From Within

Image by AI. Words by Joel Dale

Jamal and Kim eyed each other up and down, not sure of what to say. Kim adjusted uncomfortably against the corduroy cushion of the couch. Between them lay cards from an unfinished hand of Euchre. The eyes of the cat clock on the wall snapped back and forth against the swinging motion of its tail. The dishwasher whirred mutely from the kitchen; the result of a futile attempt to busy themselves and not give in to the awkwardness. It’s hard to explain why minute forty-two was bearable and minute forty-three had finally crossed over into decidedly uncomfortable. Nothing had occurred besides another second passing. Similar to the instantaneous difference between life and death, something about their deportment changed in a moment; all the same molecules were present but an immeasurable unknown wasn’t the same.

Jamal and Kim turned towards the bathroom door. Their friend had been in there forty-three minutes and they didn’t know how to handle it anymore. Jamal shifted his eyes as if to say ‘do something’. Kim silently winced back “like what?”

They listened intently for any sign of life. A cough. A shuffling of feet. A creaking of plastic. Their ears, attuned to any possible nuance, met with morgue like quiet. At the moment Kim was about to give up on five years of behavioral therapy and chew her nails, light shifted from below the door. Something slid out from underneath. Jamal crept over and picked it up. It was a colored note card. Kim looked over his shoulder as he turned the card to reveal a message written in black sharpie.

“Is anyone out there?”