It occurred to me that I hadn't posted anything to omitted for a while. My creativity is currently at a placid dribble, so I haven't been spending much time with the writing and I forgot to keep posting. But here's some more snippets from the good ol' Tumblr archives.
Round two, after round one failed to produce any results, was actually easier. Public records were free to anyone, and no reason was required. Getting the forms took a longer time and figuring out what records might be useful was nearly impossible without some master list of options. But each letter in each required box was a step forward to answers.
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She has a baby, an infant in her arms, and he almost falls out of his chair. He leans in, like the distance between him and the screen is the source of the imperfections in the resolution. Panicked, he searches for anything that would mean it wasn't her as he tried to remember when he was first with her and if that was enough time, because the last time certainly wasn't. Adrenaline forced oxygenated blood through his system and instead of only seeing her, it was like he could see everything in a surreal blast of being alert like prey.
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Anniversaries are packed together like fresh crayons into the short months at the end of summer. For him, the bookends are bittersweet. The first splash of gray falling into a net on choosing day, that first time she had unsettled his thoughts with a what if. And the last time he saw his mother, brokering peace in the low lit street. All the ones in between seem to shred his heart in ways he can't explain both nightmares and day dreams detaching him from reality.
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God damned! He could watch her for hours, and lately he has. Maybe it's the need for an escape or maybe he's spent too many hours in the chemical locker inventorying supplies, but he can't seem to stop himself. The athleticism she has is innate, but her coordination to exploit it grows every day. The way she moves begs him to guess her next play but rarely can he be sure. She's a spitfire that he sorely needs to remind him that there is more to life than the tunnel he's been looking down.