A/N: More prose than poetry, but the sentiment remains.
Prompt: (For LJ's 78tarot community) Temperance. An angel pours a liquid from one flask to another – first it is fire and then it is water. Moderation. The belief that one can merge seemingly impossible opposites. Synthesis and alchemy.
The Girl in the Other Room
The girl in the other room was mad as hell. The boy in the living room wasn't doing so well.
He picked up the duster and threw the fragments of glassware into the rubbish bin. The largest were the approximate size of his thumb, while the smallest were as thin as a hair. Each transparent sliver shimmered underneath the flashlight. His right eye squints as he stuck out his tongue and swept the last chips into a broom pan and dropped them into the wastebasket. Time to break out the vacuum.
A small accident. A careless hand. He said he was sorry. She didn't take it to heart.
The following words that burst forth were intended to maim, and they did. If only she lightened up a little more, if she learned how to take a joke.
He knocked on the door and twisted the knob.
Go away, she said, her lower lip formed a pout. Knowing her shortcomings was one thing, but someone yelling them at her hurt very much.
I'm sorry, he admitted. Believed they were still friends, even if they fought a lot.
The boy outside her room sank down on the ground, tilted his head against the frame and wiggled his toes. He won't leave until they fix this; he's so bored he has a proper speech prepared. He can't change who he is, but still he'll try. Little by little, her anger peels away like wallpaper. She laughs a tiny bit, like a thin slice of light peeping through a crack in the floor.
I don't want you to change at all. I just want you to grow up a little.
He shrugged his shoulders and used two fingers to test the door. Still locked.
You've grown up so fast, I'm afraid you're gonna leave me behind.
They bickered and argued no like one else. She was too far away for him to reach, so he had to aim with his crossbow instead. He spent so much time in the clouds her skin itched just thinking about him. Grounded. He can't be flying all the time.
What if I buy you a new set? Ten test tubes for the one I broke.
Don't worry about it, I have plenty more.
Unknowingly, they tugged at the hem of their shirts at the same time. She is accompanied by a sigh while his face donned a winning grin.
The girl hiding in her room unlocked the door. The boy on the other side stood there, waiting.