The Garden (One Page Exercise)

It felt like the pause before a thunderstorm. No voices echoed in the room yet the feeling of impending cataclysm remained.

“We need to talk” – the classic line. He had been eating when the notification came up and with it, his food lost all its savor. Just like last time. He knew he would soon be in for nights of solitude and reflection once again. Maybe that was for the best.

The next morning, she came to visit him at the old apartment he rented on Gehrig Street. A knock. The door opened, the hinges squeaked, and nothing was said. She invited herself in. Her footsteps echoed and the chair sounded a low drone as she pulled it out. He looked at her and in that moment it felt like a gulf had opened between them. California and New York were closer in that moment than he and she.

The old wood floor squeaked as he followed her lead and took a seat. She looked him over, scanning from head to toe. Her lips flicked as if she were about to utter something but thought better of it and kept them shut. He looked down at the worn grain of the tabletop and contemplated what could’ve led to this.

“Paul,” she paused, letting his name linger like cigarette smoke. He felt it dance in the charged air between them. “This isn’t right,” he muttered without lifting his gaze. Paul had never been good at eye contact; situations like this made it worse. “This isn’t right,” she spoke his words back. “This isn’t working Paul. What happened to you?” her words were scalpel-sharp.

Paul looked to his left, out the window, and glanced at the garden outside. Ever since he’d come home he’d been ignoring her, tending to his garden instead. How could he make her understand what had happened to him? He was still processing it – pulling the weeds and ordering his thoughts. It wasn’t out of malice towards her, he just wanted to be alone to pick up the pieces of his fragmented mind.

“You left for three months and now look at you – sad and pathetic. You haven’t returned my calls in a week. Every time I want to visit, you have an excuse. What is your problem?” her tone caused Paul to retreat further into his vision of the garden. The intensity she displayed was the same that made him withdraw from her. Everything that was wrong between them suddenly made sense in that instant. He knew what was coming and felt no sorrow. It would be for the best.