THE WHITE ROSE PAINTED WITH BLOOD

xxiv - 9:42

[ S H E ] 
8 : 4 3
· her mind was light
from the lingering
memories of the
boy and the ferris
wheel, her heart
heavy with what
she knew she'd
encounter at home,
weighed down even
more by the cold
loneliness in which
the white house stood 
at the end of the road
8 : 4 8
· her hand was
colder than the key
in her frigid fingers
8 : 4 9
· the door creaked
open and the sound
of it left trembling
echoes in the
empty room
8 : 4 9
· empty
8 : 5 0
· the house was
always empty
8 : 5 2
· just like her

[ H E ]
8 : 5 3
· he watched the
clock hand above
the door frame
8 : 5 3
· numbness
8 : 5 4
· he couldn't feel
8 : 5 4
· anything
8 : 5 7
· he was so numb
it hurt, the pain
echoing in his
scarred bones
into something
paradoxical, for
how could he
feel nothing yet
everything at the
same time?
8 : 5 8
· his breaths shook
8 : 5 9
· feelings were like
memories that
haunted his heart
but something
he could never
experience again
9 : 0 0
· he wished he could
feel pain again
9 : 0 7
· numbness...

[ S H E ]
9 : 1 5
· she gathered her
pens together and
put them into her
pencil bag. she had
finally finished
her homework
9 : 1 6
· her eyes went to
the window and
she quickly glanced
away, knowing that
what she would see
and hope for were
two sides of reality,
one that was real
and one that would
never come true
9 : 1 7
· if she'd looked longer 
she would have seen 
an empty space of
cement where her
dad's car was
supposed to be
9 : 1 8
· rearranging her
textbooks and pens
in her bag, she set
it down next to her
bed for the morning
and set up her
painting materials
9 : 1 9
· she titled her head
to look at the white
canvas, glaring back
at her under the
yellow lamp light
mixed with threads
of moonlight coming
from the window
9 : 1 9
· for the first time
in a long time, she
didn't know what
to paint

[ H I M ]
9 : 2 0
· he stared up at
the dull ceiling,
a dull throb within
him where he used
to search for a
heart but always
found a void
9 : 2 2
· the ceiling...
9 : 2 3
· memories of
falling from the
ceiling as the
rope snapped
flashed into his
mind before the
numbness washed
them all away into
an empty abluvion
9 : 2 7
· he moved his
eyes toward the
sky outside the
window, watching
golden lights from
the city glow under
a pool of starlit
whiskey, like the
girl's eyes as they
separated at the
gate and for one
moment a rushing
sensation filled his
chest and the
numbness lifted
just for one second,
but still for one second,
and as the rest of
the night stretched
into the invisible
lines of time, the
heaviness in his
empty chest lifted,
just a little, but
still a little

[ H E R ]
9 : 3 9
· her skin felt cold
through the material
of her blue jeans,
and her eyes ran
over a few splashes
of paint on them,
violet blue gray
indigo orange, and a
circle of faint gold dots
9 : 3 9
· she peered closer,
the ring of gold
arousing a memory,
of the ferris wheel of
sparkling gold light
under the night sky,
and the boy's eyes,
genuine but distant,
deep but empty,
filling the twirling
passages of her mind
9 : 4 0
· she frowned slightly,
her fingers tingling
again as they did
whenever she painted,
but this time, in a
different way
9 : 4 1
· with her mind caught
in a dream, she sub-
consciously dipped
her brush into the circle
of gold on the palette
9 : 4 2
· her heart skipped
slightly as a small
smile met her lips,
and she knew that
she'd stay occupied
on this painting
till midnight

U N E D I T E D

question: what's your favorite flower?