Sealed 55

They were right outside. Something moved in the dim lights of the alleyway he could have sworn, but standing stone still he heard nothing. Was he just an observer or the target? He knew if he opened the door his fate was sealed...even a crack would provide them the opportunity to break it down.

V

mine is departed 55

I have no patience for modern culture, nor past.
My reality is very much in the present, and wondering -
will it last?
There's no interest in fads, celebrity, styles - never been....they are as fluid as a ripple...lasting just as long

Each generation grasps at something to claim, mine's
 either depressed, depraved or departed.

V

Clock Ticked 55

The light flickered in the wide gap beneath the door. The cloaked clock still ticked loudly, even though draped. 
I stirred, restless, unsure of my next move, or mood, no one is here to second guess. 
Best, that I remain isolated...incubated...frustrated, since the outcome is mine to predict. How, then, will it end?

V

Nodding 55

I nod. Nod off by the big bay window, listening to the wind blow, howling up the bluffs below. Unleashing its anger upon us, perhaps lingering for days, maybe gone tomorrow. Chances are those same clouds and lightning will just regroup somewhere else around the globe in some form, before returning to slam us again.

V

Leaving Tracks 55

Eventually Isaac came to realize Ingrid was holding him back,
from a different life, that he couldn't begin to explain. He'd
accompany her until that afternoon, then he'd throw her on the
train, as they would find themselves at the station. But she had
had enough, he knew it, so he threw himself aboard instead.

The Note

There it was, a new note slid under the door. He let it set, confident it wasn't going to leave, and paced recklessly, shaken to the quick to pick it up. Was she up to her old tricks? How did she get in in the first place? Her stealth became her. He would expect no less, but why the stalking and why the mess? She would profess something profound, about new found honesty, just now discovered, and the lover she'd always adored. How she lamented the many ways she'd mistreated me.  And it was real. But it cemented the deal, that envelope, left sealed, its contents never to be revealed.

Choosing instead to busy himself preparing for the day ahead...barely conscious of his doings, showered, brushed his teeth, or had he?...forgot a jacket and it was freezing, but his biggest concern was in the fleeing, crushing the note while slamming the door, trusting when he got home, it wouldn't be there anymore.

V

CARMEL 55

There weren't that many opportunities.
 Carmel came to realize it, 
but she arrived much too late. 
There were reasons. Plans weren't hers to make. 
The men, her mistakes, the child, her salvation, 
but the days, they were too occupied. 
A semblance of a lifetime, fades away, 
slipping back into the abyss. 
If only she knew.

V