Saturday, July 05, 2008

SS - Chance Encounter


Margot left her job interview and took a deep relieved breath. She was about to start walking away from the building when all her body was stopped by a vision from across the street. Walking on the sidewalk, wearing a grey overall and a hurried step, Simon. Simon in flesh, one year later, there, in front of her, walking down the street like a regular person. Simon amongst millions of other more or less anonymous citizens.

'Simon...' a muffled cry was all Margot managed to produce. Luckily, the street had little traffic or people walking by and he seemed to hear her because he stopped to look over. Five seconds later he had just crossed the street to meet her, whilst Margot had stayed glued to the pavement, mouth semi-ajar and hands shaking.

'Margot...hi!' he said when he came closer. Hearing his voice did even more damage to Margot than the sight of him. Something inside her seemed to loosen up and she had to get a hold of herself so that her legs didn't crumble completely.

'Hi...' was all she could say. Simon looked identical to the one she knew, his hair was a little bit bigger, he was shaved, he had a sweater beneath the overall that she recognised. And yet his presence was almost surreal; every detail of his face seemed to be accentuated because it was so much more defined than in her memory. That live presence right there and then gave him a dimension that she alone could not attain, regardless of how many memories she had of him.

'How are you?' he asked, smiling. Only then did she realise he was smiling.
'I...I'm shocked.' she managed to blurt. He giggled.

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I follow the suggestion of Saoirse Redgrave and used my own characters to write this week's prompt. Chance encounters are the best, aren't they? Read more on Sunday Scribblings.

20 comments:

Tammy Brierly said...

These are wonderful kinds of chance encounters.

Lucy said...

adorably written! I wish to know more about their encounter...

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I like the air of mystery you're creating through Margot's reaction. You've got me wondering why she's so surprised to see him (and I keep rereading to try and figure out if some of the words sort of give additional context clues about the situation--I keep going back to the idea that maybe Margot thought Simon was dead or incarcerated...). Ugh! Now you MUST write more ;-)

And I'm EXTREMELY flattered to see my suggestion used here :-)

Keep up the great work!
~Saoirse

Shadow said...

aaaaw, come on... carry on pleeez

Anonymous said...

i really, really liked this. it read like a page straight from a novel. def adorable :)

Anonymous said...

Very well done. Pleasure to read it.

defining boundaries

danni said...

curiousity will kill this cat!!! --- sounds like the kind of reaction i have when i run into a very old first love - makes me all scooooozy and useless --- wonder what's going on here??? - very well written!!!

Devil Mood said...

Tammy: Wonderful and dreadful at the same time, I think ;)

Lucy: Thank you. (the rest became to long to add to the post)

Saoirse: I think your interpretation is a reflection of your medieval stories, hehe fun! No, she's petrified because they have a lot of history, romantic history, if you know what I mean.

Shadow: I think the rest is boring.

Lissa:Thanks so much. In fact, it is more or less like a page of what I'm writing.

Gautami: thanks!

Danni: yes, you've nailed it! It's love. Don't know if it's the first, I'll have to ask Margot about that. heheh

Dr.John said...

Now we all wait for the rest of the book which will never come. You pull us in and then .......

Lilibeth said...

Ah, love at work. Well written bit of a story, one that draws the reader to finish.

Anonymous said...

When I first read this I had similar questions as Saoirse and the others but you’ve answered them. Certainly those questions that the majority of readers will probably have are what gives them license to go crazy with their imaginations. Everyone was chafing to know more so that’s a sign of good hook-work! :-D

Natalie said...

i agree with the other comments. I want to know more!!!

btw, have you read any of Stephanie Meyers books? "Twilight",
"New Moon" or "Eclipse"

It is a teen series that I read because my daughter and ALL of her friends are reading.

Devil Mood said...

Dr.John: Maybe these characters will come back but I can't put the whole thing in here, it's already too big.

Lilibeth: thanks, glad you liked it!

MissAlister: That's good to hear or, in this case, read.

Holy chaos: Haven't heard of that author. Did you like them? There are certain teenage books that mark us and we want to come back to them even after we grow up. :)

x said...

beautiful.
how i've missed you!
xx

Niall young said...

It is amazing that after the couple of years i've 'known' you via these pages..i'm amazed at the way you use the words so well to create an atmosphere and a story which has me wanting more!

Do we get another installment? :-)

madelyn said...

I think chance encounters of fate


:)

so?


don't leave me hanging off the edge
of my seat....


did they go for coffee?

beautiful writing:)

Violet said...

have u ever considered sending your writings to an editor?
I think they would want to publish it.
I would definitly buy a book with this kind of writing. I keep searching for it.

Devil Mood said...

Chloe: I've missed you...TONS :)

Niall: If the prompts allow it, I think I can do that. thanks :)

Maddie: They did! How did you guess? They went for a cappuccino next. ;)

Violet: Well, when I'm finished writing it I'll send it to you. :) I'm reading a great book right now, I think you'd like it, called The lost art of keeping secrets by Eva Rice. If you go to Amazon.co.uk you can get it for 0.01£ plus shipping :)

Violet said...

thank u. I'd love that :)

Anonymous said...

yeah, what everybody else sed... love these kinda stories w/so many open doors.. giving us the desire to go thru and learn more..