Member-only story
Artificial Sun
Heliocentric VI
Since most people came in after work her day shift was usually pretty uninterrupted. Free time to read behind the counter.
It was her first job out of high school. Her interest in cinema blossomed in her sophomore year, when her geography teacher incorporated clips from foreign film clips to enliven discussion of other parts of the world.
She was lost in an old issue of Film Comment, which she’d picked up from a street vendor recently.
He came in and was silently looking at the price chart on the wall.
You get five free tans when you buy ten, she said.
Thank you, he reflected a minute. I think I’ll come back in a couple weeks—the beach tan will hold a bit longer.
Sure is getting darker sooner these days, he added, glancing over towards the shop window.
For a few long moments they both stood in place, silently looking out at the cloudy black and white day.
Looks like a Bela Tarr film out there, she finally broke the silence — lifting the magazine and showing him the stark grey photos which accompanied the interview she was reading with the Hungarian film director.
The sale ends at the end of October, she added.
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© AleXander Hirka 2019. All Rights Reserved.
Heliocentric Redux 2019
Heliocentric. October 2018 writing project — one short sketch a day, under 250 words each, circling like a planet around The Sun.
