VESPERS, FEATHERS, UNICORNS, AND HORSES
Written by Marini Barika Facey
VESPERS:
Racing thoughts seep out the bottom of her door like incense
and linger like a cloud of smoke in the hallway...
The thoughts whisper to each other about her broken heart,
speak repeatedly of her secret hopes and crushed dreams,
and echoes her dire need for attention and acceptance.
Closed door.
Empty room.
Cluttered shelves.
She sighs...
...and the silence mourns because her pain is so loud;
every time she breathes,
it is as if it's her last breath...
Outside of her window something unexpected and unknown peers in.
It knows it should arrive as something she can fathom and understand.
It came like the slowly, rising dawn, as not to startle her fully.
She squints because this peculiar shimmery thing is still so bright!
Even though it tries to dim down its glory, it is still too radiant,
and right outside of her curtains and windows, the audacity!
Surprised and irritated because it can't possibly be morning yet,
she rolls over and covers her face with her blanket to ignore it,
but it reflects off of her walls, so she decides to get up to adjust the curtains.
She swings one leg at a time over the edge of her bed to put on her slippers.
She hops up and slowly peeks out the window,
only to be frightened by this unknown thing staring back at her!
She jumps back, bumps her head on the lamp, and stubs her toe.
"Zut Alors!", she screams in French!
How can this curious thing look so familiar?
Scared but intrigued, she rubs her head and sits far away from the window,
but close enough where she can see this thing faintly glow outside of her windowpane...
Like the gentle drizzle of the rain hitting the window, this glorious thing whispers her name.
Sophie.
Sophie.
Sophie.
She rubs her head a little faster, assuming the little bump must be making her hallucinate!
She climbs back into bed and resolves that it is the lack of sleep making her hysterical.
She easily ignores it at first and is rather amused, but as hours pass and it continues...
...she becomes annoyed!
Suddenly, it stops!
She finally attempts to close her eyes, but little does she know,
her lingering thoughts chatter outside of her bedroom,
and are the reason this unknown thing is so persistent.
The mysterious thing calls her name louder, so she abruptly sits up!
Sophie!
Sophie!
SOPHIE!
"What?!"
"Don't you have manners and understand you are vexing me greatly?"
Sophie only speaks up so adamantly because she thinks she is in a dream,
but unbeknownst to her,
she is wide awake and begins unlocking and winding open her fenetre!
"Why do you call my name so incessantly?!"
"Don't you know that's rude when people are trying to sleep?"
TO BE CONTINUED...