Short Story: Ellipsis: Part One

Short Story: Ellipsis: Part One

Left foot first. Right foot goes round and passes it, careful attention is paid to width of stance and balance; arms outstretched to maintain it. Perched atop the wall, he glances over his left shoulder to gauge distance. He has already passed his personal best. As if his pride was physical and acts as a buoy, he almost falls as he inadvertently leans too much on his left foot. Crouching to regain balance, he pauses a second. Catches his breath. That was too close. This reminds him of how close the metaphorical and the physical are when focus is this strong. Slowly at first, he continues. Previously, he would have counted his steps to take his mind off the daunting task of keeping balance on a surface narrower than his foot. Now, he doesn't need a distraction and finds it easier to pay attention, rather than divert to imagination. Only three meters to go.

Only three meters to go and his calves hurt. This is where the long hours training and repetition pays you back. Through hundreds of hours of repetitious drilling, he has learned to channel the pain into a focus as deep as the ocean. So he continues to walk, heel first, using the momentum from the balls of his toes to carry the other leg forward. He does this in bare feet, if only because shoes add extra weight. There are other reasons, more spiritual and philosophical reasons regarding being “one” with the wall and his surroundings but mainly, it is just much more comfortable this way.

The occasional car passes, lights brightly shine momentarily and illuminate the lone figure balancing, then it is gone and he is left alone with his sweat and focus in the twilight. He is only half a meter from the end of the wall but instead of wholly concentrating on the task at hand, his mind drifts to other things.

He thinks about how working during the day is exceptionally boring. That the work he does is not really work. Sometimes he catches himself out acting sincere where he really shouldn't be acting, or in situations where he shouldn't have to act. When engaged in small talk, halfway through discussing the weather or the upcoming public holiday he forgets to forget that he hates being here and the necessity of working within bureaucracy. He thinks about how much he prefers being outside and how the suit he wears from nine 'till five feels like a costume. Suddenly, his heart races as he realises he has stumbled and before he can even pretend to fight gravity, he falls.

Although only half a meter from the ground, a failure is a failure, and they all hurt. Still, he shakes his muscles off and starts again, walking back to the start of the wall. Despite feeling someone's eyes following him, he hops up and starts again, clearing his mind of everything outside the wall and his body, imagining the two as a single entity.