02-05-2019, 04:57 PM
The sound of the rain could be heard throughout the house, though the finer details shifted with the acoustics of the rooms they passed through. It would rain all night, at this rate, and maybe all day tomorrow. After that, who knew? Days of identical weather altered the passage of time, when one could not discern yesterday from today. In a loop of yesterday-today-tomorrow, the two of them could live here forever, Near kicking towels across the floor like a soccer player, Jude never giving a straight answer to any question about his arrival, and always, between them, the rain.
He followed Near at a short distance, his head swiveling left and right as they walked, remembering, recataloguing. It was so different, this house, when it was empty and dark. It reminded him of a person. When dressed-up and well-lit, it was a happy house, expansive, luxurious, inviting, full of fun. Now, it was like the house had gone home alone and taken off its make-up; the house itself was mourning. Jude paused in the middle of the room, running his hand along the shrouded spine of one couch. If he closed his eyes, he could hear the voices of long-gone guests, their laughter, their warmth.
Jude took himself to the bar. Behind it was rows of various liquors in a glass cabinet. Even in low light, the glass bottles winked at him, some full to the brim with promise, others already half-empty, their promises half-broken. If it was locked, the cabinet forgot itself at Jude's touch, the door swinging open with ease. He picked the first thing he could reach - a gin bottle with a monkey on it, stamped in Victorian style.
"Do you like gin?" Jude sighed at the bottle, turning it in his hands. This was it. Now or never.
He followed Near at a short distance, his head swiveling left and right as they walked, remembering, recataloguing. It was so different, this house, when it was empty and dark. It reminded him of a person. When dressed-up and well-lit, it was a happy house, expansive, luxurious, inviting, full of fun. Now, it was like the house had gone home alone and taken off its make-up; the house itself was mourning. Jude paused in the middle of the room, running his hand along the shrouded spine of one couch. If he closed his eyes, he could hear the voices of long-gone guests, their laughter, their warmth.
Jude took himself to the bar. Behind it was rows of various liquors in a glass cabinet. Even in low light, the glass bottles winked at him, some full to the brim with promise, others already half-empty, their promises half-broken. If it was locked, the cabinet forgot itself at Jude's touch, the door swinging open with ease. He picked the first thing he could reach - a gin bottle with a monkey on it, stamped in Victorian style.
"Do you like gin?" Jude sighed at the bottle, turning it in his hands. This was it. Now or never.