– No, I’m afraid alone, let’s go together —
She followed him as a long-awaited guest, embarrassed, nevertheless, with every step, hiding under her shirt her round, good shoulders and a feminine body with light dew-moles, a paired decoration of her thin collarbones. Leah quickly dressed in the bathroom, brushing away the fragile remnants of such a calm, serene sleep. And in a rapid succession of silence and caressing, they chose the closest places at the dinner table along with love desserts. Starting gradually, with only one spoon, they enjoyed Danny’s treat, vanilla ice cream with a few colorful chocolates in a crunchy soft praline. Served in large glasses, the viscous, chilled sweetness slowly touched the tongues. A light, dripping drop of ice cream again and again gave the barely stretched, milky lips a pleasant redness. More brief was the time spent in the hallway – quick, curly butterfly wings – kisses; lips – that, opening slightly in the heat of embraces, touched, warming each other, as if in the most frosty winter, near a high toilet with movable, opaque mirrors. In a couple of movements, having tightly tied her white scarf in a long, mutual revelation, he pulled a plaid-linen shawl from the shelf, wrapping it in several sliding turns. And everything was almost ready, but something else was missing. Leah leaned her body forward, gently leaning on Daniel, and her tender lips touched his cheek. The sticky, garnet gloss cooled infinitely perfectly on her scarlet, thin mouth. Her golden, wavy hair shimmered, on which droplets of light girlish breath would soon be imprinted.
For a few pleasant two hours, the winter wind depicted a cold, metal door and two young people who were waiting for a taxi, embracing, as if in fear of the slightest separation, in the midst of an unprecedented snow blanket. Still feeling each other’s scents, they gave them to the chilling, January air.
Just yesterday, a bottomless, lifeless abyss, covering the sky, tried on crimson tones. The sun, which seemed to the lovers, set fire to the snow under their feet, scattering its rays, sharp as striking royal swords, along the entire horizon so that all the trees were seen as black spider patterns, that the sky was covered with poisonous smoke and electric poles resembled pointed, receding crosses.
Chapter 2
“… the actions of the second chapter take place a few days before Christmas at Leah’s house…”
A pale, merciless snowfall throughout the day slowly showered the streets and, it seems, as if with a white, bright scattering of petals, a single rose covered the grainy skin of a stone vase that, numb, stood at Leah’s windowsill. The handle of the front door smoothly began its movement, making a half turn, letting a small frosty haze into the hallway. Near the light, greenish curtains, the outlines of thin watercolor hands appeared, hiding from the glare of a sharp snow spark. Linking words, cherishing again and again her sweet thoughts, memories and timid dreams, the young girl returned home. The lush mask of a captivating, winter appearance flared up with a variety of colors and finally evaporated from her face and eyelashes as soon as she loosened the tightness of the scarf and put high boots to warm up. Stopping for a moment in the hallway, Leah involuntarily drew attention to her reflection in the mirror. She ran her eyes over the neat blouse wrapped in the spice of a dark green apple, over the purple clutch on her right wrist, and held her breath on several small wounds just below the hot throat. Taking a closer look, she crossed out each of them with her nails in the color of dark red marks that glowed on her smooth young neck. Flickering again with a small tremor, the catchy ring flashed like a moth that fluttered on her cheekbones. Following the glare with her eyes, Leah felt at a distance from herself how patiently, quietly looking into her, dark-eyed, waiting, watching with tiny pearly eyes, a small furry creature
– Now, now, Peaches —
The submissive kitten fell in love with his Leah most of all, adopting her character from the very first day, as a warm blanket and a box of diligent purring nestled in this house. At first, he touched her naivety along with fragile, black claws, later, over time, becoming for her the keeper of the strictest secrets and secrets. Now, as before, taking Percy in her arms, she filled a transparent cup with milk and, smoothing his pointed mother-of-pearl ears, received playful gratitude in return. Not wanting to distract her pet one bit, Leah approached the well-groomed and slender living room with a wide arch right at the entrance. Illuminated by a pale light, through a series of curtained windows, the girl thoughtfully moved to the center of the room, moderating her thoughts. She bent over a miniature record player near the careful collections of classical music that she listened to when she was very young. Especially carefully, and with a degree of sensitivity, Austrian composers delighted her exquisite emotions. A high harmony of passions was created, the desired sensations in their perfect freshness and novelty were awakened for her invariably, not excluding a single day. When, imbued with this charm, she filled everything with real life, tirelessly echoing the frantic melody of violins, or in a quiet, purple evening, keeping the serenade of a famous Franz behind her soul. Leah chose one of the paper packages with his initials, decorated with colored, fiery Arabesque, screeching a heavy disk with a needle in the player. Having counted to nine, at the very first notes of the piece, raising her head – anticipating only the thought to wake up tomorrow; to dissect time with an excited heart, leaving the dawn in the sky forever – she slowly began to close her eyes, trying to hide, to hold in herself the light of such a fervent dawn that she shone in it once, mesmerizing thoughts forever, but this was no longer possible…
White flakes then replaced the minutes, and then all the running seconds entirely, filling with small crumbs a fancy plate of curd vortex. Leah climbed the stairs to the top floor to briefly retire to her room. Her silhouette passed along the thin, light gray staircase figures and lines, tracing the smooth ascents of the railing with her hands. The ledges overlooked the entire living room. In every corner of it, one could notice how proudly several paintings languished, which surrounded the interior of the whole house. The first, and a little to the left of the deep window – columns were erected in a strong color on the canvas, a tart, woody smell was felt and a fire was burning. Carefully letting the book out of her hands, a very young girl was falling asleep in the middle of the roots of a leafless grove. Clear sky, all the stars gathered in one, short line. And only a winged creature, a hawk, flew in a rage at the smoke of the fire directly to its nest above a lonely, sleeping girl. A quiet thrill, excitement was transmitted to that picture clearly, involuntarily finding a reflection in her twin sister. The second work, and the most massive, rose above the flight of stairs between two floors, taking too much for itself. Under a layer of thick glass, in a strong frame, it kept a single, peaceful and healing image. Pale ashen, elegant clothes fell to the hollow darkness. An extraordinarily beautiful face was covered with light, gilded silk. The hands bound with bracelets rose like a modest maiden above the darkness, revealing themselves in their mercy for everyone who ascended the steps of that ladder. The music record held a short pause by that moment, and, no longer pausing, the next part of the work began solemnly with a cello.