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Hypnotic Union

David just stood there, hands hanging limb on either side of his windy frame. He stared and said nothing completely no emotion on his face. People walked past him with the occasional shove from the angry or overzealous ‘hand’ talkers. He did nothing he just stood there, back hunched over, head hung, he said nothing.

His striped white and blue shirt was blown by the wind revealing his pristine white t-shirt with a few crimson drops around his chest. Not very noticeable unless you stared right at his chest, his belt buckle – huge silver- with rich tanned leather caressing his hips revealing a bit of his red and white polka dotted underwear. And his navy blue khakis kiss the concrete afer slithering over his beige safari boots.

It had been an hour; David had been staring intently at what seemed like nothing visible. One lady who was on her phone, bumped into him, as she quickly stuffed her phone in her bag passing him, something made her stop. She looked in the direction David stared in and she had no idea what he was looking at. She looked at David, then in the direction again, then at David, then down at his feet and noticed that his left shoelace was undone.

She tapped David on his shoulder and pointed at his shoes. David responded, he steadied his head downwards like a robot of some sort and then turned to look at her then turned his head to look at what he seemed to be looking at before he was interrupted.

David’s shoulders where so hunched his body from a distance looked like a candy cane. The lady shifted her position and stood infront of David and waved her hand in his face. She seemed to hope that she could shake the hypnosis off of him. David lifted his head and straightened his back and started to howl like a wolf. He startled the woman, she jumped up and screamed dropping everything and then she just froze.

A few minutes went by, crowds began to throng around the duo. David’s howling had now stopped; he was panting and sweating profusely. The lady stood still, completely startled and unable to move from her position. People began to shake the two others making wisecracks around them.

“What happened to these two?” some asked.

“They must have done something together, why are they both not moving from this position?”

Others started to pick pocket the two and pry open the grip of the lady’s hands from her handbag. As one thief did that, the lady began to groan detesting what was happening. She couldn’t fight them off. She shifted her eyes from side to side seeking help.

David let out an final earth shattering howl and the crowd dispersed in either direction. One gentleman, Earl who normally runs games of chess had been watching the whole thing unfold from across the street at his diminutive table. As the crowd cleared leaving behind a cloud of dust and the stench of bowels, Earl crossed the road to the frozen duo.

He walked round the two, stepped back and stared at them pensively. About two minutes later, he whispered into David’s ear then into the Lady’s and just like that, the two completely snapped out of the trance that they were in and went about there business, like nothing had happened.

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Crappy Beginning

Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Went the clock, one hour then two then three. Amy sat there staring at the screen looking at the blinking cursor, she had no idea where to pick up from where she had left off. Sleep evaded her, which has been the case since she heard the news; she was paralyzed; numbed by her rude reality.

Her puffy and red eyes were now stinging from all the crying. She had wailed and questioned God enough. Now she was completely blank; motionless – zombie like. Within the past 18 months Amy had buried her father and two sisters and now her only living sibling, her brother was diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer. Amy no longer had anything to look forward to, no more lunches with her brother, road trips, and fooling around. He was weak. He was frail, it was almost over.

He had fought hospitalization and now Amy was sobbing outside his bedroom door, not sure if he would wake to see another day. Amy only had more dread and bile rewing in her belly occasionally emerging to the tip of her tongue. Amy would spit, snort and grit her teeth when that bile overwhelmed her.

Rocking herself, arms clasped around her shoulders on the cold hard floor, she felt madness inch into her spirit. Her sanity fled hours ago when her brother broke the news at dinner.

“Why? Why? Why? Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?’ Amy yelled when he broke the news. Tears streaming down his cheeks, her brother, Herman, sobbed as he had his tear soaked meal. Amy lifted her plate and went to the kitchen where she ripped several tea towels and threw the remainder of her meal in the bin. She went to her room, gently closing the door behind her. Her brother increased the TV volume, turned off the lights and sobbed in the illumination of the TV screen. Herman’s favourite TV show was on, he didn’t burst in laughter as he always did when the Jeffersons was on. He barely noticed what was on. He couldn’t fathom that this would happen to him.

Amy and Herman’s thoughts synchronized; they both asked each other subconsciously what was going on. Was there a silent hit list that they were part of that they were unaware of? Mum walked in through the front door red eyed and dress unusually wrinkled. She was hunched over and dragged her legs across the concrete living room floor like logs of wood. She plunked on the couch next to Herman. Herman uttered nothing; he had no control of the floodgate that painted his face. Arm in arm Mum wept with her son on that couch several months ago.

Tick! Tock! Tick! Tock! Amy stares at the clock from the cold floor outside Herman’s room, Mum is in her room, probably fighting sleep. The house is tense; hearts are heavy time slips away with every inching Tick! Tock!