Thursday, June 8, 2017

Closed Eyes, by Eliška Tomešová



 Closed Eyes
The best way to see the world is to not look through your eyes.











In the winter it darkens early and the lamps are glowing late. It doesn't want snow, but it's cold even between the streets of the city. Winter is the only companion at a meeting of two young people under the lights of a street lamp. The light listens to the uncertainty in their voices when they decide where to go tonight. It attracts the idea of ?green tea, which warms them up and lets them escapes their companion...winter. Right on the main street they enter one of the houses where the lights of the teahouse shine. "Hiiiii" The girl's voice echoes the whole stairway. "What are you doing here?" A drunken girl hangs up around Vanesa's companion neck, accompanied by "I have not seen you for so long." She laughed. "Come on, they dont know you." A strange guy is trying to tug her. She is screaming "No, no,  I gotta to talk to him!" "Who was that? "Vanesa asked, who was out of the present at the moment. "I think it's from my primary school. Now she's going to be in the ninth grade. "" Way too young for this, "Vanesa says. Why she just can not look at him when he smiles at her for approval. When looking into the teahouse its just horde of grinding and past out teenagers . Despite the vicious winter, which is trying to hold  their hands, he denies to put them in his pockets to warm himself  up. His only thoughts are how to warm hers. There are two guys running down the stairs before them, and they do not notice Vanesa, who is unconsciously standing in their way. "Idiot's"  Vanesa overhears, "Do not look in front of you, I hate  people like that." But shes dreaming and is not present. She feels only the heat that surrounds her palm. No one knows if she is blusing bright red from the frost or from his touch. "Do you mind?" Vanesa hides her head with a hoody while trying to hide her awkward smile that she cant hide when they are together. They sit  finnaly on a bench where they are alone. "Didnt you have a weekend match? You havent mentioned it yet " Vanesa tries to interrupt the silence. "Yeah, we did. We lost, but it doesnt matter. It's an off-season game." Silent," Are you cold?" Vanessa answers and finds herself in his arms.
 Then a loud group goes to the benches also, and one without regard goes to the bush straight away with disregard that anyone is there and where couple are sitting. The rest sit the the benches right of them and plays their own music. "Do you wanna have some also?"
A man from the group offers them. Couple leave  without answering. On the other terrace there is a bunch of weed smelling parkurists. "Watch out  glass." He pushes Vanes a little further. Vanesa sits on a wall, "Want to be here?" He ask "No matter where we go its going to be the same." It'll be nice only if they both close their eyes and kiss. Even though they are in a place where there is no day when somebody will not fall in love under the blanket of darkness. Even though, they stand  next to a tree that has the names of lovers cut into the wood. Despite the stars fighting over our light to shine over them. They will be accompanied by the laughter and the noise of the drunkards and smells of smoke,alkohol or weed.

*

"I have a blanket with me." I took pit and the pendulum here. Bara responds," And did you not you take a book? *sigh* you dont understand sarcasm at all, do you? "He laughs at Bara," And the allergy pills? Did you bring them? "Bara makes a  guilty look and hesitates. "It does not matter." He grabs her hand and walks through the park looking for space. Benches are full and dogs are running free around. "What about under the tree?" The tree creates a shadow and below it, it  has light green grass which then spans like a carpet across Lužánky. "Give me the blanket, I like it here." She pulls the blanket out off his backpack, but interupts "There was a dog here." The aroma of spring disappears with its beauty when looking at the dog's feces. "I dont know where to go." Bara start to get upset. "There's a shadow behind that fountain." He grabs her again and takes her to the fountain. They lie on the grass in the shadow and read a few pages of the story. After a while, there is a cry of children running along the way. Behind them is a couple of mothers with stoller and settle down near the fountain on the bench and begin conversating. "Did you finish reading?" "No, I was disrupted. It bothers me when someone talks." she answers "You dont want to read?" "I want to." They both put their earphones in their ears and read on . The spring sun is gaining strength
and warmth even though the country is still cold. Even the water is still not warm. Water sprinkles out of the fountain. Water droplets slowly damp the book. Children kepp enjoying playing with their shovel and buckets for sand castles even tho there is no sand. "Pardon, but could make them play somewhere else other then the fountain water?" Bara asks. "They arent doing anything. They're just playing. "One of the mothers answers. "If you are bothered by the fact that children are playing, let them be and go somewhere else." "Right here is the playground for kids just fifteen meters away. "Replies Bara "We can be where ever we want. So shut your mouth and complain elsewhere. "Bara, deeply breathing, to drive away her anger, goes to her boyfriend and puts her stuff in bag. ,,Whats wrong? Were going?" "Yeah, "Bára says. "I want to go somewhere else." "What happened?" He ask "Cant you hear what theyre talking about now? How can someone like that have a child, they will just grow up be the same like them."
Bara gets up and puts her backpack on her back," Want to go to a tea café? "He is tries calm her "No, I have had enough i just want to go home today." "Dont be bitter Bara." "Do you want to go home with me? "still upset Bara "No, today you are irritable." "I just wanted to run away from all the troubles and be somewhere in peace." Bara tries to apologize "I know, but a park like this is probably not the best idea then."the couple split, and everyone goes in their own direction. And she knows that when she gets home and the anger dissolves in silence she'll be sorry he's gone. She only thought of herself. That her emotions will once swallow their love.

*

The sun burns the earth, as it rages down from above. The air is dancing in slow motion over the hot road. The wind is lost. The air is still. Not even a paper ticket moves under the smallest gust of air. The tram is full of people, and Karolína in her white dress gets in the tram. She tries to breathe deeper to keep her head from spirriling out of control. The old model of the tram starts moving.
The window that Karolina stands is jammed. So she goes to the other side of the tram where by some miracle there is a free space. When she gets there she finds exactly why there is a free space and nausea is quickly is added with spirriling. Then tram halts at the stop and  people start gushing out to get out for fresh air. A man then helps her to open a window. The older guy with a plastic bag and a white tankshirt. "Why is he so close?" She sniffs her hair so that she does not feel his sharp smell. Her face was turning white from green when his sweatty hairy skin sticks to her and the smell just getting worse. "I will get off on the next stop and wait for another tram" She thinks Karoline's mind racing. "Excuse me!" A boy forces himself between her and that man, and with a quieter whisper "Better?" Karolina, with clenching her teeth, shakes her head for approval. Like a chameleon, she turns white as her dress. With more people enlargening the crowd at the train station and heading for tram stops or trains. In the shadow of a platform, its slighlty colder. "I would stand barefoot on the ground so could reduce my temptature but its way too dirty." The air is still stale .Her hand is trembling and searching in her tiny handbag for a way to extinguish her thirst. She raises her eyes and sees him as he stands next to her, waiting for the train. When he raises his head he comes towards her. "Are you really okay? You're green " "Would you by chance have a drink please?" He pulls cold water, still unopened. Karolina swallows the cold water as her senses return to her body. She returns the drink, "Its fine, I dont need it. Are you capable of going home alone? Do you want me to call someone?" "I'm fine with the train its only twenty minutes, I can handle it."
"There is a bench over there. Try putting the  drink between your wrists. The blood will cool down." "What?" Karolina asks "Kangaroos do it. They lick their wrists and the water evaporates so it cools." "Aha, "laughs Karolina and signs appear that there is still some blood in her head,
when she blush. The train arrives and Carolina raises her trembling legs. "Please, nice young lady. Do you have at least a few crowns? "Carolina hates when a homeless person asks for money. "She's in a hurry." Carolina is hurries up among the people pushing her way on the train. "Can you really do it yourself?" the boy tried to ask her "I go this way ev..."Through the noise of the station,
a message from Karolina was lost, mixing into a group of ambient sounds. And so the rest of the sentence with her white dress disappeared for him in the crowd of people entering the train.

*

The sky is bright, but the sun has just woken up. Darkness retracts from the light and disbands. It leaves only the winter behind that will soon prevail. Tereza waits at Maliňák by the stop with sketchbook in hand. It looks like the city is still asleep. Nobody, anywhere. Tereza burrows her nose into her scarf and plays with her cellphone. She instantly has fog on her glasses. The Frosts has already come and further helps drag the leaves down to its colorfull demise. "I'm here. I couldn't find any sharpened pencil." "I took a pen." Tereza responds "It seems to me that there is not strictness, monotony and symmetry in the houses of this city." She says," Poetic. So in that case, I'm looking for symmetry and simplicity today, where are we going to go?" He asks "I dont know what about the street, from Letmo to the cathedral, I mean Petrov, what is that old house in the background on the left? It's a cliché of Brno, but it's nice." "There is no where to sit down. Lets go to Zelný trh, there's nasty benches on Svoboďák" "Okey." Tereza agrees. There is the only sound in the square before sunrise, the flapping of pigeons wings. "Where do you look when you walk down the street." Teresa asks, "Before me, at the people." "I' look where it's not yet been. The roofs, the windows."says Tereza "Yeah, and then you run into people, but  I know what you mean. You wont see anything negative around you, but if you were to walk above all the people and the beautiful is right in front of you it would become stale, ordinary and boring and you would never have the same emotions from it as you had before like you have now staring straight up at the sky. "He answer. "If you have subjective questions, I will ask you one also. What are you really afraid of, and do not say insects." Tereza smiles, but silent. "The open and vast ocean and its depth, human eyes, and what's in the dark. "She answer after moment "People are afraid of what they don't understand or what they do not know" "I'm afraid of the unknown." Tereza sits down on the bench "You're afraid of things you've never seen. But what if the truth, behind the fact, the fear, the unknown, is worse than the the fear itself."He ask Tereza "I think man can easily become numb against these hideous, negative and unlikable things, you said it yourself himself. Something that is exposed to a person will become common and we will lose that all associated emotions with it." Tereza aswered They open his sketchbooks. "What building is that?" Teresa asks while looking at his sketchbook. "Smaller than the other buildings, but still more distinctive, although it is gray, it is not overlapped with facade and it still attracts you. But while it stands it will suppressed by its surroundings, its stands in front of a collapsing house, beside it, the big Flats, and if thats not enough it has to look at a communistic prison." "Is it in Brno?" Teresa asks and picks up the sketchbook. "Yes it is. When you know her, remember that her environment does not support her and just suppresses, her name is Joy and theres life inside. She closed her eyes ahead of time and everyone around her." "Where is it?" Teresa asks with her eyes scanning the paper." On Cejl." "The puppet theater?" "No,no, its a concert hall or something like that, it's  a building that you fall in love with while it richochets in your head. But you never can enter." Tereza returns the sketchbook. "So, if you like her, why do not you try to get to know her any more? Are you afraid you will be disappointed with what really is inside?" Teresa asks. "I'm not afraid. Sometimes watch and listen for when the door is opens." "You should  try to open them." Tereza answer with stering on the ground. "I'm afraid that It'll be stuck and I'll look like a thief  at the door." "I dont think the doors are locked into the building." She looks into his eyes and giggles. Just like her hair tickles her face as the cold wind bites at it, so she glitters inside, and she has the pleasant, cheeky feeling inside.

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