Sitting on her bedroom floor in a patch of afternoon sun, she closed her eyes and let her breathing be the only sound she made.
Slowly, the happy chirping and chattering of the habitat thriving in the tree outside her window started to become more distinct. She cleared her mind and just listened in silence, and the world began to speak to her from further and further away.
She could hear the television competing with the vacuum cleaner in her neighbour’s apartment, then the irregular roar of traffic on the streets blending together and shrinking to a distant, hypnotic hum. She let it fill her mind for a length of time, completely opening up to it.
Suddenly, out of the static, a crystal clear voice spoke, saying only one word. Her name.
Her eyes flew open. She was almost as surprised to find that she was still alone in the room as she was to see that night had fallen.
How much time had passed?
It was not a voice she had recognised, but the familiarity and warmth with which it formed her name made her feel… safe?
“Who are you?” she whispered, staring out of the window into the night.
The sensation of someone standing behind her rose, right before a warmth like that of a phantom embrace across her cool skin.
Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.
He was gone.
TheRuthieRose 