Cyclopean Writing Sample
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I lay awake long into the night. Our family was far too sensible for the watchmaker to get what he wanted, but still I was unsettled. When it seemed I had a few minutes past eased into sleep, I was woken by a loud bang. The window of our room was yawning wide, and the curtain flapped free in a raw, dank wind. I rolled to my feet to close it. (Madchen, it is far too cold to (Should you want to read more, there's an index of all such updates here.
My sister's bed was empty and the wooden clogs that typically sat at its foot, gone.
Scrambling up onto the sill, I squinted against a blowing rain. She was walking away up the street, unconcerned with the rain slicking her hair to her head. She wasn't given to sleepwalking, but what else would call her into the night without coat or hat?
I lost several minutes scrambling down from the roof to the street, but soon caught sight of her again. I was out of breath and still a block behind by the time we reached Oppol's shop. Madchen had calmly approached the front door which sat slightly ajar despite the hour and entered. Not waiting to speculate on what I would find, I rushed in after her. A lone candle lit the room in a greenish light. Beside it was a door which had somehow escaped my notice before, to the right of that which led to the work room. Madchen was reaching for the polished glass handle, but I grabbed her in both arms before she could touch it and dragged her out to the street.
My sister was in a daze, but did not resist as I hustled her back towards our home. The burgeoning rain had become a storm, and for some reason the entire town was dark, as if under a curse. What a pitiful pair we made, fighting the wind in nothing but our shirts, and with not a light to help us.
I gave thanks to God when we stumbled in the front door of our house. My attempt at a shout for assistance produced nothing but a consumptive wheeze. At the threshold, Maddy's trance turned into a swoon. I carried her up to our attic room and lay her on her cot. Then I collapsed on my own bed, and without so much as removing my soaking shirt I slept.
