[ S H E ]

8 : 4 3

· her mind was light

from the lingering

memories of the

boy and the ferris

wheel, her heart

heavy with what

she knew she'd

encounter at home,

weighed down even

more by the cold

loneliness in which

the white house stood

at the end of the road

8 : 4 8

· her hand was

colder than the key

in her frigid fingers

8 : 4 9

· the door creaked

open and the sound

of it left trembling

echoes in the

empty room

8 : 4 9

· empty

8 : 5 0

· the house was

always empty

8 : 5 2

· just like her

[ H E ]

8 : 5 3

· he watched the

clock hand above

the door frame

8 : 5 3

· numbness

8 : 5 4

· he couldn't feel

8 : 5 4

· anything

8 : 5 7

· he was so numb

it hurt, the pain

echoing in his

scarred bones

into something

paradoxical, for

how could he

feel nothing yet

everything at the

same time?

8 : 5 8

· his breaths shook

8 : 5 9

· feelings were like

memories that

haunted his heart

but something

he could never

experience again

9 : 0 0

· he wished he could

feel pain again

9 : 0 7

· numbness...

[ S H E ]

9 : 1 5

· she gathered her

pens together and

put them into her

pencil bag. she had

finally finished

her homework

9 : 1 6

· her eyes went to

the window and

she quickly glanced

away, knowing that

what she would see

and hope for were

two sides of reality,

one that was real

and one that would

never come true

9 : 1 7

· if she'd looked longer

she would have seen

an empty space of

cement where her

dad's car was

supposed to be

9 : 1 8

· rearranging her

textbooks and pens

in her bag, she set

it down next to her

bed for the morning

and set up her

painting materials

9 : 1 9

· she titled her head

to look at the white

canvas, glaring back

at her under the

yellow lamp light

mixed with threads

of moonlight coming

from the window

9 : 1 9

· for the first time

in a long time, she

didn't know what

to paint

[ H I M ]

9 : 2 0

· he stared up at

the dull ceiling,

a dull throb within

him where he used

to search for a

heart but always

found a void

9 : 2 2

· the ceiling...

9 : 2 3

· memories of

falling from the

ceiling as the

rope snapped

flashed into his

mind before the

numbness washed

them all away into

an empty abluvion

9 : 2 7

· he moved his

eyes toward the

sky outside the

window, watching

golden lights from

the city glow under

a pool of starlit

whiskey, like the

girl's eyes as they

separated at the

gate and for one

moment a rushing

sensation filled his

chest and the

numbness lifted

just for one second,

but still for one second,

and as the rest of

the night stretched

into the invisible

lines of time, the

heaviness in his

empty chest lifted,

just a little, but

still a little

[ H E R ]

9 : 3 9

· her skin felt cold

through the material

of her blue jeans,

and her eyes ran

over a few splashes

of paint on them,

violet blue gray

indigo orange, and a

circle of faint gold dots

9 : 3 9

· she peered closer,

the ring of gold

arousing a memory,

of the ferris wheel of

sparkling gold light

under the night sky,

and the boy's eyes,

genuine but distant,

deep but empty,

filling the twirling

passages of her mind

9 : 4 0

· she frowned slightly,

her fingers tingling

again as they did

whenever she painted,

but this time, in a

different way

9 : 4 1

· with her mind caught

in a dream, she sub-

consciously dipped

her brush into the circle

of gold on the palette

9 : 4 2

· her heart skipped

slightly as a small

smile met her lips,

and she knew that

she'd stay occupied

on this painting

till midnight