder to breathe. A foreboding cold breeze knocked the wind out of my lungs.

Then on the horizon I saw it. A terrifying mirage unfolding. The final chorus - the very last wave, heading steadily towards the bank. 

Knowing what would follow was a still, sickening silence,

I steeled my nerves for its cold embrace.