Melanie's one regret in life was losing her name in a game of chance.
Shehe and her sister had placed their birth certificates between them and played Paper, Scissors, Rock by their fireplace. Best three out of five turned into best one out of thirteen. Shared DNA rarely dictated shared personalities, but this was a business merger, and Melanie watched as Lucy Blake Ryther burned, calligraphy first.
Together, they reveled. Together, Melanie could be in two places at once. Together, they overlooked the fact that life bore a shocking resemblance to a con. They could not control the circumstances.
His name was Ian. Melanie won him on the twenty-third time, paper over rock.
Now, she stiffens as he kisses her goodnight. Her reflection has waved at her through the window. He doesn't notice and leaves the room. Melanie waves back, knowing that what happens after will not matter.
Either way, his wife will soon join him in bed.
I like the language you used here, but I'm confused about what is going on. I'm assuming this is either a piece of something larger (where you could go into more explanation) or not to be taken literally. It's really interesting, especially the whole "Best three out of five turned into best one out of thirteen. " but I was really confused at the end.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the line "Melanie's one regret in life was losing her name in a game of chance". I thought that this was a very intriguing sentence to start a piece with. I also really enjoyed the playfulness through the piece:it is filled with witty short sentences. A suggestion is to elaborate upon the idea introduced in the first sentence. How do Melanie's interactions with Ian pose a threat to her losing her name and essentially her identity? Awesome work.
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