world but the point

In the middle of the dance there is no middle ground by which this affection could have been negotiated. She tried to keep her distance, the tail of her long gown constantly kept from being stepped upon. All the signs say no exit but she knows there is still a way out.

*

It was wartime when she fell in love. By the time the war ended, her wedding dress was hemmed. A peace treaty was being signed when her groom didn’t show up at the wedding.

*

She wanted to know the uses of metaphor when she chanced upon the phrase “cost of living”.

*

Events do not happen by design nor do they happen by chance. She wanted to believe otherwise but she could not find a middle ground. Her story is history, plain and simple, till she met Alain on the way to the library.

*

Late in the afternoon someone is reading a book, someone is stitching a hem.

*

Alain was holding her by her side as if she was holding a baby in her arms. This same tenderness clothed her when they fucked.

*

Late in the evening someone turned on a lamp. Someone is making her way through the dark.