Saturday, June 16, 2007

4. Projector - Jon Mayhew


The image bubbled and spread like a bloodstain on the screen. Except it was white, pure light. Not red. Molten celluloid and cigarettes smoke. The insane metronome click, click, click, click proclaimed the vanishing time.Speeding, careening a car on a bend to tight to turn. Waiting for the pathetic, tin crunch, never an explosion and rending of metal. Never a rolling, twisting, screaming ball of destruction. Just a bump, a clank, a click and a sudden jarring, neck twisting. Full stop.

.

Click, click, click, click. The ragged tatter of celluloid lashes itself with remorse of a memory melted, burnt, cauterised but not clean. My heavy heart is cold. Its chambers are loaded with bad memories but only one with the bullet that will kill the me and you, sitting and watching. Click, each turn brings realisation. Click; what we saw was the past. Click, when we were young. Click, too young. Click, different people.

.

Click. No explosion, no spattering of gore or rending of flesh.

.

A hat.

.

A coat.

.

A final click.

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As the door closes behind him.




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John Mayhew blogs HERE at Writing in a Vacuum
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4 comments:

Wanderlust Scarlett said...

The painting and the piece go hand in hand with film noir.

Nice work!



Scarlett & Viaggiatore

Unknown said...

That's it - film noir! Goes well with the picture.

Anonymous said...

excellent idea...really well don

Roberta said...

Nothing is ever corrected through violence. I'm so glad he walked away. So sorry he had to relive it.

Well written!