| General Fiction posted May 29, 2018 |
  |
I still wonder...
The Greenest Eyes
by Heather Knight
I had my chance... And I let it slip by. I guess I was too lazy or too young or both. Maybe I was afraid, who knows.
Now, I'm old and infirm, but I'll never forget her. She could have changed my life, she could have made me happy.
We met while I was traveling around Europe in my early twenties. I think I had just turned twenty-three, but my memory is not as reliable as it used to be.
I left Edinburgh in autumn, a couple of months after completing my university education. My parents took me to the train station in their battered van, the one my father used for his gardening job.
My small case was surrounded by shovels, rakes and the like, and I sat between my parents as I used to do when I was little.
'Promise me, you will write, Billy,' my mother said, tears streaming down her already lined face.
'It's Bill, Maggie, he's a man now,' my father told her.
'I will write, Mother. Don't worry.'
The scene at the station was Hollywoodesque. My mother kissed and hugged me almost to death, while my father stood like a statue, a few feet from us, trying to preserve his dignity.
'Make us proud, Son,' he finally said.
I got on the train and waited for it to start moving. My parents waved and I waved back, smiling all the time till my arm and mouth started to hurt from the strain.
The train eventually left at ten o'clock sharp and I sat back and exhaled. I was free.
Don't misunderstand me. I loved my parents very much, but I felt suffocated by their love and their expectations.
I spent my first month working in a vicarage in Cheltenham, helping with Latin and Greek classes in exchange for accommodation.
At the weekend, I visited nearby towns and villages and marvelled at the beauty of the Cotswolds. As a Scotsman, I had always believed my county to be superior in beauty to England, but I realized I was sadly mistaken.
Time flew by, and the day of my departure, I got up early to pay the high street one final visit and see the elegant buildings for the last time.
'You know you can stay here for good, Bill,' Reverend Davis said. 'God knows I could do with the help.'
'You're very kind, Reverend, but I need to see the world now that I'm young.'
'Maybe when you come back then...'
'Maybe.'
From Cheltenham, I travelled to France. I spent three months there, living with a rich family and trying to teach their spoiled children the beauties of the English language.
I hated being a tutor, but at least my French improved and I got to know the country.
I won't bore you with the rest of my travels, jobs and the people I met, because the truth is, I only want to talk about her.
You just need to know I kept on traveling eastwards...
The day I arrived in Poland, the wind was blowing wildly and it was raining. It was a vengeful rain, much worse than anything I had ever seen in Scotland.
It was dark when I got off the train in Utska. I wondered where to go. I needed to find a place to sleep or the cold would kill me.
There was a pub just down the road, on the left, and the lights inside were on. I hurried along the narrow street and pushed the door open. It was warm and welcoming inside.
The animated conversations stopped as soon as I walked in. All the patrons stared at me and I could see marked hostility on some of their faces.
'A stranger...'
'I wonder what he's doing here.'
'If he only knew.'
I approached the bar and asked for a hot drink and something to eat. I couldn't speak Polish, but I pointed at what I wanted.
'Are you English?' the publican asked.
'No, Scottish.'
'Same thing.'
I didn't want to argue, so I didn't say anything.
'Your English is excellent.'
'My grandmother is Irish.'
'Oh...'
I took a book out of my coat pocket and put my tiny case down. Anything to forget the curious stares.
After a while, someone put a plate of meat and cabbage in front of me.
I looked up into the greenest, most fascinating eyes, I had ever seen.
'You were not here before.'
'I've just arrived,' the young woman said in heavily accented English. 'My father always goes home at this time.'
I didn't want to stare, but I couldn't help myself. I had never been in love, not even in lust, but all of a sudden I understood what poets and writers raved about.
'You wanted tea, didn't you?'
'Yes, please.'
'My name is Astrid, by the way.'
She smiled at me and I noticed her teeth were perfect, like the rest of her body and her face.
She turned around and started cleaning the shelves. I watched her, mesmerized. The brown sauce in my plate congealed and my cabbage got cold.
The patrons left one by one without saying goodbye and still I didn't move.
When we were alone, she said, 'Follow me' and I did. I felt as if someone had hypnotized me.
We walked up two flights of wooden stairs and arrived at a narrow door. She unlocked it and we went into a small room.
'This is where I sleep.'
I noticed her bedroom was dark and there was no window. It was hot inside and I could hardly breathe.
'You want to kiss me,' she told me.
I did, but her voice had a coldness in it that I hadn't noticed before. She sounded almost cruel.
I started sweating and shivering at the same time. I wanted this mysterious creature, but I was also afraid of her.
'Why would I want to kiss you?'
'Because if you do, you will have it all.'
'What do you mean?'
'You'll be able to live forever, like me. Don't you want to be eternal?'
Her presence was so intoxicating that I couldn't move. She stood next to me and caressed my neck. Her nails were long and pointed, her hands were dainty claws.
I was sure I was going to lose this battle with myself. I would never be able to escape this powerful woman and, to tell the truth, I didn't know if I wanted to.
A moment later, her mouth touched my cheek lightly, like a feather, and then she bit my lips and laughed. The ringing of her hysterical laughter brought me out of my reverie. Just like that, I snapped out of whatever spell I had been under.
'No! Stop! I don't want to live forever.'
I pushed past her and left the room as quickly as I could. I didn't stop running till I reached the train station again.
The next morning I started my trip back home to Scotland.
Two years later, I met my wife, a sweet woman who's been my lover and companion since then.
So, you see, everything turned out well in the end. But sometimes, when it's dark and I can't sleep, when I'm afraid of ill health and death, I wonder if I did the right thing...
This Sentence Starts The Story contest entry
I had my chance... And I let it slip by. I guess I was too lazy or too young or both. Maybe I was afraid, who knows.
Now, I'm old and infirm, but I'll never forget her. She could have changed my life, she could have made me happy.
We met while I was traveling around Europe in my early twenties. I think I had just turned twenty-three, but my memory is not as reliable as it used to be.
I left Edinburgh in autumn, a couple of months after completing my university education. My parents took me to the train station in their battered van, the one my father used for his gardening job.
My small case was surrounded by shovels, rakes and the like, and I sat between my parents as I used to do when I was little.
'Promise me, you will write, Billy,' my mother said, tears streaming down her already lined face.
'It's Bill, Maggie, he's a man now,' my father told her.
'I will write, Mother. Don't worry.'
The scene at the station was Hollywoodesque. My mother kissed and hugged me almost to death, while my father stood like a statue, a few feet from us, trying to preserve his dignity.
'Make us proud, Son,' he finally said.
I got on the train and waited for it to start moving. My parents waved and I waved back, smiling all the time till my arm and mouth started to hurt from the strain.
The train eventually left at ten o'clock sharp and I sat back and exhaled. I was free.
Don't misunderstand me. I loved my parents very much, but I felt suffocated by their love and their expectations.
I spent my first month working in a vicarage in Cheltenham, helping with Latin and Greek classes in exchange for accommodation.
At the weekend, I visited nearby towns and villages and marvelled at the beauty of the Cotswolds. As a Scotsman, I had always believed my county to be superior in beauty to England, but I realized I was sadly mistaken.
Time flew by, and the day of my departure, I got up early to pay the high street one final visit and see the elegant buildings for the last time.
'You know you can stay here for good, Bill,' Reverend Davis said. 'God knows I could do with the help.'
'You're very kind, Reverend, but I need to see the world now that I'm young.'
'Maybe when you come back then...'
'Maybe.'
From Cheltenham, I travelled to France. I spent three months there, living with a rich family and trying to teach their spoiled children the beauties of the English language.
I hated being a tutor, but at least my French improved and I got to know the country.
I won't bore you with the rest of my travels, jobs and the people I met, because the truth is, I only want to talk about her.
You just need to know I kept on traveling eastwards...
The day I arrived in Poland, the wind was blowing wildly and it was raining. It was a vengeful rain, much worse than anything I had ever seen in Scotland.
It was dark when I got off the train in Utska. I wondered where to go. I needed to find a place to sleep or the cold would kill me.
There was a pub just down the road, on the left, and the lights inside were on. I hurried along the narrow street and pushed the door open. It was warm and welcoming inside.
The animated conversations stopped as soon as I walked in. All the patrons stared at me and I could see marked hostility on some of their faces.
'A stranger...'
'I wonder what he's doing here.'
'If he only knew.'
I approached the bar and asked for a hot drink and something to eat. I couldn't speak Polish, but I pointed at what I wanted.
'Are you English?' the publican asked.
'No, Scottish.'
'Same thing.'
I didn't want to argue, so I didn't say anything.
'Your English is excellent.'
'My grandmother is Irish.'
'Oh...'
I took a book out of my coat pocket and put my tiny case down. Anything to forget the curious stares.
After a while, someone put a plate of meat and cabbage in front of me.
I looked up into the greenest, most fascinating eyes, I had ever seen.
'You were not here before.'
'I've just arrived,' the young woman said in heavily accented English. 'My father always goes home at this time.'
I didn't want to stare, but I couldn't help myself. I had never been in love, not even in lust, but all of a sudden I understood what poets and writers raved about.
'You wanted tea, didn't you?'
'Yes, please.'
'My name is Astrid, by the way.'
She smiled at me and I noticed her teeth were perfect, like the rest of her body and her face.
She turned around and started cleaning the shelves. I watched her, mesmerized. The brown sauce in my plate congealed and my cabbage got cold.
The patrons left one by one without saying goodbye and still I didn't move.
When we were alone, she said, 'Follow me' and I did. I felt as if someone had hypnotized me.
We walked up two flights of wooden stairs and arrived at a narrow door. She unlocked it and we went into a small room.
'This is where I sleep.'
I noticed her bedroom was dark and there was no window. It was hot inside and I could hardly breathe.
'You want to kiss me,' she told me.
I did, but her voice had a coldness in it that I hadn't noticed before. She sounded almost cruel.
I started sweating and shivering at the same time. I wanted this mysterious creature, but I was also afraid of her.
'Why would I want to kiss you?'
'Because if you do, you will have it all.'
'What do you mean?'
'You'll be able to live forever, like me. Don't you want to be eternal?'
Her presence was so intoxicating that I couldn't move. She stood next to me and caressed my neck. Her nails were long and pointed, her hands were dainty claws.
I was sure I was going to lose this battle with myself. I would never be able to escape this powerful woman and, to tell the truth, I didn't know if I wanted to.
A moment later, her mouth touched my cheek lightly, like a feather, and then she bit my lips and laughed. The ringing of her hysterical laughter brought me out of my reverie. Just like that, I snapped out of whatever spell I had been under.
'No! Stop! I don't want to live forever.'
I pushed past her and left the room as quickly as I could. I didn't stop running till I reached the train station again.
The next morning I started my trip back home to Scotland.
Two years later, I met my wife, a sweet woman who's been my lover and companion since then.
So, you see, everything turned out well in the end. But sometimes, when it's dark and I can't sleep, when I'm afraid of ill health and death, I wonder if I did the right thing...
Now, I'm old and infirm, but I'll never forget her. She could have changed my life, she could have made me happy.
We met while I was traveling around Europe in my early twenties. I think I had just turned twenty-three, but my memory is not as reliable as it used to be.
I left Edinburgh in autumn, a couple of months after completing my university education. My parents took me to the train station in their battered van, the one my father used for his gardening job.
My small case was surrounded by shovels, rakes and the like, and I sat between my parents as I used to do when I was little.
'Promise me, you will write, Billy,' my mother said, tears streaming down her already lined face.
'It's Bill, Maggie, he's a man now,' my father told her.
'I will write, Mother. Don't worry.'
The scene at the station was Hollywoodesque. My mother kissed and hugged me almost to death, while my father stood like a statue, a few feet from us, trying to preserve his dignity.
'Make us proud, Son,' he finally said.
I got on the train and waited for it to start moving. My parents waved and I waved back, smiling all the time till my arm and mouth started to hurt from the strain.
The train eventually left at ten o'clock sharp and I sat back and exhaled. I was free.
Don't misunderstand me. I loved my parents very much, but I felt suffocated by their love and their expectations.
I spent my first month working in a vicarage in Cheltenham, helping with Latin and Greek classes in exchange for accommodation.
At the weekend, I visited nearby towns and villages and marvelled at the beauty of the Cotswolds. As a Scotsman, I had always believed my county to be superior in beauty to England, but I realized I was sadly mistaken.
Time flew by, and the day of my departure, I got up early to pay the high street one final visit and see the elegant buildings for the last time.
'You know you can stay here for good, Bill,' Reverend Davis said. 'God knows I could do with the help.'
'You're very kind, Reverend, but I need to see the world now that I'm young.'
'Maybe when you come back then...'
'Maybe.'
From Cheltenham, I travelled to France. I spent three months there, living with a rich family and trying to teach their spoiled children the beauties of the English language.
I hated being a tutor, but at least my French improved and I got to know the country.
I won't bore you with the rest of my travels, jobs and the people I met, because the truth is, I only want to talk about her.
You just need to know I kept on traveling eastwards...
The day I arrived in Poland, the wind was blowing wildly and it was raining. It was a vengeful rain, much worse than anything I had ever seen in Scotland.
It was dark when I got off the train in Utska. I wondered where to go. I needed to find a place to sleep or the cold would kill me.
There was a pub just down the road, on the left, and the lights inside were on. I hurried along the narrow street and pushed the door open. It was warm and welcoming inside.
The animated conversations stopped as soon as I walked in. All the patrons stared at me and I could see marked hostility on some of their faces.
'A stranger...'
'I wonder what he's doing here.'
'If he only knew.'
I approached the bar and asked for a hot drink and something to eat. I couldn't speak Polish, but I pointed at what I wanted.
'Are you English?' the publican asked.
'No, Scottish.'
'Same thing.'
I didn't want to argue, so I didn't say anything.
'Your English is excellent.'
'My grandmother is Irish.'
'Oh...'
I took a book out of my coat pocket and put my tiny case down. Anything to forget the curious stares.
After a while, someone put a plate of meat and cabbage in front of me.
I looked up into the greenest, most fascinating eyes, I had ever seen.
'You were not here before.'
'I've just arrived,' the young woman said in heavily accented English. 'My father always goes home at this time.'
I didn't want to stare, but I couldn't help myself. I had never been in love, not even in lust, but all of a sudden I understood what poets and writers raved about.
'You wanted tea, didn't you?'
'Yes, please.'
'My name is Astrid, by the way.'
She smiled at me and I noticed her teeth were perfect, like the rest of her body and her face.
She turned around and started cleaning the shelves. I watched her, mesmerized. The brown sauce in my plate congealed and my cabbage got cold.
The patrons left one by one without saying goodbye and still I didn't move.
When we were alone, she said, 'Follow me' and I did. I felt as if someone had hypnotized me.
We walked up two flights of wooden stairs and arrived at a narrow door. She unlocked it and we went into a small room.
'This is where I sleep.'
I noticed her bedroom was dark and there was no window. It was hot inside and I could hardly breathe.
'You want to kiss me,' she told me.
I did, but her voice had a coldness in it that I hadn't noticed before. She sounded almost cruel.
I started sweating and shivering at the same time. I wanted this mysterious creature, but I was also afraid of her.
'Why would I want to kiss you?'
'Because if you do, you will have it all.'
'What do you mean?'
'You'll be able to live forever, like me. Don't you want to be eternal?'
Her presence was so intoxicating that I couldn't move. She stood next to me and caressed my neck. Her nails were long and pointed, her hands were dainty claws.
I was sure I was going to lose this battle with myself. I would never be able to escape this powerful woman and, to tell the truth, I didn't know if I wanted to.
A moment later, her mouth touched my cheek lightly, like a feather, and then she bit my lips and laughed. The ringing of her hysterical laughter brought me out of my reverie. Just like that, I snapped out of whatever spell I had been under.
'No! Stop! I don't want to live forever.'
I pushed past her and left the room as quickly as I could. I didn't stop running till I reached the train station again.
The next morning I started my trip back home to Scotland.
Two years later, I met my wife, a sweet woman who's been my lover and companion since then.
So, you see, everything turned out well in the end. But sometimes, when it's dark and I can't sleep, when I'm afraid of ill health and death, I wonder if I did the right thing...
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