A little bit of fiction

Cross-posted from my writing prompts blog. A little fiction for a rainy Wednesday.

*****

i carried you (i carried you)

There he is again, walking past me.

Walking past me.

I gaze at him through piles of books, watch him talk to the librarian. His words are faint, but his lips read “Fiction” and “Poetry.” Quietly, I make my way to one section.

It takes twenty minutes before I see his familiar red sneakers entering Poetry “C”. I am holding an e.e. cummings book. I pretend to read it.

no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

Through the corners of my eyes, I see him slowly making his way down the aisle. I feel my heart thump hard against my chest. I focus harder on the words before me.

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

He walks past me, but I feel him stop. His back is to me, I know. Looking at works by Darwish perhaps. I feel his presence, two feet away from me. It is the closest I have ever been to him.

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

I will not have the guts to talk to him. I shake my head, tuck the book under my arm and turn to leave. Stupid me, thinking something would change, that something would happen. I sigh and take a step away.

“Jane?”

I turn around.

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)

“Oh hi Jack!” I stutter in surprise.

He is smiling.

Smiling at me.

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

I smile back.

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

*****

Note: I own nothing but the storyline. The lines in italics are part of e.e. cumming’s “i carry your heart with me.”

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.