She was surprised by the present during the storm.
The rain hit on a Tuesday afternoon in her pottery studio, the rain coming down hard on the glass as she molded the clay into swells and dips. Outside on the main street, people scrambled to shelters and in their cars, eager to get out from the rain that almost seemed intent on leveling the terrain as it came down.
“Well it’s not like i was gonna go anywhere” Ana muttered to herself. She looked down a ton what was supposed to be a simple vase for a customer order she got, seeing an unrecognizable shape as far from her vision she could get. Sighing, she brought the clay back into a lump, wedging it until the clay was ready again. Wiping her face with the back of her hand, she stared out the window, the thought of Phillip prying itself into her mind again. It had been three months since she last saw him, and unlike how she thought she’d feel a week after he walked out that door, she only felt more and more exhausted keeping up the act of her feeling fine and strong. The hours she spent in her studio were becoming more and more therapeutic for her as she relied on it to pour out all her emotions into the vases, mugs, plates, and small sculptures she made for her clients.
It’s not like I didn't deserve it. I treated him like one of my pottery clay, I thought he’d be ready to be molded into whatever i wanted. I thought he’d be glad to change. but it wasn’t easy. I was naive to be honest with myself.
Her hands pressed into the clay as the disk spun, a cylindrical object slowly emerging from the rust-colored clay; a wide base into a long thin body slowly formed, abruptly swelling again before finishing into a narrow lip. I lifted my foot from the pedal as the potter’s wheel stopped spinning, stepping back and admiring my work. “It’s so ugly” I whispered, before breaking it down and walking to the sink to wash my hands. I walked over to my window to admire the power of the rain, the streets cleared out now as the rain pounded the concrete and windows.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it; a sand-colored box just outside my window, soaked by with the rain. I went to the door and pulled it open, hesitating just before I did so. lifting it and pulling it in, I stared at the label as i walked to my mail desk, but it didn’t have a name or returning address, just my name: Ana Devley. “hm, odd” It couldn’t be from... I shook my head, as if the physical movement could dislodge any ridiculous notions from my brain. Nevertheless, my heart sped up as I got my box cutter and slit the tape that sealed the flaps together.....
Welcome and thanks for the good read. 👍 I hope to read more from you. Good luck 🍀