Book 1 : 1
Book 1
I
Somehow I find myself in a deep southern haze of fog, headlights piercing the thick darkness, no real destination in mind. The clouds hang low and the interior light dimly illuminates the cab of my car. The night seemed crisp and clean as I stare off into the hazy distance. Music lightly plays over the speakers and I can’t help but softly hum, if not fully sing to these songs I’ve known since I was a child.
I can’t recall where I am going, nor can I recall why I feel the need to go wherever this dark night is drawing me. But, oddly, I am not concerned nor do I stop to consider this. The night guides me closer and closer as it starts to gently weep a subtle mist. Time seems to come and go as it wavers from far too fast to the creep of a watch whose batteries had been long drained of their use.
The night seems to darken as I pull into a gravel drive with a tall fluorescent street lamp perched at the end of a rounded drive. Large square pillars line the front of the building, four across, spanning its full height, dimly lit in golden yellow light from the behind the great pillars, casting long shadows on the empty drive. “An empty drive? Where could I have possibly been going that there would have been no one to greet me?”
After a moment of hesitation, I get out of the car. Wind whips and howls as I walk up the stone path, the mist twists and dances in the bent light of the single street lamp. I approach as time seems to speed out of control. The building is dimly lit and laden with white walls, hardwood floors, and a large dark iron chandelier hangs in the entrance. It slightly twists back and forth with the wind skirting its way through the door. There are a few scattered silhouettes in the main room, and two adjacent rooms to each side. Muffled laughs and the ping of glasses radiate from one as a smooth steady line of music comes from the other.
“The melody catches my interest at the very least... but it’s too light to discern, maybe smooth jazz, maybe light classical, maybe blues... It can wait.” I scan the room and find no familiar faces. “Well, that’s a lie. I see a pair of former classmates. I never liked either one of them.” They meet my eyes with theirs & lightly wave. “Maybe I’m reading too much into old grudges”, I wave back lightly and turn towards the sound of full glasses.
A long wooden bar sits flat against the far wall; lights strung through a display of bottles backed with a mirror. A couple sits at the end of the bar, too close to one another to see their faces. I order a drink from the bartender and notice how strangely he is dressed. His shirt ruffled just below the elbows and banded around his arms. Large rimmed glasses line his dark eyes, almost black eyes. He says not a word to me. Only retrieves the drink I requested nods and waves away my money when I attempt to pay. He simply gestures to an oversized wine glass at the opposite end of the bar.
I repocket the majority of the cash I had in hand and throw the remaining singles into the large wine glass as I turn to inspect the rest of the room. Dull golden light fills the corners and large brown leather couches are spaced evenly between the old world lighting.
The only patrons are me and the couple still perched at the end of the bar. The man stands with one arm propped on the bar, the other draped around the stool in which his company sits. He still stands so close that all that is visible is his suit coat and a small corner of her red dress flowing from the bottom of her barstool. I let out a sigh, bored, I turn and walk further from the chuckles of the couple and the pings from the bartender cleaning his glasses and replacing his stock.
As I reenter the main room I see the small group that had been standing there was now gone. Only a pair of empty glasses left on the small table to which they had been crowded. The music catches my ear again, although, it’s softer now. A gentleman in a black suit and vest hurriedly walks by me, pulls a cigarette from his pocket and scurries off toward the bartender and his pings. The small room is less full than the bar, empty it seemed. Only a few sparse tables litter the floor, two leather couches sit in the back of the room, shrouded in shadows & dim light. A large sleek black piano sits at the head of the room, discreet lighting reflects from its curves and edges as I continue into the room sipping my drink. Ambient music fills the air, light strings and smooth caressing tones draw me closer to the comfort of this environment.
It takes only a moment before this feeling washes over me and breaks my stare on the piano and brings my mind back to the ambiance of the room. I turn, look around and I am not alone as I had originally thought. Only the shine of a glass and a soft rustle catches my attention. My eyes begin to adjust from the shine of the piano to the dull corner. There sits a small table beside a couch, a figure sat on the couch, which looks away when they notice my attention.
