Statuesque.

he picked up the book, tracing and scanning the ancient pattern on its cover. the sound of footstep broke his train of thought. they stopped in front of his door. startled, he stood up and took a step back as the knob turned and the door creaked open. dim light flowed into the room. a young girl walked in, 2 overstuffed bags hung on her shoulder. a mess of wavy hair rested on top of her head and shoulder, her cheek flushed from walking up the stairs. with a sigh, she let the bags dropped onto the floor. they fell to the ground with a thud. she looked up at him, as if noticing him for the first time. fanning her face with her hand, he realized that the girl was carelessly pretty, with rosy skin and exaggerated hair that made her looked like she had just stepped out of a storybook.

びっくりした。

Reticency.

she caught movement in the shadows. his head swung towards it, hand gripping her arm tighter, pulling her back as if shielding her. a cat appeared between the trash cans. it froze realizing they were staring, orange fur puffed up as it hissed. a feline furball, bright under the moonlight. as if annoyed, it tore off towards the opposite direction, paws scrabbling against the gravel. she started to say something, but saw him scanning the lot, eyes narrowed, making sure the cat was the only intruder. his grip was still on her arm, keeping her so close she could hear his uneven breathing.

その近くに。

Commotion.

she flopped down on the bed, enjoying the complete and utter silence. having not slept well last night left her tired and cranky all day. she pulled a pillow up over her head, hair laid over her eyes until she shoved them back and replace the pillow, shutting out the world. but the quietness didn't last. the front door slammed, and with neither a warning knock or noise, he sprang open her door and leaped into her room with an exaggerated fuss.

大げさな騒ぎ。

Reverie.

she couldn't remember dreaming, couldn't remember what woke her. she usually remembered pieces of what haunted her in her sleep. most of the time, she remembered way too much details and had a hard time getting back to sleep. nothing looked out of place to explain her panic. her skin prickled and filled with goose bumps. something was wrong. she couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew. too sleepy to figure it out right now, she peered into the dark of her room for anything that might have woken her. it remained safely beyond her grasp.

受け入れを超えて。

Luxuriate.

she shrugged and carried the book and tea and muffins outside, ignoring the cold concrete under her feet. there were wooden chairs lined up at front where she pulled two over, one to sit in, another as footrest. she stretched out, sipped the tea, nibbling the muffin, and continued reading the story she couldn't seem to put down ever since she laid eyes on it in the bookstore yesterday, which after reading more than a dozen page, couldn't resist paying for it at the counter and brought it home for a more comfortable chair.

本を楽しむ。

Imbibe.

he took another gulp of wine. the server stopped by, asking about dessert. she took the menu, and he followed. as they read, he blinked hard, his fuzzy brain realizing the meal was almost over and he had yet charmed her off her feet. after the server left with their order, he mumbled an apology, embarrassed. unknown that in her perspective, she thought that it was cute watching his brain skidding over the wine, clumsily landing in any direction it led him.

恋に酔って。

Esoteric.

she snuck towards the tool shed, pushed aside the barrel that sat the corner, found the keyhole and inserted the stolen key she grabbed on her way out. the trapdoor sprang open, steps disappearing into the darkness. she turned on her flashlight and started down, pulling the hatch, closing the door behind her. at the bottom, she inserted another key, then pressed the buttons sequentially. the door opened with a click, she walked straight down the narrow tunnel. deep inside was her destination, a place away from detection yet functioned perfectly as her hidden hideout.

隠されたスポット。

Timorous.

his voice tight with an anxiety that strummed through the air. his trousers an inch too long, trailing on the wet pavement. his old leather jacket was pulled up against the bitter night, but misbuttoned. she could picture his trembling fingers as he hurried out for this midnight meeting. he glanced around the park, anxiety sharp against rage. beside him, the mastiff panted, filling the silence, tongue lolling as it strained against the short leash.

暗いに対して震え。

Vacillating.

it was a typical, difficult to stand out coffee shop, down to the torn leather booth seats and the stained plastic table. the smoking section was inescapable, even if one managed to find a booth without an ashtray, the smoke from the nearby booths will find its way around within seconds, completely ignoring the undersized ventilation system. the staffs were all middle-aged men and women who raised a family, decided to spend some time earning some extra cash, and discovered this was the only job that considered them qualified. at this time of day, most of those who walked in were working people, grabbing a last cup of coffee before heading home or lingering to avoid going home sooner than necessary.

コーヒーのために滞在する。

Catechize.

a murmur of alarm rang through the room. he swallowed, as if his throat had gone too dry to continue. she felt a pang of annoyance, but reminded herself that this was the first time things had taken this course. they were still civilized beings, capable of considering all options and allowing the possibility of turning back. so she nodded, probed him to continue. he shook his head, clearly uncomfortable. she let his words settled over the room, waited for everyone to absorb the idea, give them the chance to question it.

さらさら聞いた。

Conundrum.

she looked around the circle of faces, getting a nod from each. there was no need to remind them what that pact had been. for eons they searched for the secret that would unlock the mystery. it had to exist. countless texts and journals they accumulated couldn't all be mere works of fancy. they came close several times, sometimes even reaching a minor success. but what good was it not being able to take control of the situation, revealing everything those old books promised.

古い本を回復する。

Surrogate.

as they neared the house, her gut started twisting. how should she handle their parting? if she said nothing, it will lead to his disbelieve in her capability. always waiting for an excuse to pop in, only to leave feeling disappointed. but what was the alternative, telling him what he wanted to hear but not making a difference? she couldn't handle listening to his pleas, selfish maybe, but everyone hurt too much these days to feel a little empathy towards each other. she didn't want to disappoint, yet often misled him into thinking otherwise.

取り扱い。

Perforate.

the street was empty. the houses were pushed back from the road, peeked out from curtains of trees and greens. the rumble of the distant highway sounded in the background. across the road, a truck reversed into a driveway, its fumes so strong easily covered the smell of fresh-cut grass. there was nothing to see, nothing to listen to, nothing to distract her from retreating back into her thoughts and staying there. she wanted to walk off before things got worse, but she earned what she worked hard for and walking away will ruin all that. a throat cleared behind her, bringing her back.

近所で歩いて。

Aberrant.

she left the house by the back door, hoping a walk could clear her head. normally after a block, her feet would had screamed for her to stop. but even if they were tonight, she was too preoccupied to hear them. images flashed through her mind, bit and pieces that didn't make sense. she thought he was kidding, but she was never sure. her gut told her that these were merely normal happenings under an abnormal situation, yet she couldn't quite brush off the anxiety.

説明できない。

Equilibrium.

when she finally arrived at the house, it was past midnight. she found him in the dining room, talking to a lady in her fifties. she hung out of his line of view and waited. waited some more. waited another thirty seconds, then decided to slip closer and see if she could divert his attention. as she drew near, she got a better look at his companion. even from the back, the lady screamed upper-class, with perfect posture and a designer suit. her posture and gestures showed the confidence of a woman who's found her place in life and settled happily into it. but when she circled around enough to see the face, it told a different story. lines were deep enough to add another decade to her age estimation. eyes so red and dry, as if fighting to maintain composure.

近づく滑って。

Flapjack.

she awoke to the smell of pancakes. this time, she knew exactly who was making breakfast and nothing beat a ready made breakfast. she never got used to cook in the morning. by the time she got up, she would be too hungry to mess with stoves or frying pans, sometimes even the toaster was tad too tedious. it was heavenly to be able to crawl out of bed and straight to the table, skipping all the necessary routines to make herself a presentable eating companion. with him, it didn't matter. he had seen worst, just as she had. she buried herself under the covers, waiting for him to come in with the steaming chocolate.

朝食を待っている。

Tauten.

no matter how much she dragged herself during the flight, the full impact didn't hit her until she were in the airport. she picked up her luggage and headed to the taxi stand, where she realized what she was doing. her chest contracted, heart pounded. by the time she reached the entrance, she was in the middle of a full blown panic attack. he was in full pace in front of her, she reached forward weakly and grabbed his arm. he stopped in his tracks but kept his back to her. her hands were shaking so badly that the people around were starting to stare.

パニック発作。

Kvetch.

while she was looking for something to read, he popped in with the reminder. she hadn't forgotten, intended to do it before heading out. she didn't appreciate the reminder, as if he thought she needed one. she didn't know how much he knew about it, nor did she want to know. he would go on and on about protecting her from getting hurt, so much for doing nothing to interfere. she preferred the idea that when she left, she brought along some delusional freedom, with the hope of it transforming into something real someday.

ノンストップぶうぶう。

Viand.

it had been barely 10 minutes when the car turned into the driveway. he hopped out from the passenger side. she didn't notice who was driving, for her attention was completely captured by the sight of the large paper bag in his hand. breakfast, not exactly hot and steaming after the drive back from town, but she was too hungry to care. 15 minutes later, the bag was empty, its contents reduced to crumbs and grease marks scattered all across the dining table.

即座に空に。

Dolor.

outside the door, he was quiet for a moment. she listened to his breathing, heard it skipped as he swallowed. then he made a low rumble of anguish that became a growl of grief. his shoes squealed as he turned suddenly, then slammed his fist against the far wall. a shower of plaster chunks fell to the floor, followed by the slamming of his bedroom door. then another crash, something larger this time, a nightstand or a lamp hurled into the wall. in her head, she followed the path of his rampage, seeing each piece of furniture smash into bits and wishing she could do the same. she felt the pain in her hand striking the wall, lashed out at everything until she was swallowed by exhaustion. yet some rational part of her brain held her back.

物事をののしること。