Unraveled

It was a beautiful day. The thin cirrus clouds were draped across the deep blue sky like lazy feathers, and a warm breeze tickled the leaves on the old tree outside her window. Patricia was in the laundry room folding her clothes when the old dog sounded the alarm that there was an intruder. She went out to the living room and saw the familiar blue of the Amazon van with the smile through the window. The driver had already left the package on her doorstep so she went out and brought it in, wondering what she’d ordered this time. The box was light and when she ripped it open, there was the prettiest blue yarn and the shiny new knitting needles she’d ordered on a whim. As if she didn’t have enough stuff going on with work and school, and taking care of her property, she had decided to learn to knit and make her friend Samuel a sweater. Gifts were always a hard thing with him, and she figured a hand knit sweater would be fun to make as a bonus, because it would be practical. Samuel is a practical kind of guy, which is totally relatable for Patricia, because she silently sighs every time someone gives her a knickknack, a.k.a. “dust collector“.

The yarn was so pretty and an uncommon shade of blue , which is why she chose that one. Every beginner visualizes creating something amazing, even though they have never knitted before. There are sweaters and hats and scarves and mittens and socks, just begging to be knitted. And really, what could go wrong with knitting a sweater? When you have instructions how to knit and a template for the sweater! I mean, seriously.

The coffee was hot and strong, and she sipped it with a simple pleasurable intent. She wondered who came up with brown butter as a creamer flavor… ahh. Guilty decadence. In the silence between her slurps, she heard a sigh. She looked around to see if someone was at the door behind her, and had made a noise. Nothing, no-one there. Whatever. Between her slurps, she heard it again only louder this time. Maybe the fridge was making weird noises- she was unfazed. But then…

The concert started. She slurped, a sigh sighed, she slurped, a sigh sighed. She found herself changing her slurping tempo and the sighs matched her rhythm. She looked in the direction that the sigh came from, and saw only a neatly wrapped spool of yarn . She stared at the yarn with an intensity reserved for special occasions, un-nerving the yarn. It blinked. She knew it!

Author’s note:

Part two will be written by Rowan Finley. To view his profile, follow the link below: