the craziest things seeped into
his soddenbrain when he took hot therapeutic baths
all the lights in the house were
off
it was silent
rather silent after the echoes
of crashing water filling the tub subsided
he went inlaid downthinking
nothing at all
then
his
latest trick was to close his eyes and in that dark against the back of his eyelids
summons an opaque shimmering paleblue colouring and try to make heads or tails
out of unorthodox shadows appearing beyond it
he thought of it as an artesian
well a tunnel backback back a mythic wormhole and if he was
sufficiently lubed greased oiled up transactions occurred
he saw thingsnot that
he had visions he saw thingswatched them and people and places which materialised ad hoc
irrespective of Time or era or anything static or unable to mutate or transform
he was transfixedonce he
accomplished the shimmer by the chaotic morphing or selective recycling
loopinglooping looping seeming to
question if he truly was paying attention before an aspect or suspect would
breakout to stand stage center for his appraisal
anif he tarriedif he was too
slow on the uptake it came apart like a
childs toy puzzle fragmented blew away
like hot searing ash and scarred the face of the reemerging inky blackness
then it churned away whirledswirledabsorbed forcing him to begin agonagain
he was getting better at it
somehow beyond the agitatedmire reseizing his eyes blackening
them he had become aware that despite trying to still himself his fingers defied
him like octopus tentacles rolling and tapping at the porcelain tubs edge and that their subtle metre caught the
shimmers attention and like a sounded whale it resurfaced exhaled and blew
colour onto the screen of his eyelids granting him another try
written in a suddenscrolling
sharp whiteedged scarlet electric script demimondaine because it ran so
fast he first guessed demanddance but recalled the o demondance
not demondame ahno demi he remembered his college roommates
wedding he stoodup as an usher demimondaine
a
disembodied voice I told Alexandria you’d escort her into
church and seat her on my side of the aisle.
Right he
heard himself answer again An Ill know her how
You can’t miss her, won’t miss
her.
Cant wont an I know nothing of her except for her name
No. You remember a few night
back, I said she prefers being called a demimondaine, not a kept woman.
Yes I do
And of course she knows your
name.
An whaelse nothing else
The grooms men are dressed alike
I told her that she can’t he snorted a laugh
won’t mistake you.
he didnt mistake her
out of a long black
limousine the chauffeur opened the door it swang back a vision in a sparkling silverwhite gown emerged Alexandrina
he tossed his arms wide I got this boys
but they pressed himthey werent
in on his roommates plan they wanted to
get this
the churchs stone treads were
deep the risers short he almost went from nose to nose on his leather soles
beating them down the first eightnine steps had they pursued any furthur it would have
seemed gauche
extending his arm to her she took
him by his elbow he placed his hand on
hers Alexandrina
Joe. How quaint is this, our
meeting finally? Michael’s spoken of you for years.
Quaint Anif I may you look splendid
the shimmer returned
and shared their words with him asif they had been recorded and paintedstreaked broken
images with dry brushstrokes reflecting funhouse mirrorshards and crumbling
mosaic pieces inklings queer origami but revealing enough so he could
see again by binding the bits together see like a projected film of missing frames half-frames frames
deteriorating decaying
more than thirty years ago
he hadnt visited it since the
time passed
a broken glass bead off a snapped
lost chain
then it was gone
the black returned like clotted mold
he tried
he tried
the water grew cold
his shivering upset the metre of his
rolling fingers
between 2340 Thursday and 0040 Friday, 21 & 22
1. 21
2302, Sunday, 24 1.
21
