Setting: grammar class. The teacher asks for examples of using the past continuous tense to give the atmosphere/setting of a story before describing main events. I read the mess of scribbled nothing on my paper:
From the crown of the Janiculum, light was pouring over edifices born in antiquity. Pigeons were pecking for nothing but dirt at the feet of passersby while the heavy-footed stomped in expensive Italian leather. The sun was losing its orange and we were losing morning, losing time.
A girl in the back row comments, "You should be a writer." I simply smile in reply.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thud, thud, thud. Tired feet wanting to give up with every step. A teenage boy and girl lean against the hood of a parked car. Her crimson locks catch the sun and shatter the kaleidoscope reds all around her. Some of the glints touch my face and I slow down without thinking. When I get close enough to smell her sweet bourbon perfume, I make contact with big amber eyes, freshly wet with the dew of heartbreak. The boy gestures in annoyance, and in animated voice, says:
E perché scrivi "è morto?" Perché è fatto! È finita!(Why do you write "is it dead?" Because it's done! It's over!)
I look away, suddenly embarrassed by my violation, but my existence goes unnoticed. She continues staring through the world around her, tearing spatial fabric with her gaze, eyes bobbing in a sea of temporary misfortune. With much swifter steps now, I shuffle home, wondering if that girl penetrating the illusions around her will ever come back. Teenage love is so tragic and fatalistic.
A quick click to the right and I enter my apartment.
No comments :
Post a Comment