I love words, but it dawned on me recently that my
word pool had grown stagnant. Instead of mixing things up during the writing
process, I’ve found myself forced to make the changes during edit, turning an
already daunting process into an excruciating one. So as part of my efforts to
exact some positive changes in 2017, I am introducing a new feature to Rainbow
Lyrics and Mellow Mushrooms.
Every Wednesday I’ll take the word of the day from www.wordsmith.org
and use it to craft a scene/setting/dialogue for one of my current works in
progress.
Today’s word: ineffable
Today’s WIP: Rockin’ Ryker’s World
Ryker stared at the closed door, listening to the
soft guitar chords that drifted out into the hall. Lingering echoes of his
nightmare jackknifed through his mind in bright flashes and metal tossed so
high it obscured the sun. Gritting his teeth, he tried not to brush his hands
down his arms, seeking the phantom dirt and blood his mind insistently screamed
was clinging to his skin.
You’re
not there anymore, you’re here, you’re safe.
He whispered it over and over, a mantra, a prayer
for peace that fell into rhythm with the heartbreakingly haunting notes Jesse
was wringing from the guitar. He wished he could shove the door open, crawl
across the floor, press his front to Jesse’s back, wrap his arms around his
body, bury his nose in Jesse’s hair and breathe in his scent. Anything to
ground himself.
The bathroom after Jesse’s showers always smelled
like rain in the forest, woody, earthy, taking Ryker back to a time before he’d
left Vermont. Home. Jesse smelled like home and all Ryker wanted in that moment
was to get closer. Replace the guitar in Jesse’s lap with his head and cling
there until the last of the nightmares were gone.
Instead, he slid down the wall, fingers gripping his
hair so tight he could feel his fingertips pressing into his scalp. Behind his
mind everyone was still screaming, he was still screaming into the com,
ineffable horrors taking place around
him. Squeezing his eyes shut he willed them away. Told himself to focus on the
music and the soft tenor of Jesse’s voice singing along.
Breathe in
Breathe out
You’re
not there anymore, you’re here, you’re safe.
Jesse’s lilting voice rose above the chaos crashing
through his mind, wrapping around him, helping him to keep his breathing even.
Resting his head against the door, he focused on Jesse singing, wishing he was
on the other side where it wasn’t so lonely and cold.
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