Sink

31.01.16 Sink

“Hm, strangely convenient”, she murmured to herself drinking from the glass, trying her best to ignore the thick yellow layer of muck on the bottom of the glass, the vague taste of egg, and the way her fingers slipped on its greasy surface. She moved one hand down to stroke the bottom of the sink, enjoying the raspy painful feeling of the rust gathering under her fingernails, before rubbing them back and forth. Her hands move up to the metal tap, the metal feeling cool under her palm, whilst her fingers leave a mild orange smear. Her stomach turns as she reaches the grimy tap, that keeps dripping. Drip drop, drip drop. She takes another sip, which freezes in her mouth as a knock rears up at the door. Each knock is loud, and sharp causing the water to peep up over the rim of the glass, as the woman’s shoulders shake.

“Andrea, open the door please.”

She does with lingering steps. Her hand shakes slightly as she twists the door handle, opening the door and attempting to smile at the man in front of her. His smile certainly overshadows hers, clearly flashing his yellow teeth. There’s a tiny speck of green in his corner tooth, and it’s all she can focus on, until the stench of man sweat punches her in the face. The source is easily seen, proven by the dark circles under his arms and small lines stretching over his perturbing stomach. Detestable.

“May I come in please?”, he says gesturing towards the almost closed door.

She opens it more and he walks in directly towards the bed, with the bottom of one of his shoes flapping back and forth. The discoloured mattress gives out a little sigh of dust has he sits down, and more follows when he pats the material again, and again, wanting her to sit down. She does, what choice does she have?

“So what do you think of your new apartment?”, he asks looking at her with a sly smile.

“Oh it’s just great, really cool to have a sink in the room, only one thing. Think I could get some sort of key”

“Do you really think that you’re in any position to be making demands?”, he laughs a shrill laugh. “You’ll get your key eventually don’t worry, until then I expect you to keep my company.”

His hand moves widening the circle of sweat, and his stench gets closer, barely masked by deodorant. She shudders as his hand clasps her knee, and looks up towards the flickering fluorescent light. He leans further in, seemingly drawn like a magnet to her curved body, and she turns to look him right in the eye. They’re bloodshot and grey. He laughs and turns away, giving her thigh one last clap. She sits in silence, watching him, holding her breath. He closes the door and she jumps up, pacing the room and breathing heavily. Her hands reach for her hair and she pulls, not caring about the tears that gather in her eyes. She clasps the rim of the sink leaning her face into its off white surface, watching the tears flow down the curved shape.

The lady stands like this weeping for a while, until the tears are dry. In a fluid motion a leather jacket is put on and the door is swung open. She virtually runs down the stairs and thrusts the door open, relishing the thought of fresh air. The sounds of the city, and the stale smell hits her head on. She takes a deep breath before walking forward down the street, zigzagging through the construction work, and pulling a cigarette packet out of her pocket. Her teeth bite down on it, in an attempt to stop their shaking, and she lights it. The smoke fills her lungs, and she shoots it down. The one thing she can control. Her walking is fast, she ignores everything. The cars rush by on her right, the stores only vaguely interest her on her right. Then she stops, standing with a wide stance in front of the hardware store. Andrea takes one last drag on her cigarette before throwing it on the pavement, and walking in.

The doorbell rings. The man looks up, a lady stands in his doorway. Her curly, long, black hair is twisted slightly to the side, and she looks around bewildered. Then she sees something in the distance and walks towards it in a determined way. He can’t help but follow her with his eyes, listening to the clack of her stiletto heels. The lady spends a few seconds in front of the shelves before gripping the handle of the sledgehammer and pulling it down. She doesn’t even flinch at its weight, causing his eyebrows to arch upward. Then she seems to notice him and walks fast towards the counter, placing the tool hard on the wooden surface. She looks him directly in the eye, her gaze sharp.

“That all miss?”

She nods, holding out a 30 dollar bill. He gives her the change, being careful to do it quickly and without looking at her in the eye again.

“Have a nice night.”

He almost jumps back as she turns around and pierces him again, except this time a huge smile fills her face.

“Oh I will.”

The sink seems to steady there in front of her, too still and metal. Her hands grip tighter around the rubber handle, she gives it a little swing. Then like a lion stalking her prey she lunges for the sink and with a scream bashes its side with all her might. The old piece of furniture creaks and groans. Another hit. Water starts to flow out of the pipes. Another hit. The sink is now skew. Her hands swing back and bring it down hard on the porcelain surface, a huge scream fills the air as the heavy sink scrapes down the sides of the wall. She pants, dropping the hammer into the growing puddle, that now reaches her ankles. The woman calmly walks towards the bed and sits staring at the exposed pipes. Minutes pass, the water reaches her knees. The jacket is pulled off her shoulders, and folded on her bed. She reaches for the hem of her dress, pulling it over her head and folds it in two, twice, leaving it in a pile over the jacket. She walks to the center of the room and slowly crouches down into the water. Andrea lays there looking up at the lights and the discoloured roof. The water feels cleansing and clean over her limbs, that are now lying straight out from her body. She floats calmly with a smile on her face. Strangely convenient.