I wrote a prequel to my short story, titled A Kiss In Shadow, to help develop the world that I created. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
COPYRIGHT - MAY 2018 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Expectations
This was one of my first ventures into screenwriting a short film. Enjoy!
COPYRIGHT - 2015 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
A Kiss In Shadow - working title
Click below to download a copy of the first chapter for my current project!
A Well Kept Secret
Click below to download a copy of this short story!
Full Circle
I awoke one morning to some familiar sounds. There was some gasping, moaning, grunting, and groaning. I rolled over and opened my eyes to only suffer from that morning fog. The room was blurry but I could tell the door was open; I figured our friends were going at it again and I was half correct. As I finished rolling over, and my blinks cleared the morning haze from my vision, I saw Carl on his side, right behind Rex. Carl was holding Rex’s leg up near his chest and was kissing his neck. He noticed my movements and looked over at me. Our eyes locked and he stared into me yet what I saw there wasn’t Carl. It was a beastly, carnal, animal I hadn’t seen or experienced within him before. We had sex before but every time Carl was still there and in control of himself. This time, his eyes were flat and empty, possessed by his lust, his desire, his drive…that is what was in control this time. That stare pierced right through into my depths and jarred me. There was an instant shift in me, a sudden and piercing moment and I knew that it was time for me to leave.
I got up and moved toward the bathroom; I needed a few minutes to gather my thoughts so I could plan my next steps. I finished up in there and then quickly gathered the few things I had with me, exited that house for the last time, and drove away. I had several conversations afterwards with Carl and could still never quite understand his line of thinking and how this made him feel. I didn’t want to hear, I was too focused on my part of the story to grasp it. I never would until just recently.
It was a couple of months ago and it was a night unlike any other night. I was actually going out for drinks, for a change. My friend Fredi was on his way over with drinks and we would later go and have more at the club, dance, and have a great time. It was going to be a night for the books.
We certainly did all of those things. Fredi arrived with one of those blue, 24-pack cases of Modelo beer he likes so much and we downed it in just a couple of hours. My boyfriend, Brandon, came home from work right before we left and declined our invitations to join us. We left and went to one of those typical clubs that plays loud music and everyone grinds to and lost ourselves that night. Well, I certainly did. I succumbed to the lights, the music, the drinks that broke down my barriers. Last call, and everyone started pairing up as if the next morning wouldn't come. I didn’t care, I had someone at home waiting for me. Fredi, on the other hand, struck out that night and couldn’t manage to find anyone to go home with so I let him come home with me. The plan was he would crash on my couch and sleep off the booze before going home. But, that didn’t exactly happen.
Fredi and I got home to Brandon asleep on the bed. I was still riding the buzz from the Jack and Cokes I bought from the bartender in the black shirt at the dance club and wanted to keep riding it. I grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge and opened it before pouring a glass for myself and for my friend. It wasn’t much, but we completed the bottle and I again started to lose myself a bit. I looked over to the bed, I really needed to go lay down, but the next thing I knew my knees were to my ears and I was looking right into Fredi’s eyes. They were flat and empty, taken over by an animal of lust, desire, and drive. I had seen this animal before and I knew it well. I heard a noise over on the bed from where we were and looked over just in time to see Brandon rolling back over. He was now pretending to be asleep, like he hadn’t seen what was going on. Fredi and I finished our interaction and he went to sleep on the couch and I went to sleep on the bed.
The next morning I awoke to an empty bed. Brandon had left early in the morning and taken most of his things. His half of the closet with his designer suits and shoes was missing. His white toothbrush and purple mouthwash were gone, missing from the countertop.
COPYRIGHT - 2016 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Wash
A trickle, a drizzle started it all. But, not before grey clouds came rolling in. One drop, then two progressing to a sprinkling upon the earth…saving us from a concerning drought. There is a whispering amongst the trees that wasn’t there before as they drink their drink. Sounds of the sky spilling, crying upon the earth. There’s a tempo, a beat, a pattern to the sound if I listen, if I feel it’s wetness upon my skin. Rhythm is now steady, a flow of pitters and patters that a moment ago was just silence. Progression from steady stream to a heavy pour, Mother flowing with energy, reveling in it. Flashing vision providing warning, a thunderous crack splits the stillness. Brisk touch, it awakens and focuses. The sounds mellow the mind to a state that helps soothe the soul. This is the only redemption I find. Allowing me to become wet and wash away the worry, to scourge my terrestrial sins, to embrace more than just my possessions. Now slowed down to a trickle, a drizzle. Sweet, musky petrichor fills the senses and grasps my mind. A clean slate; a ground of rebirth. New life, fresh thought to move forward.
COPYRIGHT - 2016 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Cycle
It took a year for that dawn to break. The light broke the night with it's rosy reds and yellow golds. The sky went from royal to indigo before smoothly dissolving into pastel. Sunlight spilled over the horizon and radiated warmth. It touched the peaks before it filled the valleys. The day progressed beautifully and lit every corner, breathed life into every aspect of every being. But behind that dawn was a storm, with furious gray clouds that crept over the horizon like the nightmare that infects the dream. It lingered there, gathering mass and momentum, waiting to strike, no inclination as to when it would hit. That anxiety became routine before it jolted overhead and split across the sky! Thunderous booms and flashes of lightning prompted torrential downpours that gave headway to flash floods. The earth shook and the air hummed with unrelenting energy as it shifted and remade the landscape. Gargantuan trees were brought to the ground, new valleys carved, fresh mountains raised. White hot lightning sparked fires that seared and scorched the scenery. Only after the environment was completely reshaped did Mother Earth barely begin to calm her tits. The harsh downfall of rain lightened up to a calm, tranquil, even serene bath of cool and refreshing water. It healed the burns and scars inflicted and brought new life. Fresh foliage and wildlife drew attention to the new heights of the mountains, new locations to reach and explore that would provide new perspectives at their summits.
COPYRIGHT - 2016 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Villanelle No. 1
I cannot sleep without you here,
Our discord drove you away,
My heart aches for you to be near.
We pretended our love out of fear,
Of what would be lost in absence of day,
I cannot sleep without you here.
Clung to so long was no longer clear,
Our personal needs only got in the way,
My heart aches for you to be near.
My yearn for your touch you wouldn’t hear,
This ache for company made everything gray,
I cannot sleep without you here.
Broken now what you hold dear,
Our union light dimmed away,
My heart aches for you to be near.
This new path forward grips me with fear,
I want to see you again some day,
I cannot sleep without you here,
My heart aches for you to be near.
COPYRIGHT - 2016 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Villanelle No. 2
The absence when you left became routine,
Now you’re back and I’m suddenly lost.
Are you once again a permanent fixture in my scene?
We talked, we decided, that being friends was a thing.
The void created by you was cold and frost,
The absence when you left became routine.
Occasional meals and meets when you gave a ring,
Clear and bright like the ring that I tossed,
Are you once again a permanent fixture in my scene?
You disappeared and that wiped the slate clean,
When I tried to talk after you were really pissed.
The absence when you left became routine.
Suddenly you're here in my bed looking lean,
I don't mind - I missed you the most.
Are you once again a permanent fixture in my scene?
I secretly hope that you stay - please don't be mean,
You're still my center - on my ship you're the mast,
The absence when you left became routine,
Are you once again a permanent fixture in my scene?
COPYRIGHT - 2016 - JEFF SANFORD - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED