** Reflection (Part I)

Shad0r · 15-11-2003 9:11pm #1

I've been working on a couple of different things on my laptop which last night decided to die on me. So in an effort to keep writing while I get it fixed I wrote this this morning. To keep it readable I'm splitting it into two parts.

Its based on a dream I had a while back and it was done semi on the fly. Comments would be appreciated.

Reflection - (Part I)

Tom was a simple man with simple needs. Striking an impressive figure at 6'4" and weighing in at well over 230 pounds, many mistakenly drew parallels between his size and his personality. Which, if he was to be honest about it, Tom didn't mind. It made his life easier. Not to mention his job. Usually he just had to ask for something and he got it. Fear, he snorted to himself, it was a powerful ally in his line of work. It kept things simple, just the way he liked them.

Even though on paper Tom was worth a fortune, he wasn’t one for fancy things, as he thought of them. He had no need for a BMW or Mercedes. The train station was a four and a half minute walk from his apartment and besides he didn’t know how to drive. No red lights or traffic jams on a railway line he thought to himself smugly.

He was headed home from work and looking forward to being there with almost tangible anticipation. His tired frame although now on which hung a nicely tailored charcoal grey suit, had earlier been subjected to the harshest of realities at natures disposal. The relentless rain and biting incessant wind first soaking him where he hid and then began tearing at the very corners of his soul. Right up until he thought he could take no more of this taste of hell that mother earth was providing and then beyond. Beyond to the point where he occupied a similar mental state to that he was in right now. Quiet anticipation. As he sat with one cheek on and one cheek off the edge of an undersized train seat, he could hear James Brown playing his favorite song. The soulful melody echoing around the inside of his head like the resonance inside a drum.

If Tom had still been in the United States he probably would have referred to himself, professionally, as a 'facilitator'. Here in London he was known as a 'fixer'. He didn’t take enjoyment or pride from his work but he was good at it. For the better part of his working life he had solved the problems that people were having. Transportation, debt collection, body guarding or even assassination were all fields in which Tom possessed substantial skill. In fact he was better at these things now than he ever had been but he found them more difficult these days. Age was dealing his cards now and although he knew how to play he wasn’t sure that he wanted to anymore.

Sitting there in his self made isolation, staring out the window, at the city scape rushing by he couldn’t help for a moment reflect on his life. What if I’d chosen not to go to the States with my dad when I was seventeen years old, he thought to himself. Then perhaps I would be a professional athlete or a fireman now. A fireman’s wage wasn’t as rewarding as his own but he’d always liked to think there was a hero lurking deep inside himself.

As the train went into a tunnel he noticed that a woman’s reflection was staring at him. Not enjoying the scrutiny he quickly glanced down at his feet and slowly worked his eyes back up, but this time toward her face. She was sitting beside the window across from him and now she looked like she was sleeping. Dressed in a smart but affordable business skirt and jacket his trained eye deduced she was probably a secretary or maybe a legal aid. With soft wavy blonde hair he noticed she was much better looking than her reflection had led him to believe.

Odd, he thought, looking back out the window.
‘Its not that odd’ replied her reflection in a guttural tone, her black eyes burning a hole right through him. Hairs standing tall on the back of his neck, his gaze was glued to the window pane. “I’m not a secretary”, she spat, “I’m an innocent...Do YOU know what that means?”
Speechless as his mind reeled and then tried to reason it out, to put order and sense to this that he couldn’t be seeing. He tore his eyes away and looked around to see if anyone else had heard her. Everyone was the same as before, dozing or reading. The girl opposite him still had closed eyes.
“I didn’t think so” the voice taunted him and then began to laugh. A high pitched shriek of a laugh that would unsettle the dead. Not a man easily scared, a cold chill ran down his spine. There were only two possible explanations for what had just happened and he didn’t like either.

Suddenly the train shot out of the tunnel and back into gloomy daylight. The manic laughter was replaced by the tired shuffling of feet and the noise of people zipping up their coats, putting their hats back on and steeling themselves for the vicious onslaught of a wet winter afternoon. A pain in his neck made him sit up straight and his mouth felt like there had been cotton in it. Aside from his slightly racing heart everything seemed normal. Tentatively he glanced toward the window again. Every couple of seconds he could catch the girls reflection as a tree they passed blocked out the sunlight for a split second. But now, like its owner, it was sleeping.

Had he been sleeping too? He needed air and moved from his seat to be near the door when the train stopped. The memory seemed very vivid to be a dream, but the alternative was that he had seen a ghost, or was starting to loose his mind. Perhaps after all these years and the countless number of people he’d killed or beaten up his guilt was coming back to haunt him. He’d never really bought into the idea of the Karma Police although maybe it was finally time he saw a shrink. He stepped off the train and started to dismiss the idea of having someone poke around his head with a flashlight. There were things in there nobody should know.

As the train’s doors closed behind him he heard her voice again, “sssshhhhhhhh, don’t tell anyone now”, it whispered.

If there are spelling mistakes its because it was spell checked on a Canadian PC!

yellum · 16-11-2003 12:50pm

That was excellent. The possibilities of where you can take it from there are pretty good too.