15 October, 2006

A fantastic conversation

Amazing what you can hear from a table over on a terrace on a fine fall day.

They had been speaking like this for a while.

"In the evening," she said, "we're all reduced to shadows. Shadows by moonlight, and all quick like silver, like that. But in the morning," and here she set down her dark beer, probably sweet, "we're brought back by the sun, by the sunlight."

"What," he asked, his fork held up between his face and his plate, "are you suggesting?"

"That," she stammered a little, "that at night I know a different truth. A different truth," she repeated herself. "What does that mean?"

When he didn't speak she went on. "It's like a dream. I can't escape its logic while I'm within it. But in the morning it makes no sense. The daytime is so much more sure, so certain. Surer. Surer? But still, whatever, it's not like that means anything at night." She inhaled audibly, perhaps for dramatic effect. "Isn't that scary?"

"What about the dawn?" he asked, not answering. "I always feel different at dawn." Then he added, "not that I'm awake then all that often, I mean at least not sober."

She was drinking her beer again. "Oh I don't know. The dawn's nice I guess."

Of course I had to madlib the words I didn't catch.

4 Comments:

Blogger General Bird said...

Bingo. To close the circle: by "terrace," I meant "drive through window"; by "he," I meant "me"; and by "Isn't that scary?" I meant "Would you like fries with that?".

16 October, 2006 12:03  
Blogger Flop said...

Much better than the conversations that I get stuck overhearing.

19 October, 2006 06:16  
Blogger SeƱor Enrique said...

I was never so lucky as to overhear such conversations.

22 October, 2006 08:39  
Blogger General Bird said...

You two must not be going to the right places. Particularly you, Crimenotes, as your blog's weekend post makes clear. Eric, I'm glad to see that you're back up and around again, and that you were able to keep posting during the hard times.

23 October, 2006 09:11  

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