Love in the Afternoon
© Copyright DIANA HUNTER, 2010.
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc
She waited. Naked and on her knees, her hands resting face up on her bare thighs, she waited. Outside the closed
window she heard a car go by, then another. A few minutes later the school bus stopped and let off several noisy
middle-schoolers. Drawing a breath, she lowered her head and brought her focus into the room.
There were few furnishings in this upstairs room to clutter her mind, only a small table under the shaded window, an old-fashioned oak wardrobe behind her and the small Oriental rug on which she knelt. A photo hung on the wall before her, its simple black frame a fitting metaphor for the picture itself. It showed only a single woman, naked and kneeling in the same submissive pose she now emulated. One by one, she removed each object from her mind until only the picture remained.
The house was silent. From this room she could not hear the refrigerator humming in the kitchen below. She couldn't hear if the dishwasher ran or if the television was on. No boards creaked to signal anyone's approach, no wind whistled in around the windows. She let out a deep breath and continued to wait.
No, not wait. She had to change her word. Monks called it meditation and could sit in silence for hours. When she had first learned the techniques involved, she'd barely lasted five minutes before she'd started to fidget. Since coming to live here, she'd slowly increased the time until she could spend an hour in meditation. The sense of peace would descend soon. She just had to be patient.
She placed her hands palm to palm before her, raising them above her head and inhaling deeply. As she lowered them again, she let out the breath, feeling her shoulders relax and her mind clear. Keeping the image of the submissive woman in her mind's eye, she closed her eyes, lowered her head and once more rested her hands on her thighs. The peace floated down to her like a blanket from the heavens. She felt it settle on her skin, then sink into her muscles and deeper into her heart. With a small smile, she felt the peace touch her soul and, keeping her focus inward, her breathing slowed as time disappeared.
