Benie & Bell: Dance007
Benie & Bell: The microstories of two souls in eternal orbit.
Dance007
"I hear you are the best," he says gentle, with a warm smile and easy swagger. Not knowing him, she's instantly suspicious, though disarmed slightly by his eyes.
"Excuse me?" Her response doesn't hide irritation.
"I was told that if I don't dance with anyone else tonight, I have to dance with you."
Her eyebrow raises. "Sounds like a line." She turns away, shifting in her seat.
He eases closer, smile still gentle. "No line. Just asking for a dance, Miss..." Question in his voice, he catches her eye. Their gazes intersect, and time slows for just a moment.
"Benie,” she says.
Hand over his heart, he responds with a slight tilt of his head, "Bell."
She looks to the band and asks, "You bolero?"
"Do you?"
She snaps her head. He's slightly more serious. With annoyance she signals the band.
A look of humble triumph washes over his face and he takes her hand.
Again. For just a beat, time elongates, familiarizes.
She smells salt.
So does he.
The band plays a slow, jazzy rendition of Brazil (Aquarela Do Brazil).
"This is one of my favorites," he says.
She responds sourly, "Of course it is."
He begins, sweeping her into the flow of the rhythm. Like water, the room falls away and it's him, her, and the music.
They smell… ocean.
They flow as they have a thousand times. The knowing anticipation of a move, of where to place a hand, of how the body responds.
An electricity between them is a tether. The spark isn't inherently physical, or even sexual. It's deeper, more, other. A crackle through their souls, the vibration, the magnetic field of the very earth aligning with them. The drumbeat is in their chests.
An ocean of drums and the overwhelm of salt and the electricity of touch and the familiar of eyes.
This familiar is broad and old and forever. Yet it's new, right now. It's a knowing not contained in their bodies.
In the dance, the synchronization is like a prayer bonding them. A moment comes when they can't stand to not touch, to be away from each others' eyes.
There is something there that has always been. It’s salt and electricity, magnetism and flow.
Benie & Bell is my first published fiction series. Microstory feels like a format within which I could practice my narrative brevity.
Thank you for being here to read it. I’m inviting comments (read: not foolishness) and sharing! What I love about microstory are all the unknowns readers can fill in, and I dig some good co-creation.
I am travelling and will be on a writing break through the remainder of June. Benie & Bell will be back in July!
Question: What has been your favorite Benie & Bell moment so far?