The Characters:
His dreams revealed a life without anticipation, free of remorse, where vulnerability was a theme, not a resource for adventure. He controlled his world through his imagination; the keys of a laptop were his toggles. Mark sat up on the bed, a cold sweat beading on his flesh. He threw off the blanket and felt his heart heave inside his chest. He watched his naked body tremble, and recognized the loneliness of judgment. From Chapter 3: Mark had maintained a diligent exercise program. It was the "executive plan", to keep the forty-something gut from sprouting over the belt. It was also a commitment: to be muscularly fit in his forties as he had been in his thirties. Age had not been a factor in beginning the program twenty years before. But when the body parts of his peers began to drip like prayer candles, he continued with fervor
Her hazel eyes were barely visible above the serrated edges of the papers. "Emilia," he said, with hesitation. They had chit-chatted previously, but was not sure of her name. He attempted to glance at her tag. "Come on, guys, give me some room," Emilia said, looking at his neighbors. Each swiveled their stool, opening a view of her between the papers. She reached with a coffee pot and filled mark's cup. "Cream and one sugar. Right?" From Chapter 5: From the ledge of the hill where he rested, the expert run seemed a vertical drop. Before he had overcome his caution, the swishing sound of a skier approached from behind. He stared at her form as she continued without pause down the slope. Like a hummingbird's wing, her bright green jacket was fanned out by the wind. The ski pants fit snug on the curves of her hips, which swiveled deftly on each of her turns. Like a dancer, poles held at arm's length, she kept rhythm with the motion of her body. Her weight shifted from hip to downhill hip as she took each mogul at its crest. She seemed to fly just above the snow. |
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