School Stuff

Object Imagery Unit Final

9/23/19

Le Chat Noir

It was a cool evening, with churning grey clouds bumbling through the sky, whispering chilly breezes laced with snowflakes and melancholy. My feet scuffed along the sidewalk, dragging, kicking at pebbles, my eyes fixated on a long, thin crack in the pavement. The wind blew thin strands of hair into my eyes, tore at my coat, turned my skeletal cheeks into sad, wilted roses. The despondent, frigid air forged a barren landscape, full of leafless trees, chapped lips, and dry eyes. I toyed mindlessly with my sleeves, shaking fingers clutching onto something, anything. The street I walked down was empty, and the way the wind blew through the buildings made me feel as though I was nothing but hollow bones.

I looked up at the sky and watched my breath ascend into the lifeless air above me. As the sun melted into the horizon, the sky darkened, exuding a pensive orange glow. The combination of the brisk wind and radiant glow from the sun made my eyes water. I blinked a few times to stop the tears forming, as my shivering wrist wiped away the few droplets that had collected on my patchy, red cheeks.

I forced myself to move forward, past old, dingy buildings and cracked bricks, not a single idea of where I was headed. A cool breeze blew past my frostbitten ears, whistling lightly. I didn't realise until then that my MP3 had stopped playing entirely, and my old, white earbuds were just dead weight in my ears. I let out a sigh of annoyance and pulled the old, rusted MP3 player from my pocket. I started scrolling through the various songs until I settled on a familiar tune; drums, pianos, synths, and guitars riddled with nostalgia wove together to create an electronic melody with an upbeat, two-four time tempo, complete with thin, breathy vocals.

I shoved the device back inside my pocket, clicking the volume up a couple decibels as I trekked onwards. Coming up on the left was a dark, polluted alley, smoke ascending into the air from the buildings on either side. In the corner of my eye, I noticed a small animal, probably a cat, scurry into the alley, followed by a loud yelp. I peered into the darkness curiously, searching for the source of the sharp noise. Just as I was about to give up, the shrill, animal noise sounded again. Begrudgingly, I stepped into the alley, my shoes echoing with every footstep. The walls and floors were grimy and covered in what looked to be a mixture of blood, urine, and vomit. I covered my mouth, gagging profusely at the sight and smell of the grotesque substances that lined every inch of the sinister backstreet.

I looked around for another minute or two, before eventually deciding that there was no cat, or anything else, in the alley. I sighed, annoyed at myself for stepping into that foul place and wasting time for nothing. As I was about to step back out onto the sidewalk, I noticed the pitter-patter of footsteps, treading lightly across the street. I tucked myself against the wall, peaking my head out of the alley in attempts to find out who or what could possibly be back there.

As I peered across the street at the sidewalk on the other side, I recognised that same cat from before, strolling blissfully along the pavement. Its fur was a dark, almost navy blue, and its eyes were a glistening amber with flecks of gold. It seemed to walk in time with my music, which was now a slightly slower electronic song, the lead guitar riffs combining beautifully with the vocalist's airy falsetto.

At this point, the entire front half of my body was hanging out of the alley as I leaned forward in attempts to get a closer look without disturbing the small feline. I was concentrating so hard on the cat, it seemed, that I'd fallen over, scratching my hands on the concrete. The scrapes most likely drew blood, but I paid no attention to it as I scuttled back into the alley, hoping the cat didn't notice me. It looked around suspiciously, squinting its eyes at the darkness as I hid in the corner, back pressing against something cold and wet. The wounds on my hands started to burn, small pieces of rock digging into each cut as I winced in pain.

I waited a couple seconds before deciding that it was okay to step out of the shadows. But when I looked up, the cat was gone, replaced by a girl. She was short with a petite frame. Her fingers were slight and thin with black manicured claws stemming from her cuticles. She walked contently, small feet skipping lightly across the path. She looked up at the clouds, and it seemed as though the daunting grey sky turned bright blue with her mystifying gaze. Navy blue, almost black hair trailed behind her as an exhale of wind blew down the road. Her hair was long and magnificent, like thick strands of midnight swirling through the evening breeze. Long, black eyelashes fluttered majestically, batting against her porcelain skin. Her nose and cheeks were fuschia, frostbitten and peeling from the brisk wind, getting darker as she continued to canter along. But not even the reddest rose or the thickest blood could compare to her scarlet lips, glossy and lustrous and crimson like a stained glass window at sunset.

But her eyes...they were a deep gold with little specks of sunlight, and they seemed to sing a dismal song full of D Minors and A7s. No Van Gogh or Monet or Picasso could even attempt to capture those eyes in all their brilliance. The midnight Moon and the afternoon Sun paled in comparison.

I wanted to say hello, to ask her about her life, her expeditions. I wanted to reach out and hold her skeletal hand in mine and run off into the sunset like one of those cliche romance novels. I wanted to stand by her side and never leave, even through the harshest storms and the coldest winters. I wanted to love her.

Instead, I walked away through that dark alley, feet sticking to the floor with each step, echoing a melancholy vibration that bounced along the walls. I looked down at my tattered shoes, my head sinking lower with every step, because somehow I knew that I'd never see her again.