YeahWrite Super Challenge #26 Round 1 Prompts:
Setting: a train carriage
Character: A tall person who is past middle age, wearing high heels (not platforms), and an elaborate, brightly colored, knee-length coat. The rest of their clothing is up to the author, as well as their race and gender. Their hair is very short- no longer than a pixie cut. They are Deaf. (The story should not center around the loss of their hearing; this is simply a descriptor for this character, not a plot prompt.)
[Short-listed in Round 1; progressed to Final round]
Trapped in a controlling relationship, Sasha exists in a world of grey. But a fleeting encounter with a brightly dressed stranger gives Sasha hope that someday, she may regain the colour in her life.
TW: spousal coercive control
It was the kaleidoscope of colour which caught Sasha’s eye. The unapologetic declaration to the world: I am here. A powerful assertion of presence amidst the drabness of the everyday. Sasha could never wear something so bright, so beautiful, as that knee-length coat.
The woman suddenly turned her head, meeting Sasha’s admiring glances with an unflinching stare. Dropping her eyes, Sasha bowed her head until her long brown hair shielded her from view. Her cheeks burned. What did Philip always tell her?
Don’t embarrass me.
She focused on her breathing. A slow pull in; a slow push out. If Philip should return from the ticket office and discover that Sasha had drawn attention to herself…
She waited… Nothing happened. Risking another glance, Sasha saw the woman walking towards the far end of the train. The flash of red high-heels peeked from beneath the hem of her tailored trousers. Sasha looked on wistfully.
“There you are.” Philip arrived, all smiles and confident charm. As he always was when in view of others.
Sasha sucked in a breath, forcing a bright smile. All her attention had to be on him. “Just as you told me.”
He picked up their single suitcase – Sasha needed little, after all – and guided her onto the train. They were making a weekend trip to visit his old university friends in the city.
Once they found their seat, Sasha slipped over the worn fabric of the double-seat. The early dawn light streamed through the window, causing her to flinch. Yet when she glanced down, she noticed how the light bathed her in gold. A smile flitted across her face at the thought of her – her! – draped in gold.
Having lifted their suitcase on the overhead racks, Philip caught the lingering upturn of Sasha’s lips.
“Something funny?”
She stilled, her expression smoothing out at once. That edge to his voice was unmistakeable.
“The light of the sun makes my clothes appear gold,” she whispered.
He stared at her. Sasha knew better than to look at him. Even under the crushing weight of his gaze, she forced herself to focus on the fire extinguisher panel in front of her feet, waiting out his reaction.
Only the sharp click of heels broke the tension. It was the woman with the brightly coloured coat. Now that she was closer, Sasha saw that she was older than expected. Closer to sixty than forty. It only made her admire the woman even more.
She held her ticket reservation in one hand and was searching for her reserved seat. But with Philip still standing in the aisle, she halted. Her natural height plus her heels meant she towered over him.
Suddenly, Philip broke out into a peal of laughter. Sasha flinched.
“My girlfriend,” he indicated Sasha with a jerk of his head, “says the silliest things. Sometimes I have to take a moment to absorb it.”
The woman’s eyes cut briefly to Sasha before refocusing on Philip. She pointedly angled her head to the right, revealing the brightly coloured hearing aid nestled behind her left ear. Her stylish pixie cut, dyed a platinum blonde, provided a striking contrast. She turned back, offering Philip a cool smile.
“Ah.” He raised his voice. “My apologies.”
The woman stared at him for a moment longer. An uncompromising stare which Sasha would never have dreamed to do. She forced another smile, indicating the seat just behind Philip with a lift of her chin.
“Your seat?” He asked loudly. The tiniest frown flickered across the woman’s brows, but she gave a short nod.
Obligingly, Philip stepped back. She briefly pressed her fingers against her chin then moved them down and out towards Philip before sliding into the seat. Philip himself folded elegantly next to Sasha but the tension in his posture revealed his festering agitation over being denied reprimanding Sasha. She shrunk down further.
With the hiss of shutting doors, the train departed. While Philip watched a download on his phone, his earphones deliberately excluding her, Sasha gazed out the window. Early mist blanketed the farmland, dotted with scrub and occasional breakers of trees. Occasionally she would glance again at her lap, still marvelling over the lingering shafts of gold.
Only once the breakfast cart had passed did Philip stir. He eased himself out of his seat and towards the restroom. Sasha, as always, remained in her seat.
A sharp tap on her shoulder made her jump out of her skin. Whirling around, she craned her neck to meet the gaze of the woman, blinking against her dazzling splendour as she had the sun itself.
Lifting her hand, the woman slid her thumb into the palm then closed her fingers over it. She then pointed at Sasha, leaving no room for misinterpretation.
The shock of someone, anyone, noticing felt like a punch to her stomach. Yet before Sasha could even think to lie, she heard the marked tread of Philip’s feet. She gave a frantic shake of head then turned away, refusing to engage further.
When Philip returned a few moments later, Sasha greeted him as she knew he liked. The woman had returned to her seat, now absorbed in a book.
Half an hour later, the train slowed into a rural station. The woman departed but as she passed the window, she spared a fleeting smile for Sasha. Not the tight one she had shown Philip, but one filled with genuine concern. One that made Sasha feel seen.
If someone so bright and bold could notice Sasha, then perhaps there was something worthwhile about her after all. Casting her gaze down at her hands in her lap, Sasha folded her thumb across her palm and slowly curled her fingers over it.
“What are you doing?” Philip demanded, annoyance etched on his features. His face held no recognition of what the sign meant.
Screaming, Sasha thought. Screaming for a way out. And maybe next time, when someone asked, she might even be able to answer.
C.A. Raine 