Saturday, July 4, 2009

the beguiling: a character

he has the most peculiar personal energy. i think that it's benign but being in his presence is like accidentally walking into a hall of silence. it's as if he emits a dampening field, and your voice is swallowed whole by his calm. or perhaps it's like stepping into a pit that is padded at the bottom, encircled in egg cartons, and just deep enough to blot the sounds above. he carries the aura of a library quiet with him; he exudes it.

it's a curious thing, being around him, or i guess more properly, for him to be around us, sucking in all the noise as he stands there. of course, he will speak quietly of authors he's lured me to but doesn't press his favourites too hard. he wants to know if i read french. he knows about books that i don't know about, and he tells me about them. i rarely answer his questions directly because words seem to resist even being formed when he's around yet he always seems to know what it is i'm seeking. when he sees me there is always a pile to go through, and he always makes me an offer i can't refuse. sometimes i avoid him because of this.

rarely, he hazards a joke (at least i think it's a joke), and i laugh into the well of him, but he doesn't acknowledge i have got it, or even twitch. he has floppy hair he runs his hand through, and rimless spectacles. he's already a character in a book but he goads me to write about him. he has sent me on many journeys, and blotted me out. i like being blotted.

4 comments:

  1. Very nice. Some of that mirrors my own experience but I think I would have to include something about their music or about how to navigate them.

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  2. thank you for reading. :)

    i'm still not quite sure to navigate this one. if you have any tips i'd love to hear them. despite the fact that my experience with him is pleasant, i've never been sure if the opposite is true. a bit of a bull in a china shop feeling, you know?

    as to the music, he never talks to me about it but it certainly is a part of that whole weird soundscape that accompanies him. he's definitely a character.

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  3. it sounds like he is having a good time. i could be wrong, but that's my impression.

    i really liked this. i read it four times. i don't think it's a character, i think it's a story. and it has a great last line.

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  4. This person seems familiar...perhaps my imagination.

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