KEY
I am taking part in a Photo a day challenge for June 2016.
The prompt for the 1st of June is Key and the above is my picture for the prompt.
What's a #key without a #lock and a lock without a key? This is a picture of my Jewelry Box, which I picked up in Jew Town, Cochin,
Since I haven't been writing/blogging at all, and I REALLY want to I thought I would use the prompts to attempt to write short stories too.
Below is my story for the prompt, Key.
It was a dull day, which promised to get gloomy in the
next few hours. She snapped the window shut, took the last gulp of her coffee
and picked out her clothes for the day.
As the hot needles from the shower ran down her face, things
she shouldn’t have been thinking about came to mind. Out of habit her hand
traced the welt above her eyebrow where the gash that it had been had bled and
bled.
She winced as her shoulder hurt when she reached out
for the shampoo on the shelf, reminding her that numerous physiotherapy
sessions had still not helped it heal completely.
Hot tears mingled with the water, surprising her as
she thought she had drained herself of all of them.
Toweling herself dry, she ran her eyes over the outfit
she had picked out and discarded the maroon jacket and reached out for the
familiar comfort of the dark grey. Something to match her mood.
As she zipped up her black dress she realized she had
gotten even thinner than the last time she wore it. Twisting her hair into a
tight knot, she noticed the bone structure of her face was accentuated some more.
She glanced around the almost bare room, grabbed her
bag and keys and let herself out of the door.
She walked with her head bowed down against the bitter
wind, concentrating on putting one foot ahead of the other, to muscle out
forbidden thoughts fighting their way into her consciousness. Yet again.
The train ride was a blur and she only became aware of
her surroundings as she waited for the office elevator, surrounded by people
and ignoring them all.
At her desk she got to work immediately, the numbers
on her screen obliterating the emotions she didn’t wish to feel.
When a bunch of envelopes were placed on her desk she
realized it was 2 pm, and she had skipped her lunch once more.
As she went through her mail an envelope caught her
eye. She discarded all others and held this one, with a touch of reverence,
wondering if it was really in her hands at last.
Tearing it open she read through it greedily, once,
twice and again. And again.
And for the first time in so many years a smile broke
out on her face as she held the key to her brand new future in her hand. Her divorce
had come through.