Sunday, September 21, 2008

Captivated (Flash fiction) by BD Wilson


Captivated
By BD Wilson

I’m in the bathroom, doing what one naturally does there. No magazines or books, so I’m staring at this — picture, rug, craft-piece — hanging on the wall. The background’s rough brown burlap and it’s spread out on doweling at the top and bottom.

On it, a woman sits looking toward the rough, non-descript horizon. Her back is to me, her body bare, tanned wool, raised a centimetre out of the surface, just enough to invite touch. She’s very slender, with good curves. Almost life-sized, maybe a little tiny, she’s sitting cross-legged, level with me. Her back is straight, her arm stretched to rest on her left knee, holding a wooden fruit with a green silk leaf.

Soft as her wool-skin looks, it’s her hair that draws my attention. Blonde corn-silk, covers the back of her head, which comes out of the surface in a perfect half-sphere. It winds down her back in a braid, tightly woven, impossibly long, and pools beside her on a velvet bench. My eyes trace the length down and back up again. It’s beautiful.

Lost in the natural-seeming colours of yellow, brown, and white that hue her blonde, I can almost believe it’s real. I shift in my uncomfortable seat, drawn forward, trying to see around the edge of her head. It’s like it should be there, a face to match the tempting body. Just out of sight, but if I lean in, try to see...

She turns and looks at me.

Author bio:

BD Wilson is a writer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A firm believer in a virtual existence, BD’s home on the Web is located at BD Wilson

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