Inclusion two

Something in the apartment makes a measured, repeating sound
A soft, quick trill of mechanical beats
Repeated again
And again
She stands in the centre of the living-space
Lowers
Places the clothes on the floor
Straightens
Listens
Stillness
The sound emerging from the masking sounds of her movements
On the edge of hearing
Directionality ambiguous
She turns her head
Stops
Turns again
Stops
Listens
Slow blink
The gloom fading in and out
Almost a non-register on the retina
Shifts her weight
Turns toward the bathroom
Steps forward
And again
Stop
The sound is quieter
She turns around
Takes three steps then stops
Pause
Walks forward again
Stops
Louder
She slowly moves through the space
The shapes of the kitchen form
Feet on cold tile
The sound glides towards her
Growing louder in the smallest of measures
Emitted from an object on the wall
She stares at it
Endless repetitions of the same mechanical sound
She reaches up
Touches it
Takes it in her hand to measure its weight
Almost weightless, it lifts away
Tapping the wall as she bears the load across her arm
Holding it
Listening to the sound
She rotates the object in her hands
Finds a complicated compartment exposed on the opposite surface
Touching
Flexing
Applying pressure
A part moves beneath her fingertips
Her hand pauses
Moves it again
Still the sound beats
As it moves it slides, has slight lateral give
Fingertips move along the surface to the edge
Fingernails
Application of force
The tiny sound of a metal-tine being sprung as the object comes away in her hand
Pause
Silence
She turns
Sets the two objects on the counter
Turns to the living-space
The man lies motionless
Inhale
She walks slowly to the clothes on the floor
Lowers herself
Sits down
Watches
The shape of his body shudders
At the end of an exhale, the sound of a cough
Then still again

There is no measure of time
Not in sounds
Not in breaths

The sound of movement
Obscured by the darkness
Then he sits upright
Stills
— Did you sleep?
Voice drawn and exhausted
She opens her mouth
Inhales
Hold
Nothing
Closes
Exhale through the nose
She slowly stands
Turns to the bathroom
Arm extends and reaches inside to the wall
Fingers brushing plaster
Plastic
Snap
She turns away and faces the living-space
Light washes out into the room
Dim illumination
The skin tightens at the edge of her eyes
The man’s eyes remain open
Moderate
Unblinking
Neutral
He slowly tilts his head down
Looks at his body
The floor
The clothing about his torso heavy with liquid
Darkening red on the skin of his arms
She watches him move
Hands down onto the carpet
He pushes himself slowly onto his knees, feet
A quiet, wet sound as his mass presses against the pool of blood
Looks at the light coming from the bathroom door
The woman standing
Looking at him
Closes his eyes
Steps forwards
After two steps he feels a hand on his sternum and stops
Open eyes
She stands with her arm extended
Looking at him
He blinks
She tilts her head down
He watches her
Her hair
Tangled and cradling her face
Then he looks down
Before his feet are clothes
Then blood around where his bare feet stand
He looks up at her
Her lips part
Blink
Pause
He moves to the side
Walks around the clothing and the woman
Towards the bathroom
She turns as he passes
When he enters through the door, his eyelids pull
Raises an arm
Hand casting a shadow over his eyes
He looks about the bathroom
She approaches from behind
He moves toward the shower
Stops
Begins removing his clothes
The random patterns of blood on his skin
Broad coverings of red
Then brushing and pale touches
She watches him
Pausing after every action
Then entering the shower
Pausing
Examining the taps
Reaching slowly across and grasping
Applying force
Blinking as the water strikes his sternum
The blood instantly paling as it is diluted
The mid-high pitch of striking water sounding in the room
Short reverberation over the hard surfaces
After a moment
His hand moves to the side
Twists the other tap
Pauses
Moments
Moves again
She looks down at the footprints of blood on the tiles
Eyes move from one to the next
Small droplets between and around them
Tilts her head, sees them on the carpet outside the doorframe
She Blinks
Takes five steps to return to the living-space
Eyes tracing the blood
To the pool on the carpet in the dim light
Stare
Blink
Stare
Her shadow in the irregular trapezium of light on the floor to the side
The sound of water behind her
The far edge of the pool of blood in darkness
Almost black
Blink
She turns around
Steps into the bathroom
Turns
Places one hand on the edge of the door
The other, palm against the surface
Pushes gently
Removes her hand from the edge
The tongue collides against the petal plate
Slight increase in force
Pushing against the spring behind the tongue
The door closes
She stands with her palm resting against it
Her other arm by her side
She turns around to face the shower
Slowly the man moves his hands across his body
Slowly the blood thins and pales
Collects on the floor in the water
Disappears into the drain
She steps towards the toilet
Looks at the white surface of the cover
Turns
Bends at the knees
Lowers herself to sit
Watches the man as he moves