The room was quiet, save for the sound of the clock ticking and the rhythmic sound of breathing. A man stood tall, staring pensively at a blank canvas. With a piece of charcoal in hand, he began drawing wide arcs. He set down the charcoal, then used his hands to spread it all over the canvas. He felt something tug on his pants, so the tall man looked down.
"Daddy?" A little girl asked. "What are you doing?"
The man smiled, glanced at his canvas, then at his hands. He brought them to his face, and then drew circles around his eyes.
"I'm not your daddy! I'm a raccoon!"
The little girl laughed, and the father began chasing his daughter. She screamed with delight as he caught her, and lifted her into the air.
"Mmm...this raccoon is hungry. And I caught a tasty little girl!"
"No! I'm Anya and my daddy's going to save me!" She shouted, wiggling in his grip.
"Anya..?" He asked. He stopped for a moment, and looked at the girl closely.
"Anya," he whispered, "this is your father. You have to save me! Hurry, get the charcoal!" He set Anya down, and she ran to the table where the charcoal was. She picked up the fragile drawing tool, and handed it to her father. He went back to the canvas, and with a flurry of movements he began drawing. Anya jumped up and down in excitement, but she couldn't see because her father deliberately blocked the canvas from her view.
"Daddy," she pleaded, "what is it?"
He stopped drawing and stepped away from the canvas.
"So what did he draw?" Vera asked.
"Isn't it obvious? He drew a raccoon." Anya said.
The paired continued walking to the kitchen in silence. Everyone always ate breakfast together, and sometimes dinner, but lunch was something they had to get for themselves.
"What should we eat today?" Vera asked, as she walked to the fridge.
"Hm..what kind of fruit is there?" Anya asked.
Vera rummaged through the fridge, pushing various things aside until she found a box of strawberries. She smiled, and took out the box, then showed it to Anya.
"Strawberries. Delicious. What else?" Anya looked around in the kitchen, attempting to locate a bowl to put the strawberries in.
"Some plums...and kiwi...oh! and some blackberries."
"Get that out too. Actually..I'm going to take some to the room. Is it okay if you stay out here for a while?"
"Um..yeah.. that's fine."
"Okay. Thanks. Maybe an hour or so...or more. If it's longer than an hour, you can come by, just knock."
"Oh okay."
Anya pulled a bowl out of the shelf, and grabbed a handful of strawberries and blackberries, as well as two kiwis and three plums. She smiled at Vera, who smiled back and waved.
Back in their room, Anya had set the bowl of fruit down on a stool near her bed, and was standing in front of the the easel, staring once again at the charcoal covered canvas.
She played it quick, she played it light and loose,
My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;
Her several parts could keep a pure repose,
Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose
(She moved in circles, and those circles moved).
Let seed be grass, and grass turn into hay:
I'm martyr to a motion not my own;
What's freedom for? To know eternity.
I swear she cast a shadow as white as stone.
But who would count eternity in days?
These old bones live to learn her wanton ways:
(I measure time by how a body sways).
Yuliya held the phone up to her ear. It rang several times with no answer, but she refused to hang up in case someone would answer when she would do so. Yuliya held her breath when the tone cut off mid ring.
"Hello?" A girl's voice asked.
"...Marta?" Yuliya asked, tears filling her eyes.
"Yuliya?" Marta cried out. "Yuliya, is it really you? I miss you so much! I have all of your letters. Yuliya, I have a lot I want to tell you!"
"Oh Marta...I'm so sorry.." Yuliya said, tears streaming down her face. "But, Marta, listen...I'm coming home for your birthday."
Marta squealed with delight, causing Yuliya to jerk her head away from the phone.
"I also want to see father."
"That's okay Yuliya! I have his address somewheres..."
"What about mother?"
Marta lowered her voice. "She's in the living room, staring at the wall. She doesn't realize I'm home half of the time. She says she has a boyfriend but he never comes over here. But she stays gone for long periods of time before coming home."
Yuliya sighed. "What about you? How are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm fine! I placed first in our school's academic concourse. I work in the library after school, putting all the books back on the shelf, and I get paid like a real job! Then Mrs. Baranova, the librarian, will take me shopping...most for groceries. I've been learning how to cook!"
"That's wonderful, Marta."
"Oh, I have a great idea! I can cook for you and father!"
"That sounds really nice. Actually, Marta, I have something else to ask."
"Yeah?"
"Is it okay if I bring my...boyfriend as well?"
"Oh, you have a boyfriend? What's his name?"
"..Viktor.."
"Oh I'm really happy for you! Of course you can bring him! Hopefully I can impress him with my cooking.."
"I'm sure it will be delicious."
Marta and Yuliya continued talking, with Marta doing most of the talking. Eventually they discussed when Yuliya would come by, and that they would go to their father's house to celebrate. After the conversation ended, Yuliya hung up, and stared at the small mobile device. Her mind raced, with fear and excitement. She was very glad that she would be able to see her sister and father after such a long time, but she was afraid. Afraid of what her father would think. Afraid that her father wouldn't even want to see her. Then she realized she had no idea what to get Marta for her birthday. Maybe a stuffed animal and some books? But she didn't really know what books Marta would be interested in. Maybe she was too mature for a stuffed toy now? She sighed, and turned around. Viktor was sitting on the bed, and he spread his arms out. Yuliya smiled, set the phone down on the table in the room, then walked to the bed. She crawled on the bed, and rested her head on his chest.
The only light that was in the room came from the window, the curtains deliberately pulled back, spilling onto a blank canvas set up on an easel. Anya stood in quiet deliberation, then lifted the charcoal in her hand, and set it on the canvas. She drew in wide arcs, the scratching sound filling her ears and her mind. Anya set the charcoal down for a moment, then used her hands to spread it all over, prepping the canvas. She turned around, and saw that Vera had been watching her draw.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're doing." Vera said. Anya looked at the canvas, then down at her hands which were covered in black dust. She then wiped it around her eyes in circular motions.
"Isn't it obvious? I am a raccoon." Anya said with a grin. Vera shook her head but smiled anyways. "Okay, raccoon. But why don't you just turn on the light in here?"
"Hm...I'm not sure....there's a lot of things I can't explain...but they're all habits of mine. I've gotten used to working this way."
"You always make yourself a raccoon?"
"Nooo..." Anya said. "I was just being silly...but now I can't think. And I'm hungry. I think it's time for some lunch. Let's go."
Strange, how lonely it feels down here.. on my way to my apartment I had to walk in the rain (from my car) and it was quite a downpour. I'm no longer wet but still cold. everyone is sleeping or in a different city. when i can't leave and i don't know anyone, i wonder how i will feel whenever i leave this place for another one. settling down in a new city in a new state with no friends to visit on a whim. no longer forty five minutes away but seven hours, more or less. i don't do a lot for myself, i play my ds, i do puzzles in books, jigsaw puzzles, puzzle board games. i work. i have two jobs, i'm not sure how many people i have told already. i lose track of people. no contact for a while. most of the time i forget, sometimes i ignore. its almost 4am, hopefully they don't need me to go in to work tomorrow. another day off would be nice.
work work work. to be honest i'm not overworked, i think it's just right. june will be hectic though but it will be all okay in the end. i'm still unsure about what i want to do, as i always am, as i always will be. can i just be a mother? (not now, in future). take care of my son/daughter, raise him, teach him to read early on, teach him how to count, help him with homework, take him fishing, let him play sports, feed him his vegetables, watch him grow. what should i name him? niels bohr? (just kidding). but i do want to name him after something significant to me....not sure yet. want to name my daughter naylene or nailene...i think that is a pretty name... i just recently heard of it. we'll see...
sorry about lack of proper capitalization. don't feel like it. you're lucky i'm putting commas for contractions. well i think i'm going to head to bed now. i need to wake up early and call work to see if they need me or not. good night.
"Who'd have thought: all the energy we ever needed, right above our heads?"
yep. It's May. And I haven't written since January. And to be honest I still don't feel like writing, but I wanted to share with you a movie I watched today. Moon, starring Sam Rockwell. You might know him from Hitchhiker's Guide (he played Zaphod) or the more current Iron Man 2 (he plays Hammer). The movie is about a man whose 3-year contract with Lunar Industries is about to end. He has been on the moon harvesting Helium-3. All is fine until, well, shit happens. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, I just highly recommend that you try and watch the movie. If you can't find it, try Netflix, or you could borrow it from me. It seems like a sci-fi film (and for the majority it is) but it is more about human emotion. Anyways. Tomorrow I'm going to watch another movie I bought, called Franklyn. In the mean time, enjoy these two trailers, one for Moon and the other for Franklyn.
