trivia
just trivia, repeated over and over: those same words
same facts, same figures
traced by countless lips, countless tongues saying,
"did you know?"
and i did not know
did not know
this or that
i did not know you when it mattered most
but that it is trivia now
trivial
in the bright, burning
blinding
light of all that has happened
in the light
of you
of this trivia, this fact, this figure i will tell you now
this thing you will not hear, and not know, not now
(how i wish i could hear you say, "what?" in...
She'd always come running when I called. That one girl I relied on throughout the toughest of times. I couldn't imagine a day without her. Beautiful tawny eyes that stared at me with loyal knowing. Full of wisdom and life. I'll never forget her.
The tousled mane of golden locks always framed her just right when I saw her. She looked delightful, so happy and bursting with youthful energy. Her smile lit up my world, my lonely, oh so lonely world.
There was no one else around me, but for her... My dearest friend. I look at her now and...
It was the one. He had to be. There was no one else in the room who dared to stand against the flow of society. It had to be him. He was it. It was now or never.
She pulled back the flaxen tendrils from her narrow face, and inhaled nervously. The thin frames of her glasses made her crystalline blue eyes glisten. With one single glance, anyone around her could see the fear and predatory excitement that tugged at the corners of her defined lips.
But no one would look. She was the no one of the assembly. Literally....
"Lola."
"Lola?"
"Lola."
"Of all the songs ever written, his favourite is Lola? You can't be serious."
"Dead serious."
"Wow. That's a guy who really needs a friend."
"I know. So will you do it?"
"Why on earth would I?"
"Out of the goodness of your heart?"
"There's goodness in my heart?"
"You might be surprised what you'd find if you went looking."
"Calling all spelunkers! Is there anyone out there daring enough to embark on the most dangerous of quests, the search for goodness in the depths of my heart? Finders keepers, down there!"
"Very funny. So you're not...
The disco ball was turning, emitting those little points of light just like in the aging movies. Soft music was playing, and I couldn't decide of this was romantic or embarrassing. It was the second time I had ever danced, yet I feigned confidence. She was Lilith, I was nervous. Later, I knew there'd be sex and horror. I felt the decay creeping towards us, but pretended it was only the hour. It's getting late, it's getting colder, but it's okay, because I'm here holding her. Big fake smile, a lot of makeup. An expensive looking tuxedo I'd rented at...
The audience stared open mouthed at me. They've probably never heard that much senseless profanity before. But blaming me, they can't. I told them my material wouldn't fit here, but they wanted me to do it anyway, so now they have to sit through it. It's as simple as that. Admittedly, I could ease it up a little, or better yet, I tell them my "Aristocrats" version. That'll teach granny not to ask me what I do for a living. I really hate these family gatherings...
The rain had been pounding the east coast for days now. Floods crept closer to our compound, but for now, the levies held. For all intents and purposes, it was a good day. Just once, we had not had any incidents with any of our items. No alarms, no casualties, and no Class D riots.
But, we could only be lucky for so long.
It was late afternoon when the first anomaly appeared on the security screen in front of me. I only caught it out of the corner of my eye, but it was clear as day the second...
It was such a long time ago.
Such a very long time ago.
Yet for some reason she had still believed she would know the way.
As though she would remember the path that she had taken over and over when drunk, in the middle of the night, surrounded by people she hadn't known hours before but were now her best friends.
But it was daylight and it was years later and nothing looked the same.
Was that always a carpark?
Were the buildings those shops stood in new?
Was that where they had kissed?
Was this the corner where...
Sal was in love.
A part of her felt that she'd always been in love, and almost each time with a different man. But this time she knew it was real. For this man, she'd been in love with twice.
Sal had first met Harold two years ago, when he was about to be hit by a falling piano. That was when she'd known it was love most true, love most divine.
If Sal possessed anything close to an introspective nature, she may have realised that each and every time she fell in love, it was with someone on the...
The implant's biggest drawbacks were the headaches. The gear-man had assured her that would abate in time, but meanwhile she was dying for an injection, or even a good, old-fashioned aspirin. Too bad the chemicals would interfere with the implant's bonding process.
Text passed before her eyes, the latest news, the day's top story, ads for sexual aids and fast food joints. She blinked, but the visuals refused to recede into the background of her consciousness. Could she really take another day of non-stop sensory stimulation before she could control her access?
Resigned to stay plugged in, she laid back...