Freeze Frame

Avatar Author: Sander Bol Read Bio

As she sat down opposite of me, our eyes met for a split second. However brief the moment was, as soon as I looked into those emerald pools the beast inside me woke up and roared. For years it had been restrained, locked away in a dark recess of the mind, but now the carnal spirit pounded against the bars of its cage demanding to be released. It liked what it had seen, and wanted more. In the time it takes for a balloon to pop it had soaked in the details: the thin creases that marked her smile, the little speckles in her left eye, two eyelashes that stubbornly hung on to each other. The beast growled, whispered, begged and pleased to be let out of its confine. In turn, I spoke sternly, trying to appeal to reason. But my soothing words only enraged it more – it had seen what it wanted, and I stood in its way. The hinges began to came undone, straining under the pressure.

And then it was over. She broke the silence that hung between us in that moment. “Mind if I sit here? Are you still reading that?”.

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Comments (3 so far!)

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  1. Avatar i, Coomber

    I liked the comment about the balloon, gave that extra something.

  2. Avatar Akheloios

    Impressive, you really bring a sense of animalisation lust across.

    The unprovoked response is what made it a good story. Just the sight of someone, no impetus, and the lust is there.

    I’m just wondering where you would go with it. Whether you’d take it further and turn it into psychological horror, or dial it back into introversion and reflection.

    The ‘years it had been restrained’ is interesting. Is it just green eyes that bring the monster out?

  3. Avatar Sander Bol

    Hi both – thanks for the feedback! Really appreciate it! Had great fun writing this – taking an every day situation and blowing things up.

    I haven’t really considered where this should go next. Both options are still open for now. My gut feeling says it’s most likely to end up pretty darkly – the main character I tried to sketch has had a series of bad relationships, and has some serious trust issues. Because of that, he’s tried to keep his instincts locked away, focussing instead on simply getting through the days. This incident is probably not the first time he’s done battle with this side of his personality – he knows how the beast inside thinks and acts. But on further thought: the quiet introspection of what happens during that train ride – the struggling to find something to say to break the ice, possibly leading up to further events, deserves some exploration as well.

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