Twice in His Prime (CA - Diane & Melinda)
Quote from Indy on April 13, 2022, 1:41 pmMelinda drew forth her fingertips, until each hand touched the other's barely so in a perfect mirror. The web of her fingertips drawn forward, she regarded Diane with a pensive air - detecting the air of impatience within the woman's narrowed eyes.
"Well spoken," Melinda replied, quietly, "And thus it is why all stories must start at the beginning. Anything less is a cheap trick, no doubt, to obscure the soul of the form itself".
"You had asked for my story Diane, in exchange for your consideration of our partnership. Do you still desire it? For I cannot confess it is a story with a happy ending, only that it is a story with a beginning that may no doubt foreshadow what is to come".
Melinda drew forth her fingertips, until each hand touched the other's barely so in a perfect mirror. The web of her fingertips drawn forward, she regarded Diane with a pensive air - detecting the air of impatience within the woman's narrowed eyes.
"Well spoken," Melinda replied, quietly, "And thus it is why all stories must start at the beginning. Anything less is a cheap trick, no doubt, to obscure the soul of the form itself".
"You had asked for my story Diane, in exchange for your consideration of our partnership. Do you still desire it? For I cannot confess it is a story with a happy ending, only that it is a story with a beginning that may no doubt foreshadow what is to come".
Quote from Mae on April 30, 2022, 1:05 am"I have wanted nothing else since I first laid eyes on you in that petty little mall in Middlecrest." Diane replied. "My offer is not changed; satisfy my curiosity, and I will deal in this partnership as honestly as you answer."
*****
"His name is Jack Moren. ... Yes. I'm going to meet him on the south side of town in the morning. ... No, he's the driver. ... No. Yeah, something went down, but they're not talking about it. … Those hills out north. … I don't know. … … …
Not unless they know what they're looking for. … It's a red tractor with silver detailing. The container isn't marked, but I've seen what's inside. … … Trains.
… Yes, I'm sure. … I can't say over the phone. I'll let you know when I see you. … … The truck stop. … Yeah. … He didn't say, I'm just suppose to meet him there. … Will you be sending anyone else? … No- … that- … No, listen. - … … … … ------- …. Fine. … No. … -------------- …. … … If I'm not a tanned hide by then you'll be drinking by yourself."Tiffany Tycoon slammed down the payphone and tore a hand through her wild blond curls. Her heart was racing. Surely Gabriel knew what he was asking of her. For a moment it seemed she would leave it at that, but there was a look of fear and desperation in her eyes. She returned to the payphone, and, with some slight hesitancy as she caught her lower lip in her teeth, she dialed another number.
"Hello?" She said softly, "Ionone?"
.... Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, one Morty Norc listened around the corner.
"I have wanted nothing else since I first laid eyes on you in that petty little mall in Middlecrest." Diane replied. "My offer is not changed; satisfy my curiosity, and I will deal in this partnership as honestly as you answer."
*****
"His name is Jack Moren. ... Yes. I'm going to meet him on the south side of town in the morning. ... No, he's the driver. ... No. Yeah, something went down, but they're not talking about it. … Those hills out north. … I don't know. … … …
Not unless they know what they're looking for. … It's a red tractor with silver detailing. The container isn't marked, but I've seen what's inside. … … Trains.
… Yes, I'm sure. … I can't say over the phone. I'll let you know when I see you. … … The truck stop. … Yeah. … He didn't say, I'm just suppose to meet him there. … Will you be sending anyone else? … No- … that- … No, listen. - … … … … ------- …. Fine. … No. … -------------- …. … … If I'm not a tanned hide by then you'll be drinking by yourself."
Tiffany Tycoon slammed down the payphone and tore a hand through her wild blond curls. Her heart was racing. Surely Gabriel knew what he was asking of her. For a moment it seemed she would leave it at that, but there was a look of fear and desperation in her eyes. She returned to the payphone, and, with some slight hesitancy as she caught her lower lip in her teeth, she dialed another number.
"Hello?" She said softly, "Ionone?"
.... Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, one Morty Norc listened around the corner.
Quote from Indy on April 30, 2022, 6:30 pmThe rain pattered against the stones of the cemetery. The people who had once dwelt beneath them were lost - in time, in atmosphere, even their names on the stone lost in the obscurity of the rain. Melinda studied it all, feeling no rush to an improper answer, maintaining the touch of her fingertips against her hands.
“Once, you asked me aghast what value I saw in my blood,” she said quietly, “Because to you, it is in your blood you find value. Who your parents were determined your place in this world, down to the very poise which you sit and the alter-form you possess - it is something you must feel a virtue of fine breeding”.
She turned to Diane strangely, “My blood has never given me anything. Not parents, not siblings, not family, not history. A foundling - brought to this world with nothing to predate her own existence. Perhaps you viewed my rejection of your offer to join you in blood an insult against your kind, yet it was not so. Blood means nothing to me. Everything I acquired in this world, even my sister, was by virtue of my actions and my work”.
She turned her gaze aside, “You must understand this fact, first and foremost, before you could understand the questions that follow. How did I come to know your race who dwelt beneath the moon? How had I found my employment to a company who’s very existence is an enigma?”
“How indeed…” the woman sighed, “Yet let it by coincidence begin upon a children’s home strewn to the wrong side of a political border, a safe-haven for unwanted children. It is in such a place I spent my formative years, and within those woods I discovered the beasts who were in the shape of man by day, and wolf by night…”
Her eyes met Diane’s once more, sharp and perceptive to the reaction of her audience.
****
The phone had been answered, yet there was silence on the other end. Not even the soft sigh of breathing would betray its presence, if it were there at all ; though the minutes on the call ticked onwards.
“Tiffany?” a voice said at last, a tiny question imbued upon the silken quality of the voice itself.
The rain pattered against the stones of the cemetery. The people who had once dwelt beneath them were lost - in time, in atmosphere, even their names on the stone lost in the obscurity of the rain. Melinda studied it all, feeling no rush to an improper answer, maintaining the touch of her fingertips against her hands.
“Once, you asked me aghast what value I saw in my blood,” she said quietly, “Because to you, it is in your blood you find value. Who your parents were determined your place in this world, down to the very poise which you sit and the alter-form you possess - it is something you must feel a virtue of fine breeding”.
She turned to Diane strangely, “My blood has never given me anything. Not parents, not siblings, not family, not history. A foundling - brought to this world with nothing to predate her own existence. Perhaps you viewed my rejection of your offer to join you in blood an insult against your kind, yet it was not so. Blood means nothing to me. Everything I acquired in this world, even my sister, was by virtue of my actions and my work”.
She turned her gaze aside, “You must understand this fact, first and foremost, before you could understand the questions that follow. How did I come to know your race who dwelt beneath the moon? How had I found my employment to a company who’s very existence is an enigma?”
“How indeed…” the woman sighed, “Yet let it by coincidence begin upon a children’s home strewn to the wrong side of a political border, a safe-haven for unwanted children. It is in such a place I spent my formative years, and within those woods I discovered the beasts who were in the shape of man by day, and wolf by night…”
Her eyes met Diane’s once more, sharp and perceptive to the reaction of her audience.
****
The phone had been answered, yet there was silence on the other end. Not even the soft sigh of breathing would betray its presence, if it were there at all ; though the minutes on the call ticked onwards.
“Tiffany?” a voice said at last, a tiny question imbued upon the silken quality of the voice itself.
Quote from Mae on May 3, 2022, 6:17 pmDiane listened well. There was no interruption on her lips, nor portrayal of emotion on her countenance. Her interest was engaged, but elsewise imperceptible.
*****
Tiffany listened on the other line until she heard her friend's voice. There was relief on her brow, but anxiety still garnished her features. What caused the delay?
"I know it's been awhile," she said softly into the phone. "But I'm in trouble and I need your help."
Diane listened well. There was no interruption on her lips, nor portrayal of emotion on her countenance. Her interest was engaged, but elsewise imperceptible.
*****
Tiffany listened on the other line until she heard her friend's voice. There was relief on her brow, but anxiety still garnished her features. What caused the delay?
"I know it's been awhile," she said softly into the phone. "But I'm in trouble and I need your help."
Quote from Indy on May 21, 2022, 2:40 pm“How does it all truly start ? I suppose no less by the beginning, and so thusly I will tell you where it began. An unwanted, sickly babe set upon the home’s stoop one summer’s eve - her beginning an unknown, and her life surely a thing that could slip between your fingers with even a wrong breath. To say she had a future at all was unlikely - yet she had more future than past, for before that moment she had no story”.
“I cannot say I believe in miracles, Diane. Everything is by a design of someone’s machinations, whether it is one we understand or not. Yet if ever there was an event that could come close, it would be this: the girl survived, despite all odds - for indeed the medicine that could save her life, had not yet come to her country. And yet she obtained it, and grew well again over the course of years- no doubt from the single-mindedness of her caretakers, and yet even this was miracle enough that they had succeeded, and miracle secondly that it had worked. Let us dwell upon this one moment and then no more, for this is not a story of miracles. It is a story of folly and consequence - and the wolves the girl had come to know along the way”.
---
There was a gentleness in the breath, not unlike a sigh- a bowing before a world-weariness. The voice was silent a moment, yet its lapse was not like the first. Only the slightest of considerations, meticulous and calculated.
“What kind of trouble?” Ionone asked.
“How does it all truly start ? I suppose no less by the beginning, and so thusly I will tell you where it began. An unwanted, sickly babe set upon the home’s stoop one summer’s eve - her beginning an unknown, and her life surely a thing that could slip between your fingers with even a wrong breath. To say she had a future at all was unlikely - yet she had more future than past, for before that moment she had no story”.
“I cannot say I believe in miracles, Diane. Everything is by a design of someone’s machinations, whether it is one we understand or not. Yet if ever there was an event that could come close, it would be this: the girl survived, despite all odds - for indeed the medicine that could save her life, had not yet come to her country. And yet she obtained it, and grew well again over the course of years- no doubt from the single-mindedness of her caretakers, and yet even this was miracle enough that they had succeeded, and miracle secondly that it had worked. Let us dwell upon this one moment and then no more, for this is not a story of miracles. It is a story of folly and consequence - and the wolves the girl had come to know along the way”.
---
There was a gentleness in the breath, not unlike a sigh- a bowing before a world-weariness. The voice was silent a moment, yet its lapse was not like the first. Only the slightest of considerations, meticulous and calculated.
“What kind of trouble?” Ionone asked.
Quote from Mae on June 27, 2022, 1:30 amTiffany was quiet.
"It's Gabriel..." She said after a long moment. The confession hurt. But there was more fear than pain in admitting it.
"We've been going steady for awhile ... but something's changed. Something's not right."Another long silence followed.
"Ionone, I think he's setting me up to be killed."
*****
Intrigue is woven with the mysteries of the unknown; A story that begins with questions will captivate the interest of the earnest seeker, like honey captures the fly. Melinda's story began with sweet, dripping questions that delighted and beguiled. And there was more to come...
Tiffany was quiet.
"It's Gabriel..." She said after a long moment. The confession hurt. But there was more fear than pain in admitting it.
"We've been going steady for awhile ... but something's changed. Something's not right."
Another long silence followed.
"Ionone, I think he's setting me up to be killed."
*****
Intrigue is woven with the mysteries of the unknown; A story that begins with questions will captivate the interest of the earnest seeker, like honey captures the fly. Melinda's story began with sweet, dripping questions that delighted and beguiled. And there was more to come...
Quote from Indy on July 28, 2022, 10:21 pmAnother pause - deathly silent. Had the woman on the other end pressed the mute button? Had she hung up? Yet the call continued. And then the phone shifted, turbulence and motion on the other end - the jingle of keys.
"Where are you?" Ionone breathed.
---
“Yours is a world of secrets, is it not? The knowledge of such secrets are how I came to your attention, and thusly you draw closer to gleam more. A secret draws you in, until either you know the truth to its fullest, or it destroys you".
"Mine was always world of secrets. Of what you could and couldn’t say, the unspoken rules and tension carried by my elders - felt rather than known. And in such a place I lived, upon the very edges of civilization herself, the town accessible only through the most narrow of footpaths through a dense, dark wood. And no, that is not a metaphor - or rather not entirely - but a fair description to the place we dwelt. We were safeguarded only by the sweet woodruff which lined those paths, as though they may beat back the dark forces so long as we remained upon the path…”
Melinda paused, swallowing to recover her dried throat, “Your kind always dwelled in such places, so perhaps it might not be surprising for you to know that the stories told of what lurked beyond matched the very same descriptions of your alter forms.. and yet, though a grain of truth may be contained in any wives tale, so too must there be more fiction than anything else. Did a child of the moon dwell in those woods? Yes, indeed she did”.
“For you see there had been more than one sickly child the Sisters had nursed to health… and more than one illness. They had not known what they saved - and yet they did not turn her aside. Yet nor could they hazard the safety of the other girls, and so the very woods whose rumors kept away the townsfolk likewise protected her - and in just the same way made the stories true”.
She smiled softly, as though amused, “And perhaps it may surprise you to know that a sickly child saved from the throws of a rather ordinary death, having just found herself unacquainted and uncertain of the other children, might sit along the sweet woodruff in solitude… and perhaps it might surprise you to know that when she looked upon those flowers, she would on occasion catch a glimpse of something else. Yet rather than running in fear - for she had never heard the wives tales intended to keep others away - she would merely sit. Green Eyes became her very first friend”.
Another pause - deathly silent. Had the woman on the other end pressed the mute button? Had she hung up? Yet the call continued. And then the phone shifted, turbulence and motion on the other end - the jingle of keys.
"Where are you?" Ionone breathed.
---
“Yours is a world of secrets, is it not? The knowledge of such secrets are how I came to your attention, and thusly you draw closer to gleam more. A secret draws you in, until either you know the truth to its fullest, or it destroys you".
"Mine was always world of secrets. Of what you could and couldn’t say, the unspoken rules and tension carried by my elders - felt rather than known. And in such a place I lived, upon the very edges of civilization herself, the town accessible only through the most narrow of footpaths through a dense, dark wood. And no, that is not a metaphor - or rather not entirely - but a fair description to the place we dwelt. We were safeguarded only by the sweet woodruff which lined those paths, as though they may beat back the dark forces so long as we remained upon the path…”
Melinda paused, swallowing to recover her dried throat, “Your kind always dwelled in such places, so perhaps it might not be surprising for you to know that the stories told of what lurked beyond matched the very same descriptions of your alter forms.. and yet, though a grain of truth may be contained in any wives tale, so too must there be more fiction than anything else. Did a child of the moon dwell in those woods? Yes, indeed she did”.
“For you see there had been more than one sickly child the Sisters had nursed to health… and more than one illness. They had not known what they saved - and yet they did not turn her aside. Yet nor could they hazard the safety of the other girls, and so the very woods whose rumors kept away the townsfolk likewise protected her - and in just the same way made the stories true”.
She smiled softly, as though amused, “And perhaps it may surprise you to know that a sickly child saved from the throws of a rather ordinary death, having just found herself unacquainted and uncertain of the other children, might sit along the sweet woodruff in solitude… and perhaps it might surprise you to know that when she looked upon those flowers, she would on occasion catch a glimpse of something else. Yet rather than running in fear - for she had never heard the wives tales intended to keep others away - she would merely sit. Green Eyes became her very first friend”.
Quote from Mae on August 10, 2022, 10:29 pmDiane's own green eyes raised her dark lashes. Her gaze was drawn to Melinda's countenance where before she stared at the raindrops. The pattering on the umbrella overhead and on the pavement all around filled the pause for a moment.
"A friend of werewolves from your youth." Diane said, surmising, "You have been over the threshold for a long time..."
Now enlightened somewhat on past events, Diane's curiosity was gratified, but not satiated. "And what became of your friend?" She asked.
*****
Diane's own green eyes raised her dark lashes. Her gaze was drawn to Melinda's countenance where before she stared at the raindrops. The pattering on the umbrella overhead and on the pavement all around filled the pause for a moment.
"A friend of werewolves from your youth." Diane said, surmising, "You have been over the threshold for a long time..."
Now enlightened somewhat on past events, Diane's curiosity was gratified, but not satiated. "And what became of your friend?" She asked.
*****
Quote from Indy on August 19, 2022, 10:15 pmThe rain pattered softly, colors muted save the fresh green on the cut of the grass. Melinda had turned her gaze aside to study it, then bowed her head as she considered the weight of Diane's question.
"What happens to all little girls?" she asked softly, yet did not seem inclined to rush an answer to the question. She allowed the rain to fill the silence.
"Imagine that the stories told to keep Green Eyes safe had reached a far wider audience than the town. Imagine there is someone that listens for those stories, and knows what they mean. Now if you might suppose such an organization finds value in such things... that is Enigma," she lifted her head to meet the bright green of Diane's gaze, gauging the response of her audience on how next to proceed.
The rain pattered softly, colors muted save the fresh green on the cut of the grass. Melinda had turned her gaze aside to study it, then bowed her head as she considered the weight of Diane's question.
"What happens to all little girls?" she asked softly, yet did not seem inclined to rush an answer to the question. She allowed the rain to fill the silence.
"Imagine that the stories told to keep Green Eyes safe had reached a far wider audience than the town. Imagine there is someone that listens for those stories, and knows what they mean. Now if you might suppose such an organization finds value in such things... that is Enigma," she lifted her head to meet the bright green of Diane's gaze, gauging the response of her audience on how next to proceed.
Quote from Mae on August 19, 2022, 11:39 pm"They would not be the first. Or last." Diane said. She turned her gaze down in reflection, and said sympathetically," ... Poor Little Green Eyes."
Then her eyes came up again and rested on Melinda's countenance. Did this woman who feigned no feeling indeed have a heart in her breast? Even if it was only the heart of a little girl, long forgotten; left alone to weep in her quiet dungeon at the center of the human soul? Was there sympathy in the hardened woman for that little girl; that younger version of herself who became acquainted with the ways of the world far too soon? Diane was left to wonder.
"They would not be the first. Or last." Diane said. She turned her gaze down in reflection, and said sympathetically," ... Poor Little Green Eyes."
Then her eyes came up again and rested on Melinda's countenance. Did this woman who feigned no feeling indeed have a heart in her breast? Even if it was only the heart of a little girl, long forgotten; left alone to weep in her quiet dungeon at the center of the human soul? Was there sympathy in the hardened woman for that little girl; that younger version of herself who became acquainted with the ways of the world far too soon? Diane was left to wonder.
