Thirty minutes in and they were driving on the open road, as the radio set the back drop to Rowland's mind as people talked and songs played; he even forgot about the person sitting next to him. He was always able to coexist with the help of music. He hasn't had a good relationship with another person apart from his girlfriend, mother and boss and on the odd occasion anyone he needed to talk to, most of the close friends he had were back in his home country or somewhere else and truth be told, they probably wouldn't have much to say to each other anyway. Still yawning and tapping his foot to the beat of Jimmy Hendrix' All along the Watchtower, tilting his head to the right and resting it on his shoulder as his elbow lay on the edge of the window. Nick broke the atmosphere; "I think you should quit your day job. "Rowland's head shot up;"Well thanks for the compliment but-"" I really mean it. Quit.",Nick said with a serious look on his face, still concentrating on the road."Well,
They arrived at their supposed destination; the middle of nowhere. Nick turned off the main road into a narrow dirt road pathway up a steep hill, surrounded by nothing except forestry. The light of the sun became dim until it dulled in such a way that made the surrounding area feel as if trapped in timelessness; as if it were all enveloped in an invisible or glass bottle, leaving the sunlight to feel artificial as it's dim twinkling light added a gloss and glow to whatever it touched. Rowland looked up through his widow and glared at the ever-green aesthetic appeal as they drove by; he got lost in the scene as if he was wandering the woods by foot along side the car and all of this reminded him of the camera he had left at home. He felt cozy and warm in the woods surrounded by what was left of summer, until;"We're here! ", Nick announced, grabbing Rowland's attention as they stopped at a derelict house that looked like it belonged to Death."What is this place?", he asked getting out
Nick tried to put on a straight face as Rowland fumbled out of the car and as far as feelings go, was completely null, so much so that he didn't feel the cold as his white shirt clung to him as the ocean wind blew.Nick put back on his turtle neck as the night winds got colder due to the slow crawl of autumn's wake; sitting in the car a little while longer before hopping out and grooming his hair with his fingertips, closing the door behind him. He looked at Rowland who was in his own world and enjoying it and roughly wrapped his arm around his neck."We go in and we kick ass, plain and simple.", Nick said as he put on his glasses with the other hand; walking along with Rowland toward a quaint bar squeezed between an inner city college and university student residential grounds in a busy part of town. It was only eight in the evening, so most people were calling it a day by then which filled the streets with noise or rather white noise that Rowland used to focus despite his high. He s
A Friday like every other; the only difference being the change of the season, as Rowland stood behind the counter awaiting another customer.He decided to work today, not really sure why apart from being sure he had nothing better to do and figured why not seeing as he got paid for it.A day had past uneventfully but Rowland still coursed with new found confidence in his own work and felt that this was truly what he wanted. A new bounce in his step was apparent accompanied by a smile he tried to hide that would shine every now and then; revealing the dimples that Charlotte loved about his grin and for the first time in what he believed was a while, he felt something other than...nothing or the hum drum emotions of the motions of everyday things.Rowland felt that he was stifled by the slow response time of his everyday life although only catching a glimpse of what could be for a day.He had a new taste for life, although a sip.In just two days he believed to had found himself not on
The sun sat low behind the ocean and Rowland sat by a corner booth tallying the month's worth carefully. He'll admit that he was no mathematician but knew that he was good with money, (everyone is).Before he leaves he remembered to restock all supplies used and bought on the counter such as straws, spoons and the like before Nick arrived to pick him up.And when he did, Rowland knew his weekend was saved from the fiend called boredom as he left the clipboard in his boss's office and ditched his apron.When he got into the car and as soon as he closed the door Nick sped off with enthusiasm in the direction of a road that linked to the highway."What's the rush?", Rowland asked while his body sunk in the leathery car seat. Clutching it's sides like a cat on a flimsy branch as the once patient roars of the car grew gruff."I'm the host, missing in action.", Nick replied. "Promised my guests...a kind of sushi that they've been waiting for since this morning. ""Mkay.", Rowland said plain
The next morning felt like a dream, not because Rowland could cypher whether it was good in particular or not, but because the high hadn't really gone away yet; he was a lucky one among few including his lady friend Charlotte; who slept beside him unnoticed, as Rowland woke up grinning like an idiot from ear to ear as he stretched, accidentally hitting Charlotte with an elbow to the back of her head.She groaned an 'ow' in anger and stirred awake while Rowland cradled her head and kissed it while whispering apologies in between. Surprised in finding himself next to Charlotte waking up on the floor covered by a blanket dragged down from a bed he didn't recognise.This made him a bit more alert in realising this, now looking around for some clue that he was somewhere he could recall. Which when searching for clues he dared to even so much as slightly part the kind curtains that shielded them from the light.Only doing so ever so slightly ,just to take a look before being painfully blind
'Monday...fucking Monday.'Was the first thing Rowland thought as he woke up for no apparent reason. It wasn't even five in the morning yet as his phone flashed thirty three minutes past three in the morning. He couldn't remember his dream, he woke up too fast.Suddenly feeling the urge to go to the bathroom, he left for the toilet knowing he was never going to go back to sleep.The neon light above the fridge shone and made the small apartment glow a light pink that changed the colours of the very walls. On Rowland's way back he noticed the little lights on her vanity that mixed with the light pink glow on the bedroom's bare poster filled walls. Charlotte moved towards the middle of the bed and Rowland saw the moment to take a few photos shots of her with his phone and to take a shower.Walking out a clean man, bearing the pep in his step to match. Rowland stepped out of her bathroom and found Charlotte awake and sitting on the bed."I was really looking forward to seconds.", she sai
Becoming more and more disappointed with the underwhelming entrance into the world of art, Rowland still knew that this was only the beginning. Again it was a done and dusted situation, he expected boardroom meetings and paperwork, but instead it was a simple card placed neatly between the two of them which he took and gazed at upon swiping it from the table as they left."'Onimino'..?" Rowland read aloud, "What does it mean?""It could mean anything." Nick said whilst opening the car door,"But it's how it makes you feel when you think about it and how you say it. When I made up that word I felt an emptiness...a sense of peace. Like still water under a blue sky. It was nothingness and it was everything..."Nick stopped to think for a moment, then added as he started the car;"It reminds me of an open mind. It's a richer shade of blue, oppose to a depressing gloom... It's a blue that rhymes with gold. I guess, that's why I picked the colour for a sort of theme for the place.", he fini