Status: Unbiased opinions would make my day. <3
Tick, Tock
One of One.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She counted along silently to the clock, staring at the second hand as it made the sixty-second long journey across the clock face. A minute had passed before she went back to the challenge in front of her. The silverware drawer was a disaster, her sister having been the one to put the cutlery away the night before.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
With a delicate grip, she slowly removed all the spoons, placing them in the container of warm, soapy water in the sink. One after the other, the girl washed the utensils by hand before placing them in height order, face up on a towel by the counter.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Next were the forks. She repeated the process she had done with the spoons shortly before. With practiced speed, she laid the forks in a row underneath the spoons. The butter knives were next, then the steak knives, and finally the large ladles and other items that she washed by size, starting at the largest.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She was placing the last piece of the miscellaneous utensils on the cloth when her elbow knocked one of the forks onto the tiled floor. Her whole body tensed, eyes trained on the small metal item on the ground.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Flustered, she picked it up and returned it to its spot before she emptied the plastic container and hurriedly refilled it with fresh water.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She started with the spoons again, her pattern repeating itself. The fork falling upset the balance; the work needed to be done over again. In an aggravated silence she worked quickly, resenting her sister for inviting the people over the night before. Her sister promised that she would put everything back in its proper place, but she hadn’t. It was left up to her, like always, to put everything where it belonged.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Her sister had even had the nerve to invite five people. That made seven all together, and her sister knew she couldn’t do that. Odd numbers were bad, cursed even. She went out of her way to avoid them, but yet her sister went and did the opposite.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Thirty-eight minutes had passed since she started to rewash the silverware, and she was almost done. The metal pieces gleamed brightly on the dark material on the cloth, lined up neatly.
Tick…tock. Tick…tock. Tick…tock.
She flinched as she took note of the clock’s ticking, now off by a fraction of a second. It would have to wait, though, for she didn’t have the time to set it right just then; the dishes still needed washing.
Tick…tock. Tick…tock. Tick…tock.
Her hands scrubbed furiously at the plate, removing the dried sauce with a repetitive, circular motion; two circles in one direction, and then another two in the reverse. She did this until the plates were spotless, lining them up neatly in the drying rack.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
The increasing amount of distortion to the clock’s ticking was starting to get to her. It shouldn’t be off at all; it should be running smoothly. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she stared at the round item hanging on the wall, just out of her reach.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Flinching, she went over to the silverware, noting that it was now dry. Her right hand reached out and opened the drawer, and she placed in a large spoon in the proper section; next she closed it with her left. She did this with each individual piece of cutlery until they were all neatly put away.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Next came the plates; her hands were visibly shaking as she opened the cabinet above the counter. One by one, the plates went in. Unlike with the silverware, she didn’t close the cabinet after each item like she did the drawer; it wasn’t how her system worked.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Her heart was beating heavily in her chest; the soft thudding was uneven, and it did nothing to help her calm down. The room was starting to spin around her, and she reached out her hands to lean against the wall.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-to.
The clock stopped, hands hanging unmoving behind the plastic. The room was silent, save for the sounds of her jagged heartbeat and the rush of blood in her ears.
Panic was engulfing her. It was talking control of her every movement, every breath, every thought.
She felt the shaking of her arms increase, and her balance was gone. Her body fell to the floor, her limbs convulsing violently. The walls came closer to her, decreasing the size of the room as she continued to tremble.
Why was the room shrinking? Why was it spinning? She didn’t know, and it scared her. Never had she felt like she had no control over anything before.
Her breathing was ragged, and her lungs felt as though they were squeezing the little oxygen that they held back out. She tried to take a breath in, but she couldn’t manage it. It was if a hand was constricting her windpipe midway through each breath.
When did the light get so bright? When did silence become so deafening? When did the room become red? Why was everything red?
Questions and confusion were swirling in her head as her ability to breathe decreased; her common sense and her mental reassurances of her sanity still being intact were gone.
A wave of heat flooded over the shaking girl lying on the floor. The sensation was unexpected in the chilly room, which did nothing to help the situation. Her breathing was ragged, no matter how hard she tried to even it out, and her limbs were continuously being shaken by a force she couldn’t see from inside herself. The room continued to spin as her eyes searched for something, anything, which she could concentrate on. There was nothing.
How much time had passed since this started? What was happening to her? Was she losing her mind?
More questions she couldn’t answer. The room continued to move around her body flailed to and fro on the ground, her eyes finally fixating on the clock; the same wretched clock that was at fault for this.
Her eyes quickly looked at the placement of the hands, and began to shake even more violently.
The time on the clock read 1:17, and 53 seconds.
She counted along silently to the clock, staring at the second hand as it made the sixty-second long journey across the clock face. A minute had passed before she went back to the challenge in front of her. The silverware drawer was a disaster, her sister having been the one to put the cutlery away the night before.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
With a delicate grip, she slowly removed all the spoons, placing them in the container of warm, soapy water in the sink. One after the other, the girl washed the utensils by hand before placing them in height order, face up on a towel by the counter.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Next were the forks. She repeated the process she had done with the spoons shortly before. With practiced speed, she laid the forks in a row underneath the spoons. The butter knives were next, then the steak knives, and finally the large ladles and other items that she washed by size, starting at the largest.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She was placing the last piece of the miscellaneous utensils on the cloth when her elbow knocked one of the forks onto the tiled floor. Her whole body tensed, eyes trained on the small metal item on the ground.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Flustered, she picked it up and returned it to its spot before she emptied the plastic container and hurriedly refilled it with fresh water.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
She started with the spoons again, her pattern repeating itself. The fork falling upset the balance; the work needed to be done over again. In an aggravated silence she worked quickly, resenting her sister for inviting the people over the night before. Her sister promised that she would put everything back in its proper place, but she hadn’t. It was left up to her, like always, to put everything where it belonged.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Her sister had even had the nerve to invite five people. That made seven all together, and her sister knew she couldn’t do that. Odd numbers were bad, cursed even. She went out of her way to avoid them, but yet her sister went and did the opposite.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
Thirty-eight minutes had passed since she started to rewash the silverware, and she was almost done. The metal pieces gleamed brightly on the dark material on the cloth, lined up neatly.
Tick…tock. Tick…tock. Tick…tock.
She flinched as she took note of the clock’s ticking, now off by a fraction of a second. It would have to wait, though, for she didn’t have the time to set it right just then; the dishes still needed washing.
Tick…tock. Tick…tock. Tick…tock.
Her hands scrubbed furiously at the plate, removing the dried sauce with a repetitive, circular motion; two circles in one direction, and then another two in the reverse. She did this until the plates were spotless, lining them up neatly in the drying rack.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
The increasing amount of distortion to the clock’s ticking was starting to get to her. It shouldn’t be off at all; it should be running smoothly. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she stared at the round item hanging on the wall, just out of her reach.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Flinching, she went over to the silverware, noting that it was now dry. Her right hand reached out and opened the drawer, and she placed in a large spoon in the proper section; next she closed it with her left. She did this with each individual piece of cutlery until they were all neatly put away.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Next came the plates; her hands were visibly shaking as she opened the cabinet above the counter. One by one, the plates went in. Unlike with the silverware, she didn’t close the cabinet after each item like she did the drawer; it wasn’t how her system worked.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-tock. T-tick…t-tock.
Her heart was beating heavily in her chest; the soft thudding was uneven, and it did nothing to help her calm down. The room was starting to spin around her, and she reached out her hands to lean against the wall.
Tick…t-tock. Tick…t-to.
The clock stopped, hands hanging unmoving behind the plastic. The room was silent, save for the sounds of her jagged heartbeat and the rush of blood in her ears.
Panic was engulfing her. It was talking control of her every movement, every breath, every thought.
She felt the shaking of her arms increase, and her balance was gone. Her body fell to the floor, her limbs convulsing violently. The walls came closer to her, decreasing the size of the room as she continued to tremble.
Why was the room shrinking? Why was it spinning? She didn’t know, and it scared her. Never had she felt like she had no control over anything before.
Her breathing was ragged, and her lungs felt as though they were squeezing the little oxygen that they held back out. She tried to take a breath in, but she couldn’t manage it. It was if a hand was constricting her windpipe midway through each breath.
When did the light get so bright? When did silence become so deafening? When did the room become red? Why was everything red?
Questions and confusion were swirling in her head as her ability to breathe decreased; her common sense and her mental reassurances of her sanity still being intact were gone.
A wave of heat flooded over the shaking girl lying on the floor. The sensation was unexpected in the chilly room, which did nothing to help the situation. Her breathing was ragged, no matter how hard she tried to even it out, and her limbs were continuously being shaken by a force she couldn’t see from inside herself. The room continued to spin as her eyes searched for something, anything, which she could concentrate on. There was nothing.
How much time had passed since this started? What was happening to her? Was she losing her mind?
More questions she couldn’t answer. The room continued to move around her body flailed to and fro on the ground, her eyes finally fixating on the clock; the same wretched clock that was at fault for this.
Her eyes quickly looked at the placement of the hands, and began to shake even more violently.
The time on the clock read 1:17, and 53 seconds.
♠ ♠ ♠
So, what do you guys think?