The afternoon light streams in through the kitchen window. As the hour passes, the light moves slowly across the counter, glinting brilliantly off the two champagne flutes that lay side by side where they have been left to dry. Then the light moves on, touching the petals of the red rose that lies wilting beside the drying rack.
When the man enters, carrying the empty cup and saucer in his large hands, his gaze first falls upon the rose, which is now bathed in sunlight. He puts the cup and saucer down upon the counter and reaches for the rose, lifts it to his lips, and plants a silent kiss upon its faded petals. At the moment the flower touches his lips, his gaze falls, for the first time, upon the two glasses laying side by side. He freezes, seemingly rooted to the spot, his lips still upon the rose.
Then he carefully places the rose down on the counter, in the exact position he had found it. He turns away, looks toward the hallway, his face now in shadow. For a moment he simply stands upon that spot, unmoving, silent. Then, with a resolute air, he walks from the kitchen back into the hall, looking neither right nor left, never once glancing at the woman who sits so quietly upon the drawing room couch. The man’s footsteps echo down the hallway, growing fainter with every step. He reaches the front entrance, and there is the sound of a door opening.
And then he is gone.
Hi, what does the number represent – is it easily explained?
Yes, it is easily explained. But not yet. 🙂