Look at it in Moonlight
It is roughly ten in the morning. The smell of fresh brewed coffee and stale cigarette smoke is thick in the air. In this living room, little rays of light are peeking through the curtains layered with dust. A coffee table sits at the very center of the room, showing signs of a fun evening full of card playing and beer drinking. Beneath the table, spread across the floor, is a huge black rug that never seems to get clean. The carpet hides stains that were made by people acting carelessly over the years, but the base carpet will not be silenced of its story. Parts of it creep from the outer corners of the rug, rearing its ugliness.
In the early hours of the day the living room is a lonely place. Besides the obnoxious sound of a washing machine coming from the other room, the living room is otherwise silent. Action figures from various horror and science fiction movies, almost asking to be played with, line the top of four large book cases full of DVD’s. It is apparent that movie lover’s live here, but also obvious the room is in desperate need of a deep cleaning. The hunter green walls are laced with cobwebs in the corners, moving around as if there were some kind of breeze coming in. There is no airy breeze whistling through this room, but it could sure use one.
In between the bookcases is an entertainment center with a silver 36 inch television that is about 5 to 6 years old. Atop is an XBOX 360 with 2 cords dangling off, reaching to controllers that are erratically placed on the coffee table. Video games are scattered next to the game counsel in the never ending dust. A giant clock hangs above the entertainment center. Its numbers are all in Roman numeral form. The time never changes and is frozen on 2:43.
The sound of the washing machine stops for a moment after a loud buzz, and the room becomes oddly still. Only to then be disrupted by a thundering slam of the door as an enormous angry faced man enters. He tosses his keys on the table making an ear-piercing clank when they land. Without removing his boots, he stomps through the living room into his room, slamming the door behind him. The objects in the room shake as if a small earthquake just hit. All the action figures stare blankly at nothing as they did before; still, they remain unfazed by the lack of attention.
The day continues on as it usually does, and night falls rather quickly upon this living room. Clicking the lights on and opening the windows allows the room to breathe a sigh of relief. The smell of fall air replaces the stagnant smell of cigarette smoke fairly quickly; replacing the humidity that was once there. There are sounds of crickets singing away flowing into the room as if it has become a part of the outside. Calmness overtakes the discomfort that was here in the earlier hours.
A different place now, the dust is hidden in the shadows. A handsome man with crystal blue eyes turns on music; the room comes to life. The music is beginnings of a soundtrack for whatever may occur here. The man clears off the cluttered table. He replaces the mess with a single deck of playing cards.
People from upstairs barreled in, boisterous voices in tow, and the presence of the room became much more diverse than it was before. It is less bleak, more endearing. Shuffling cards and boughs of laughter can be heard. The smell of smoke is no longer stale but fresh. As beer and whiskey flow like wine, voices talk more over one another. A promiscuous British man brings in a drunken woman from the bar. He picks up three of the lonely action figures and imitates a fight that he tried to break up while they were out.
As the night winds down, the people disappear to their rooms, and the living room is somewhat cleared out except for the remains of a gathering. New beer bottles replace the ones that were there before. Impressions are left in the black rug from people sitting. Different cards are spread across the table and a score card with everyone’s name written across the top. It will all surely sit till the next day.
The handsome man with crystal blue eyes enters the room one final time. Attempting to clear off the table, he catches a ray of the moon shining on the floor, and follows its trail out the window. With a short moment of thought he turns off the lights. Pulling the curtains as far open as they will go, the room fills with a luminescent glow. The room shines in its success. Every little thing encased in moonlight. What this room once was has become a distant memory till the morning. The living room sleeps. Rest assured it will see day and night continually in different settings for the rest of its existence.
I really like this story. I could imagine the whole thing. Keep up the great work! Carla
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