I asked you a question.
In the infinite moment between one breath and the next, all answers were possible. Only the rain tracked the time, tick-tick-ticking against the gutter.
You spoke, but I didn’t listen. I was watching the clouds blow away.
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Christine Hanolsy 
I’m wondering what else she has on her mind that she doesn’t listen to the answer…
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Ah,maybe she knew he had nothing of import to convey?I like the open end here Christine 🙂
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I like the ending. The imagery of clouds blowing away could be positive, as the sun breaking through. So perhaps the answer was what she already knew in her heart – a happy ending. It’s amazing what you can do with 42 words!
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Loved it Christine especially the first line.
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Oh man – how awful… to get so caught up in waiting and watching the time go by that you miss the answer to your question. Then you’re stuck with a decision… Do I confess that I wasn’t listening and ask the person to repeat their answer? Or do I simply nod my head and try to hide my ignorance? This was really well written, and sadly, I’ve been there.
God bless you,
Cheryl
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Also, I am convinced the sky has all the real answers already, anyway. 😉
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Love this. The infinite possibilities that lie there, before the answer. And after it, so long as you don’t listen. 😉 Awesome, Christine.
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That’s it exactly!!! I’m so glad you picked up on it, De. Makes me think I want *totally* off the Mark. 🙂
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I have been guilty of not paying attention frequently enough, but I hate being on the other end of it. I love your moment when all answers were possible, and that you were researching quantum mechanics to come up with an ending. That will probably show up somewhere down the road.
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I liked the closing lines too. It doesn’t matter if you were distracted by the clouds or intentionally no longer listening, because, as you said, all answers were possible. With all possibilities for the taking, it no longer mattered what the actual answer was. That was my take, anyway.
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I loved it all, Christine! Sometimes, we have to let go of “perfection”.
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I loved the last line – loved all the imagery
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I’m with you on the struggle. These are much harder, for me, than 500 word stories, but that’s the fun! “In the infinite moment between one breath and the next.” There is time for so much. I wonder why she was distracted? Loved this piece!
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Thanks, Gina! I love these too. They really make me focus.
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I actually spent about an hour and a half researching quantum mechanics and Schroedinger’s cat trying to find something that would inspire the perfect ending. 🙂 I’m actually still wrestling with this one. I won’t change it here, now that I’ve posted it, but I keep thinking the perfect last line is just out of reach.
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I struggle for hours with these 42 pieces too, as if I have the ending or the opening and I need words to finish it “for me”.
but I loved this. As if the answer took too long that you’re distracted and uninterested in it now. “if you feel it, say it. If not, be still.”
when I read “all answers were possible” I read it as in the moment… “We were possible” and it made it even more sentimental in its yearning.
I love everything you write.
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Hmm. Leaves me wondering if you didn’t want to hear the answer or if you were distracted by the clouds. Or a little of both.
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I’m not entirely satisfied with the last line, actually. I wrote the first part pretty quickly, and struggled with the last line for hours and hours. (It actually kept me awake last night!)
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