shards of glass - a fragment from 1993

After seven years, he saw her again. He had thought her lost to him forever. Before, where she had been merely beautiful, she was now simply gifted with beauty. He stood, utterly shocked, staring at her as she walked, glided across the redbrick square, a spectre amongst mortals. Passing under pools of light, fingers of God stabbed, marking her progress. Her unnatural face gleamed during each encounter, it was utterly white. Somehow she was much more beautiful than he remembered. her face! God! her face!.

- No, it must be a trick of the light!

Still he stared, transfixed under lithium gleaming eyes straining to follow her progress. Yes! there she was again, flights of delirium rose; high sculpted cheeks in profile, red cherubic . . . Wait! she was gone! The crowd surged and frothed about him in late night ecstasy, a woman lost, searching as he searched, her eyes met his in wild surmise; recognition? check, pass? no. they moved on, found another victim.

There! he saw her vanish, her coat superimposed upon his mind, black suede flaring retinal impression. Her long auburn mane was soothed back into place carelessly in his mind. He stood there arms crucified, eyes rapturous. Louis felt his heart beg to be released from its prison. She was so beautiful! He could not bear it any longer. He leaped onto a lamppost and eyes lurched towards her.

Louis saw her face flash in his direction, surely she saw him! it was unthinkable that she hadn't seen him! He dropped down and moved quickly toward her. She was almost supernatural. exquisite creature! her legs! her hips! Louis could not visualise her naked, the reality was too much to bear. what was her mind like? he sliced though the late night crowd like a hot blade through butter towards her. but when he got there, she was gone!

he saw the red coat flash into an alleyway