Writing Prompt 48: Number 931
Dark Morning
Looking at this picture, I’ve only just noticed there are, in fact, three hockey goals stacked in order of size behind the basketball post, gathered together inside of each other like a collection of Russian dolls.
The house behind looks as if its back is disappearing into the ground, down into a basement filled with gloom and a faint, damp smell. Or maybe not. Maybe this is a light, bright house full of joy and laughter.
What do you see here for a story?
When David stumbled through to the kitchen that morning, the sky loomed dark and heavy, the rising sun hidden by dense clouds.
He flicked the light switch and blinked a few times in the brightness of the one bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Scratching at his three-day-old stubble, he leaned heavily against the countertop. An empty whisky bottle lay on its side, a reminder of the night before, a distant, blurred memory of something and nothing. Laughter. A caress. He rubbed his forehead in an effort to remember.
Running his fingers through his hair, he caught his hand against the corner of an open cupboard door above his head. He filled the kettle and switched it on, waiting for the sound of the water beginning to boil. Swallowing down more ibuprofen than he should have, he reached back into the cupboard to find the largest mug, the one with a small sharp chip at its lip.
He slung a handful of coffee beans into a grinder and braced himself for the noise. The sound resonated painfully in both his ear drums. He tipped the ground beans into the cafetière, inhaling warm, bitter-spiced chocolate notes from a country he'd never been to.
The kettle beeped and steam whispered out of the spout. The grounds swelled in the hot water.
A warm hand on his face. A kiss.
Melanie.
He drew his mouth into a tight grimace, filling the rest of the cafetière with the boiled water. He pushed the plunger roughly, spilling hot liquid over the counter. Melanie. She brought out the worst in him.
Story first posted December 2019 // Photo: Tanya Clarke 2019
