Frozen | Teen Ink

Frozen

August 21, 2014
By AugustSummerFling PLATINUM, Mylapore, Chennai, Other
AugustSummerFling PLATINUM, Mylapore, Chennai, Other
35 articles 0 photos 265 comments

Favorite Quote:
'For you, a thousand times over.' - Hassan, The Kite Runner

A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit.


The soft daylight streams in through the sheer beige curtain and pours into his heavy porcelain mug. The faint but unmistakable scent of coffee lingers in the air long after he has left. I eye the vintage radio on the tabletop that sports round water marks left by his lack of coasters. The sterile wall clock claims to be ten o'clock, and I'm suppressing my urge to correct the time. It runs ten minutes slow. I sit with his forgotten bunch of keys, waiting for him to come back. The driveway curves away from our house, but I cannot see it from here.

 

Meanwhile, I gaze around the room and find a sky blue shirt hanging from the coat hanger. It stands by his large plasma screen that stares back at me in all its vapid blackness. If I squint really hard, I can see a long strand of light brown streak down the back of his shirt. A tinge of jealousy stirs in my stomach, and I try to objectively focus on the color of the hair. Is it actually light brown? Does she color her hair? Or, is it just the sunlight that's playing tricks on my eyes? Maybe she has dark brown hair like mine. I imagine his veteran hands sail down her burnished locks, tugging and stroking in moderation.

 

A gentle breeze rustles the synthetic leaves of the tropical plant beside me. He has had no time for the living, breathing flowers. He has no time to catch the wilting petals. No time to clean up the mess they make.

 

The clinking reveille of the door chime reaches my awaiting ears, and I straighten up, tucking the loose strands of hair behind my ears. I can already feel the air stir in his wake as if the cool metallic interior of the house itself is holding its breath to accommodate its master upon his arrival. I can hear his steady footsteps, and I smile that dimpled smile of mine, which I know he finds very irresistible.

 

The polished black shoes approach me, and my heart skips a beat as a rogue strand of hair decides to fall over my right eye. But my smile hasn't faltered. I just keep still and look up at him, while he returns none of my smile. His wrinkled but sturdy hand grabs the keys, and I smile at him just like I always do. All day. Every day. He pauses in his tracks to spare a look at me. At last! A subtle shade of melancholy washes over his handsome age-hardened features as he picks me up by my sleek photo frame and looks into my frozen youthful eyes.

 

I see the corners of his stoic lips twitch as he looks away into the bright light gushing out of the window frame. But I can't hold him. I can't make him better. I can do nothing about the void that separates our two worlds.

 

He puts me down and walks away, and I keep smiling at him. 


The author's comments:

Inspired by Lana Del Rey's 'Shades of cool'


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This article has 4 comments.


Mckay ELITE said...
on Oct. 9 2014 at 5:42 pm
Mckay ELITE, Somewhere, Virginia
146 articles 0 photos 2230 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."
—Apple’s “Think Different” commercial, 1997
“Crazy people are considered mad by the rest of the society only because their intelligence isn't understood.”
― Weihui Zhou

Intially, I wasn't planning to read this article, because for whatever reason I do not read Fiction pieces on Teenink. But today, I was like "Why the H*** not?" Right? I'm really happy I read this piece. When I read your brief background behind this piece, I nearly fell off my seat. "Shades of Cool" is one, if not my favorite song of this year. (Definitely in the top 5 Lana Del Rey songs) I love how you took a concept and extended the appendages of a concept into a beautiful piece of prose. The images of the music video ran through my mind. You capture the essence of Lana Del Rey in this article. If she read this, she'd be proud of you. Congratulations on the well-deserved Editors' Choice! You earned it and so much more praise to come. 

Hanban12 ELITE said...
on Aug. 29 2014 at 8:02 pm
Hanban12 ELITE, Lake Worth, Florida
133 articles 7 photos 631 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
Henry David Thoreau

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once."
John Green

I forgot to add that this definitely deserved Editor's Choice! 

Hanban12 ELITE said...
on Aug. 29 2014 at 7:56 pm
Hanban12 ELITE, Lake Worth, Florida
133 articles 7 photos 631 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them."
Henry David Thoreau

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once."
John Green

Wow. This piece is breathtaking in so many ways. Your imagery, the characters, the twist... everything is stunning and extremely well written. The characters are so believable; the emotions are raw and pure. This is now one of my favorite pieces on this site. Keep writing, please :) 

on Aug. 26 2014 at 4:16 pm
Athena19 SILVER, Central Point, Oregon
5 articles 1 photo 103 comments

Favorite Quote:
'Love people. Cook them tasty food.' -Penzey's Spices

I loved the twist at the end! The idea that she is a picture is so cool! I really want to know the back story on this