Sketches

"Cos I'm broken, and I want to hold you high and steal your pain".


She looked across the table at the boy. No, she corrected herself, not the boy, the man.He looked a lot older than when they had last met. His face was...different..more lined..more wary- if that were even possible.

The thing about him, she thought to herself, is that he is, was, always so ...guarded; like he was forever holding something back. His face, his movements, indeed his very being seemed to speak of something unexpressed. (musingly) A wild animal in a self imposed cage.

"I'd gone for a swim the other day;", he was saying, " So beautiful- you have no idea. I was on my own in an empty pool on the eigth floor- open to the elements on one side. The sun was just setting....so beautiful."

" I did around fifty laps and then rested for a bit(Fifty? She wondered- where is this guy's battery?). And then I went back in and did another fifty."

He was grinning happily now; like a kid. His smile was infectious. And for a moment-she saw the happy little boy. He who loved his own company and yet seemed to give it away at every opportunity...

Puzzling creature.

"You strike me as a man who loves solitude", she ventured."And yet, everything have done seems to contradict this image. You go out, you seem to know everyone, everyone knows you, you interact with people, you get things done, you manipulate people(Frown). And yet you claim to be a loner. Why? Why do you do it?"

Why indeed?

he seemed nonplussed for a second. A look of uncertainity flashed across his face.

"I don't know".

Ha. Got you there.

"There's a first", she remarked drily.

Another thing about him- he always, always seemed to know. He always seemed to have an ace up his sleeve- and he always seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone else.

"How do you do it? How do you always seem to be ahead? How do you always have an idea of exactly where you're headed?Of what the ultimate "purpose" is?"

" I don't",rather plaintively," Most of the time I'm just winging it. I'm just a lot faster than everybody else at winging."

irritating. That can't be it.

Smug, some people would call him.

"Do you come across as a snob?"

"Yeah, i do, probably(Shrugs) Don't really care one way or another. Thos who need explanations from you , don't deserve them."

Aha, a failing.

"What are your failings?"

"I'm insensitive- or so I've been told. I care about very few people.?

"Do you care? About being insensitive?"

"Nope".

Har har.

"Is there anyone who knows you?"

"Welcome to the club"

And with that the conversation meandered away, into calmer pastures.
I think he did it deliberately, I always do.

....

"Happy Birthday man. You are one of the few people I know with potential for true greatness; make sure you realise it."

Earler:

" I believe, and I say this with all honesty- that you are a killer. Not that you would kill me right now, but that if you so wanted it, you would engineer it(or as i suspect do it yourself) and it wouldn't matter to you one ...little...bit."


Later that night in bed:

" I'm a killer." Growl.

She laughed in his ear.

"Sure you are." Serious." You're not as bad as you think you are. Someday you're going to realise that , deep down you areally are a nice person."



A few days later:


"Stop it! You're scaring me."

Huh.

Told you I could convince anyone of anything I wanted to; told you I was evil.

Pause.

"You're not evil." But there was a small tinge of uncertainity.

Man, he was good.

...

" I'll change the world one day, you know that don't you?"

Sure you will, baby.

Hush now.

Pulls him downwards...

Sleep.

....



I'd probably give all the money away though.