INTERVAL
Liquid Time
“Time is the fire in which we burn.” ~ ~ Gene Roddenberry
In between ‘It was…,
and moments before Z popped up.
Valentina + Void = inner jabbering.
Val’s short, shallow breathing climbed expositionally
with the beating pulsations of her heart.
98.8° F (37.1° C) ratcheted to (180°F − 32) × 5/9 = 82.222°C.
Nerves destroyed. Pain<3rd° burns.
Val is charred to basics.
Her chest continued to tighten and contort.
Guts flipped flopped non-stop.
Her mind pinballed.
Valentina’s body became its own Tower of Babel.
And ‘…too much’
Z’s appearance was announced by a pin-point of light.
Z was. Here. There.
Val’s extremes halted to numbness.
Vacant.
Sweat encased her.
She couldn’t move nor speak.
Spitting was out of the question.
She could not do anything of a physical nature.
Z, from There:
“Hello, Valentina.”
Val felt the words enter, not aural vibrations but cerebral contact.
Her head would have snapped back if it could have moved. She lost consciousness.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Val came back.
“I’m sorry, Valentina. Guess I don’t know my own strength.”
Z attempted to smile. Val knew the referencing Z was making. She was not amused.
She let Z know that.
“I thought it…Never mind.
Pause
Yes, I know I always...
Pause
Valentina, those language concepts mean nothing, never will mean anything. They have.”
Z halved the distance between them.
“Why?
Please.
What did you promise me?
What did you promise me between kisses, between acts of loves and fucks.
The truth is: I took you in, full trust, full vulnerability.
That you wavered? That you lied to yourself?
I loved you I loved you I loved you!
I love you.
Now, and whatever forever means.
That is why.
Here.
We are here.
Pause
No!
I’ve thrown off Zehara.
I was not a star.
I offered no radiance.
Zehara…she is the past.
It is time to uphold promises.”
Z was there.
Face to face with Valentina.
To Val.
To V.
Z brushed her lips over V’s.
TRANSITION
End of Arc One
Arc Two of Liquid Time begins Monday, April 12, 2021.
Stay Safe and Healthy
Comments are always welcome.
Tale Spinning 
Just catching up Stu, these posts are amazing, so creative and inventive and unique, and dare I say it, deserving of a platform wider than the A-Z. Any plans to try and turn this into a novel or novella? I feel I need to give the story more time than the month of A-Z craziness allows. Z and Val are intriguing.
LikeLike
Iian, thank you. I really, really appreciate these comments. I’ve felt the enormity that I’m creating here. I’m excited that so many people (mainly being expressed verbally) have glommed onto Liquid Time.
I’m not sure what this will end up yet. I usually don’t think of novelizing/rewriting/reworking what I put down here. As much as I’m not crazy about self-publishing, I think I may have to change my disposition to that route.
Sigh. If only an agent stumbled upon this and shouted “Eureka!” or whatever agents shout when they are excited about a “new” author. Maybe they do a ritualized Interpretive Dance.
Again, thanks, Iian.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wishing you all the best in finding a home for this!
Cheers!
Sue Bursztynski
Greek Myths: I Is For Iphigenia
https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2021-i-is-for.html
LikeLike
Thanks, Sue.
I’m still not sure. Iian put the bug in my ear.
LikeLike
A great piece in content, style and format. And what interesting characters they are.
LikeLike
Thank you, Keith. I worked on this segment a lot to get the effect I wanted.
Hope you’ll be back for the rest of the ride.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oooooohhhh… they have a past. Creepy & dark, which you do so well Stu.
A-Zing from Fiction Can Be Fun
Normally found at Debs Despatches
LikeLike
Hi Debs. Yes, they have a past/present/future. Creepy? Dark, yes. Thanks for the compliment.
There’s one thing that no one has mentioned. Yet.
The red italic sentence above the blue box TRANSITION.
I’ll wait.
Well, until J pops up on Monday the 12th.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They may be short, but they are mighty…
There’s always so much detail crammed into your posts that I inevitably miss some.
LikeLike
Z and V? Hm… okay, something is emerging here… not sure what, but when they kiss, they are just letters.
LikeLike
The essence of distinction maybe? Hmmmm
LikeLike