The next time Samuel sees Clara and Lyla, the girls are holding hands walking down the beach. They’re whispering in each other’s ear shifting attention between the water, sand, and vanilla sky. Samuel feels like they don’t notice him. He feels like no one sees him at all. And although the perpetual emptiness that he spent most of his adult years trying to mask with shallow encounters is undoubtably present - somehow it doesn’t hurt....
Clara doesn’t know that the letter she thinks is in her handbag waiting to be found landed on the floor of the hypnotist. It was the last thing he read before dialing her mother. “She mentioned Samuel? Do you know who that is? You must contact him as well. Please... quickly...” As Samuel’s feelings developed for Lyla, he disagreed that they keep it from Clara. “We need to be honest with her.” Lyla regretted telling Clara the moment...
Clara is under the water again. Just beneath the surface. Wrapping herself in the liquid salt embrace a few steps offshore, she opens her eyes to a blurry burn. It soothes her. It soothes because she can make sense of losing focus. The last time she saw Samuel, her vision hazed in a similar way for a far different reason. “I thought it would be best if you found out this way.” Clara remains enfolded in ocean. Her cotton dress extends in...
Clara is in her bedroom smoking cigarettes. Considering the number of people in her life at the moment directing where she must go and who she must speak with, there is a unique freedom within each inhalation. Her mother loathes her habits. When she arrived home from the hypnotist, Clara stepped into a steaming shower and exfoliated her skin with hand-made sandalwood soap from the local market. Within the patterns of hot water chasing the curves...
Clara has sought many places to go deeper. More than crystal streams and woven baskets. Wherever she looks lately, she finds an extra thread. Like everything else, her memory does not seem to be what it once was. What do you see? People have different theories about what happens when you die. Lyla was brave enough to test them in a new way. "Cover my eyes. I'll hold my breath." The attraction of seeking how close you can get. The compulsion to...