Fracas Noir – Susanne Waldau – te Brake ~ for better or worse

I met Carl in a café on Rue Vieille du Temple. It was called La Perle and was a favourite haunt of mine between the hours of 4 and 6 PM. Almost every day that spring, I would occupy table number three or, if not available, number five — either of which would act as [...]

Reminiscence of Childhood   When I was seven and we had just moved into the house my grandfather had left us, I immediately sensed that the post-Napoleonic edifice looming across from our new home hid strange secrets. It was one of those old, grand houses — a little derelict but habitable enough, with grey net [...]

She watched herself in the mirror. Traced the lines that were beginning to appear around her once so voluptous mouth. Marionette lines – like a sad clown that made a last desperate attempt to look happy. She smiled at the thought. When was the last time she had been happy? A year ago? More? Memory [...]

The evening was turning late and the water cold. Or so it felt as she huddled into a corner, tracing the cracked tiles that had graced the bathroom for more than a century. Her husband was gone. She was sure he was, because the apartment took on a lighter appearance despite the shadows that now [...]

Words carry far. But perhaps not far enough. When they get stuck in a broken record, slightly altered by an accidental bump into the record player. ‘Sorry’, she excused herself. He didn’t seem to take notice. He had already forgotten her last transgression. A look of acknowledgment would even have been too much to ask [...]

It’s 9.40 and I’m at the gym when I’m overcome with an overwhelming sadness. The kind that goes straight to your heart, whilst blocking any airways. I choke. Literally. But I keep going on the crosstrainer. Every circle another second bygone. It doesn’t go away, doesn’t even fade, but slowly reason conquers that of heart. [...]

Early gym, then pedicure and manicure. Luxury comes in small packages.