The Dust on Pages

 

The Dust on Pages: The Passion of Writing

“He refused to know more of Ravienne because he ought not to.”

 

 

Prelude:

......that book became that way, because tears had passed around its edges and I want you to have it because I don’t want to have those tears back to me.... I was once in-love with a writer, but only he knows how to write about tears too passionate than I; and I don’t want you to write my tears on paper again. Maybe you know why I gave my tears to you.

 

Day 1: The Inspiration and Daniel’s Reconciliation

 

Dusk was fast approaching, and the road where he usually trails became too dark. Daniel ran casually carrying his backpack from school; in the front zipper inside was the book he borrowed from Ravienne. He liked the book in some manner but it was in time so partially wiped out that the torn edges were becoming tiny dust inside his bag, and was obviously fragile. Now I’ll show the people how I become too fascinated with books, he thought to himself as he looms to the gate of his apartment. The people he meant were the people he always share his writings online. He always writes good reviews on the Internet where the reviews are wholesomely accepted, like those where he writes poems and gets reviews mostly from foreign writers. Now he thought of doing better; write a short review about the latest book he will read and post it on the net.

 

This random act of him is an odd one for he doesn’t write if he isn’t that totally enthused of his World. Never was he so intensely inspired to read books, as time went along his ages. He just loves writing poems, not reading some books and eventually gives some good remark about it.

 

 

 

He opened the door to his room, threw his bag on the bed, and then closed the door shut. In slipshod grasped of the bag, he opened the front zipper and took out the book. To his surprise, the book was completely dismembered. Pages crumpled and the torn edges became what he thought it would be.

 

“She’ll surely not like this. The only good stuff she had given to me. And what about the good thing she had just said about my writings in the WritersCafé and now, how can I get this back to her,” irritated to the thought that she might be angered of what he had done, “if she knew about this, she’ll surely snob me for another conversation in the Forest at school.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

PE 103: Let Us Dance

 

The girl was her dance partner in PE class, and that was the only time they both became partners for a year-end partner exchange. Their class consisted of 15 males and 25 females, and seldom do they go with the same partner for a week of dance practice. It was their first day of practice and it started a day full of inspiration for Daniel. Their unusual get-together started only at this point of time, becoming dance partners; not to think they were classmates for almost two years now, and why just now? And to figure out the gap between them for that whole two years be of a total strange.

 

The Tango music played. The trembling hands of Daniel partly holding her waist, and weren’t yet ready for the first steps. The girl’s brilliant ebony hair tangled in the air as she pushed her breast upward leaning away from Daniel. They gazed at each others eyes for quite sometime, but both felt the discomfiture. The tall stature of the guy made the girl very uncooperative in their dancing for she was used being with a shorter and even with a girl for a partner.

 

 Daniel’s arms grasped her hands tightly now. She can barely smell the aroma of the Addidas Sport’s Spray as the steps pulled them for a sweet collision. Then the gleaming eyes of him showed the eagerness to spark up a chat. Unduly with the anxiety of the situation, Ravienne wasn’t able to speak a word until some fretful out-of-the-world three-syllable sounds that he uttered resounded, “Do you write?”

The timing was deliberately strained as the music and the steps were forcedly put into action by both.

 “I do write...,” she answered back in awkwardness. And up until that, there was silence between them and it continued until the class went off.

 

 

 

 

He sat on the bedside, completely abashed of his self.  He placed the torn pieces beside him, prepared his scissor-cut Scotch tape, tried to put it back together, with the thought in the back of his mind, “Impossible”. But he should or else he’ll be out in Ravienne’s life forever. He continued exaggerating this with his consciousness. As he was about to finish his work with the dust on the pages, bit by bit with a mere Scotch tape on his hand, he proceeded on reading the Chapters. And he saw something on the pages, a fairly marred picture. But he wasn’t interested to see who is in it.

 

 The time is running, he thought. He gazed on the wall clock and saw the time; “Oh damn, this could be it, the ‘Nocturnal Party’ at 10pm” The nocturnal party he was referring is the time when he turns his night into daytime with his psychological sleeplessness doing his writes on his computer.

 

The laptop was just near him and opened it. The bugs crawled out the crevices of his keyboard attracted with the biscuits he ate the night before. He was always prepared for this situation, almost. The always out-of-place Air Spray Cologne inside his PH bag was still full, in the premises of its unavailability most of the time. So he took it and sprayed it all over the room to get rid of the bugs. “Stupid bugs,” he shouted. The sporty smell of the cologne irritated the hypersensitive Board mate, Kaski. Kaski was his Board mate for almost a year now, but they didn’t get along so well. Kaski is a Medical student while Daniel took on with the course Nursing. This doesn’t seem to be the issue, but the hypersensitivity of Kaski that irritates Daniel everytime he sprays his Cologne in the morning.

 

“Boy, if you would want another spray try some Baygon on your face! It would surely take off the bugs in you”, Kaski chided. Daniel was so ignorant on that matter now.

 

He turned on his laptop then got connection through the Wifi connectivity of his apartment. He browsed WritersCafe.org for his Blog Reviews. ‘The Alchemist: Follow Your Dream as You Take Consequences’, which he wrote as the title in his new thread. Upon typing his reviews, he remembered her inexplicable smiles.

 

“What could she be thinking of me, a pure genius writer,” he continually asked this in his mind. He also remembered the time they’ve met, in the ‘Forest’ at school, where Ravienne happily read the book he just destroyed. His Daydreaming of the girl isn’t that completely happy because he knew some things about her that he mustn’t know about. But he rarely thinks of these things in his mind that is overpowering the reality of the past relationship of the girl. He forgets them as he writes.

 

 

 

 

In the ‘Forest’, which most of the student of the University named it, where large trees were named by Numerals and where the trees bare the unholy aura of separation, is the place where most relationship starts and occasionally ends.

 

After the PE Class, there was a big slot for recess. Daniel’s next class would start 5pm and its only 2:00pm. He spotted the lonely Ravienne under the great heat of the Sun in the cloak of the Number IV Sycamore tree, sitting on the stone cold benches somewhat reading with her headphones on, which where the new iPod her Dad gave her. He knows almost everything about her, but he refused to know the things he ought not to.

 

 He moved back and hid himself behind the Number II Sycamore tree, thinking of the things he would tell her for a good repartee. He thought of his dog that yawns and barks to the people who go inside his apartment, and the things he wrote before he sleep when their examinations are at hand for the next day. He knew that she liked dogs, and the only thing he just knew in that recent day about her on writing too. He readied himself and approached the girl for some conversation.

 

“Hi,” a soft confident accent progressively released on the reluctant throat of Daniel; the contrast of real pressure.

 

“Are you with someone?” he asked in a toned voice. He repeated the same words thrice. She doesn’t seem to realize Daniel until a great ray of sunlight struck him and made a dazzling shade on the view of Ravienne. “Oh! Hello there. Sorry I wasn’t able to hear you. I’m just totally hooked up with my new iPod,” the girl’s flabbergasted comment on the guy’s presence.

 

“Can I have a seat with you? It seemed to be that you are reading something? Is that Paulo Coelho’s book? Hmmm, I heard many excellent notes from his book, he is an international bestseller,” he randomly itemized. She was just staring at him, not with astonishment but with some remark. “No. Not he that was the bestseller, his book that is.” In a shy disfigured look and blushing with embarrassment, he said flippantly, “Wheew, hahaha! My bad!”

 

Daniel remembered his plans about stating first her likes. He was annoyed with his self on not starting off with those. He thought that she was turned-off with that instance, just by that tactlessness of his words.

 

“There have a seat. No one is sitting there,” Ravienne claimed offering the seat just adjacent to her.

 

They talked almost anything under the rays of heat but Daniel couldn’t forge out with the topic ‘writing’ for he knew they both have the passion for it. He talked about the WritersCafe.org and everything about it. The stoppage of their conversation is usual, but it really went nice for Daniel though.

 

He realized that she was getting really bored about what she was reading. But actually the girl is feeling quite uneasy. He just tried to jump into conclusion that she wasn’t bored with him.

 

“Getting bored with your book?” Daniel roughly deduced. But the girl didn’t reply. He tried to convince her to go to the library and have a surfing session on the net. He’s going to show her what he had have just been talking about; WritersCafé.org. An unwillingness pushed by continues discomfiture rose from Ravienne’s voice, “Yes, I’ll go with you then.”

 

 

The Library: ‘Reality Bytes’

 

The heat was getting even much worse as both didn’t bring any shield. The eroded road that paves their way was as cruel as the Ruins they’ve just passed. They’ve stopped over for some refreshment in the canteen, and Daniel bought some Iced Tea; Two Iced Tea, one for Ravienne of course.

 

“Here, have some drink. We can’t bring this inside the library.” Daniel resorted.

 

In a gushed of an instant, Ravienne muttered childishly, “Nye, so will you let me finish this 500ml bottle now? I’m no hippo for God sake.” Both laughed for a short moment.  A grin wrote on the mind of Daniel believing they both have the common laugh-lines and that could be it. The start.

Ravienne received the bottle of Iced Tea and smiled, “Thanks,” she added.

They took a sip of their drinks and got quenched. They hid it inside their bags and went on to the library.

 

Inside the library writes a big sign, ‘Observe Silence’. Daniel saw it and read it, reminded him of the awkwardness that always led them to their silence. And now, he is confident enough to make any topic, and be conscious of the tactlessness he often committed previously.

 “So here we are, choose your PC. I’ll just be sitting beside you,” Daniel excitedly assumed.

He got his PC right next to her. He opened Mozilla Browser and went on typing WritersCafe.org on the address bar. He typed in his profile username with his password. His profile appeared with the name in bold letters: Daniel Stower.

 

He tried to take away her gaze on her PC by asking her to look at his writings, but she was busy with what she was doing in her Friendster profile. Then with a loud speaker, he played the rendered Movie which he narrated with his bass voice. The Movie was embedded on the page profile of his poem titled ‘I Wait’. He then realized that she was slightly bending her neck to see his monitor. As the background music cadenced, his narration summoned even louder; not completely grasping the idea that he was inside the library.

A grin etched on the face of Ravienne showing her appreciation, and panic. “Wow, but can you lower it down a bit? Sir Diggergold is just there reading.” Sir Diggergold is a single bald and old Librarian who stays silent for the rest of his life together with the dusty books he never even cleaned.

 

“Hey, can’t you read the sign there? Keep silent. This isn’t a Video store!” Sir Diggergold reprimanded.

 

“Is that ‘Keep Silent’ over there?” he jokingly added, “He must have been too old to read his handwriting for the past 34 years in this wretched room. Thanks for the computers; this Library became a bit useful,” Daniel added as he turned off the speakers. They were laughing and giggling in a stealth voice about the old Librarian.

 

Ravienne was so interested in the poem she just heard. She asked Daniel the link so she can browse it on her PC. Daniel gladly responded, “Here, open this link: www.writerscafe.org/pircano/poem/iwait.html.” Ravienne couldn’t actually just remember what Daniel have just said, so she tried to copy and sneak, copy and sneak for the address bar in Daniel’s monitor. “Okay, let me do that for you,” Daniel insisted and he typed it cautiously on her PC.

 

After opening the link, she even saw more links of Daniel’s works; poems and prose poems in different genre.

“You surely are the kind of a poetic genius. You write flawlessly. I remember someone who writes just like you...ah I mean someone...no one.” She stopped and smiled, looked at Daniel who is now in a morsel of confusion.

 

“Okay, so what do you think about my poems?” Daniel tried to disregard the silence on Ravienne’s lips. A smile grew thinly on her cheek, and said, “I would love a copy of all your writings. Is there any printer in here?”

 

Daniel could actually see her coping with what she has just fortuitously said. But then again, he refused to budge in with her mystification.

 

He looked back at Sir Diggergold at the counter and read another big sign which really took a commercial slot on the walls of the Library. It writes: 5 pesos per page for B&W. “Hey, I think he got a PRINTER,” Daniel accidentally emphasized that word. In a split of a second upon hearing the boy, Diggergold stood up and said, “Did anyone say printer?” In gruesome agreement, Daniel raised his hand and said, “Sir, right here”. Ravienne took another smile on her face, “Will I pay all of those?”

 

“No, no! It will be all yours. Since no one had ever loved my writings here at school, I’ll be giving my sincerest thanks to someone who just did,” Daniel presumed.

“Thanks, you’re so kind Daniel. You know I’ve been longing to read poems since he left.......”

 

The clouds of puzzlement elevates over the head of Daniel, and now not refusing to know he never ever wanted to know. “Who’s he?”

 

“Ahhh! Never mind. It just came out of my mouth. Forgive me of saying silly things” she replied.

 

The unconscious agreement of Daniel’s declination of the thought embarked the phrase ‘Silly things’. If that could be his boyfriend, she is considering him as a ‘Silly thing’. His certain mind spoke silently, arrogantly.

 

“Okay, never mind that is,” Daniel added laughingly. But he new this time, he lost a spark of everything that lights the bulb over his head. And to refuse reality seemed to be the hardest part for him now.

 

“What about you write something about this book? This means a lot to me. I want you to read this and tell me what you think. I’ll be visiting your page more often from now on,” Ravienne said.

 

“It’s okay, I love ancient books with the blemish of preciousness,” Daniel poetically reiterated. He meant about ‘blemish of preciousness’ is that the book seemed to be very old and termite teeth marked on each pages. She gave another mystifying smile to him showing unseen secrets well hidden in her lips.

 

They left the library after Daniel paid 215 pesos for the printing and the Internet charge.

 

 

Upon finishing the review on ‘The Alchemist’, he wrote another poem titled ‘Obsessive-Possessive’. This showed his greatest ‘obsession’ to her that he wished to lead her into his ‘possession’. In this poem, he wanted to be something that can awaken the reality of his heartache upon knowing the mysteries lurking on her lips waiting to be revealed. The poem writes:

 

An image waiting to be revealed

Inside a corridor with holes on the floor

Sprawling its path, mimicking the broken walls.

Shadow seeping on the window pane

Devoured by visibility as the Sun sleeps tight tonight

 

Perfume gushed in vulgar ambience

Wore it; a seductively annoying.

Disguised in sober and lovely presence,

Uncloaked the mystery on the broken doorknob,

Enters with the coolest wind and Vanilla Spa.

 

The silken linens that covers the bulked presence

In the bed of white, cloth negligees its indulgence,

The sweet sexy and elusive cunning.

Breathing in anxiously, but dreaming.

 

It leaches its way into the soft cushion

Embedding the skin, touching the nectar of sweats

Unto the white blanket

That dries up in disseminating aura,

Much sweeter than Vanilla Spa

 

Lucid obsession covered the bed

But the wind pursued the howls and screams,

The window unshackled, the leaves flown inside

Dusty curtains gusted the silent creeping

And faded the lusty scent, forgotten...

 

A dull image consumed by envy

A mere image disguised,

Just waiting...

Just waiting to be revealed...

 

He uploaded this in WritersCafe.org together with the reviews. His thoughts of pain radiated to his eyes, and wanted to sleep. And he did lose with the awakened night in his so-called ‘Nocturnal Party’. He slept.

 

 

 

Day 2: The Confrontation, The End

 

 

“I read your new poem. It’s so erotic in its theme. So brilliant to put up a story without a real character on it,” Ravienne said.

 

 Daniel didn’t respond instead he have the 1” by 1” faded picture of a guy and showed it to her.

 

“I found it in the pages of your book. I think you have forgotten to get it,” Daniel dejectedly assumed.

 

“Oh well, just put it there back. He doesn’t mean any to me now,” she replied.

 

Gasping in air and a minute of pause in the part of Daniel as if trying to put the puzzle back together and disarrange it again, all over again. After that he had spoken.

 

“You know what? I’ve been trying to deny that you have loved someone since we became classmates. For I know if you did I’ll surely have no chance of having you,” he said.

 

“Wait, what do you mean by that? What a coincidence in it with your poem, or is not?” she retorted as if she just knew between the real thought of the poem and the thing Daniel has just said ‘having you’.

 

“Nothing! Really! I just thought of you last night and I was inspired on writing it...because I loved you,” he said insistently, confidently.

 

Tears fell from Ravienne’s eyes and slapped Daniel on the cheek. “How can you tell you loved someone through lust and possession? I can never trust anyone like you. I guess you’ll be fading with the wind like the scent you disguised to me.”

 

Ravienne took her bag and walked away from the ‘Forest’. Daniel sat there alone in the benches. He bowed down his head holding the book in defaced aura convened by the curse of the trees.

 

 

Author's Note

The Haunted Writer is now writing her saddest destiny for two writers accidentally in-love with each other.

Theme:

"...that book became that way, because tears had passed around its edges and I want you to have it because I don�t want to have those tears back to me.... I was once in-love with a writer, but only he knows how to write about tears too passionate than I; and I don�t want you to write my tears on paper again. Maybe somehow you know why I gave my precious tears to you."


Please rephrase or delete some errors. I also have problems on tenses since this is my first time writing a short story. Can you help me out. And please tell me if the flow of the story isn't that much of a puzzlement. Thank you my friends. KUDOS everyone!!!

Reviews

[Dalebear]

I was hooked on every line good write well done

[Gheeneil]

You had me hooked from beginning to end. I was like being led to the stairs and I couldn't turn back. The content is highly entertaining and unique. Your creativity is superb. However, there seems to be verb tense inconsistency. Also, "had have" is a no-no in English grammar. Keep writing!