Post by paige on Sept 26, 2010 14:42:45 GMT -8
look for the girl with the broken smile
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Aiden threw a tiny bit of bread at a Canadian goose, watching it eye her suspiciously as it snatched it up and retreated to safe distant. A weary smile lit up her features and, soft brown eyes watching the geese put of a racket as she tossed more bread toward them.
She leaned against the wooden fence, stifling a yawn as she took a look around the zoo. How long had she been here? She couldn’t remember what time she got here, only the time when she woke up: Six o’ clock am. Her internal clock was permanently fucked over, never in her life had she ever woken up at the same time in the morning. Only when she sets her alarm can she hope to wake up when she needs to. But today was Saturday and she was granted a day off work, rare and far in between, so she woke up early and decided to enjoy it even though all her body wanted was sleep, sleep, sleep. Sunday everything was closed and then she would stay in bed sleeping and reading in between naps.
Everything here in Addison was not what she was used to. The people, the atmosphere, the quiet…
Never once in her life had she ever felt peaceful, or settled. This tiny town in the middle of Texas was the closet she had come and she cherished it. She wasn’t ashamed to say she was hiding. She had a hard life, harder than most ever dreamed. If anyone deserved a happily ever after it was Aiden Dupont, yet she knew as surely as the sun rises that she would never get it. So she would stay here until her past caught up with her, forcing her to face it and deal with it once again, leaving her broken and tiny like it always did.
She watched a mother play with her young daughter, bending down to the little girl’s level and pointing at the same geese Aiden had been feeding. The rich, warm laughter of the pair reached Aiden and all the temporary happiness there fled, leaving just a empty and tired shell of herself.
She felt the familiar longing for her own mother threatening to leave her breathless and cried out but she looked away from the scene and turned around, simply walking away. She wrapped her thin, frail arms around her shivering body as she walked, taking her mind off things by wishing she’d brought a jacket with her. It was rainy day, black-bellied clouds hanging over and a cool north wind blowing through. The rain held off, though, only brief sprinkles released. Aiden thought the weather matched her mood perfectly.
She walked slowly past the animal enclosures, peering in curiously and pitying the poor creatures. She knew what it felt like to be caught in a cage (metaphorically, of course) and it was something she didn’t relish. By the sullen looks of the animals, she assumed they weren’t that hot about it either.
She stopped at the monkey enclosure, wiping dirt off the name plate and reading it aloud. “Capuchin monkey…” she raised her brow, trying to remember where she’d heard that name before. She read on, finger skimming down the plate, “Capuchins are considered the most intelligent New World monkeys and are often used in laboratories,” she made a face, looking up into the white and black face of one of the small monkeys. Aiden started, laughing at herself and smiling at the small creature who tilted it’s head curiously at her.
“Hey little buddy,” she grinned, speaking softly so as not to scare it away. She wanted to pet it’s little head, but didn’t dare. She really didn’t want to be bitten. “I hear you’re pretty damn smart, though I don’t know about that. Your head is awfully small, how big can your brain possibly be?”
CHARACTER – aiden dupont
WORD COUNT – 637
TAGS – open <3
NOTES – talking to monkeys are we, aiden?