Chapter 1 - The Gravity of Plastic
The ribbed plastic walls of the trash bin smelled of old rain and decay.
Looking up from the absolute blackness of the bottom, the world outside was just a narrow circle of bruised, midnight blue.
Over the rim, a face appeared.
It was a face carved from pale marble, framed by silver hair pulled back so tightly it pulled the skin taut against the cheekbones.
Eleanor did not blink.
Her light blue silk pajamas caught the faint glow of the streetlamp, shimmering like a slick oil spill on water.
Her manicured fingers curled over the dirty plastic edge.
The knuckles turned completely white.
In her other arm, she cradled a soft, heavy mass wrapped in pink fleece.
The bundle did not move.
Eleanor’s breathing remained perfectly even, her chest barely lifting the silk fabric.
She tilted her arms forward.
The pink fleece slipped against the smooth silk of her sleeve.
Gravity took over.
The bundle fell into the darkness.
A soft, muffled thud echoed against the plastic walls.
Eleanor withdrew her hands.
She reached for the heavy plastic lid.
With a definitive scrape, she pulled it down.
The narrow circle of blue night vanished, plunging the interior into total, suffocating blackness.
Her leather slippers turned on the damp grass.
She walked back toward the glowing yellow windows of the house.
May you like
Each step was measured, silent, leaving only temporary indentations in the wet lawn.
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