Quiescence | Teen Ink

Quiescence

July 23, 2013
By MeganF SILVER, Hong Kong, Other
MeganF SILVER, Hong Kong, Other
5 articles 0 photos 3 comments

She tried to gaze at her reflection in the mirror, but the mirror was stained by fingerprints, producing an image that was blurred and distorted. The room around her reeked of rubber and of sweat, of used dresses and of nail polish. Past issues of Playboy lined the dresser drawer, pages open and images marked. She straightened her attire for the day: a lacy black dress, wrapped tightly around her like a bodice, which accentuated the parts of her body that enticed and confused every man she encountered.

The atmosphere was one of tense anticipation, akin to the ambience of a rehearsal room split seconds before a theatrical performance. A stream of fear catapulted from her toes to her heart, for she knew that in the succeeding moments, a man would enter the room, scrutinize the vicinity for an empty space in which two people could “lie down and chat about sweet nothings”, and let the hours dissipate in a session of rigorous physical acrobatics.

She dabbed her face with a sponge, ensuring that her face was enameled in rouge. Her primary desire was to ensure that her pallid features were shrouded by the façade of makeup. Peering at the windows, she longed to let fresh air permeate the room and diffuse the odor of rubber, which nauseated her. Yet she remembered her boss’ caustic remark to every visitor of this estate – “Never let the girls open the windows; it increases their chances of bolting mid-session with the cash that you used to spend hours in paradise” – and realized that her efforts, although for a different purpose, would be futile.

Curling her eyelashes with jet-black mascara, she surveyed the Playboy magazines, and pondered over the doodles that rendered A-sized breasts the size of D-sized breasts, and skimpy nightdresses tightly wound fishnets. What was this undisclosed desire that was harbored within every man, this insatiable thirst that inundated their bodies and sent them spiraling into realms of sexual dissipation? What was this need for awakening, that left them heaving for more after their sessions, that prompted them to plunge, in a fit of passion, into a woman’s silent parts, irrespective of her identity or the diseases she may be carrying? And as she stared blankly in the mirror, she wondered: what causes men, to disregard the consequences of their private acts, to slither like innocuous shadows around the meandering lanes of marriage, in order to have a few hours of carnal – yet ephemeral – stimulation?

Her fingers crawled up her cheeks, as she wiped a tear from her eyes. The clamor of footsteps approached her, but ebbed with the creak of a shutting door. She kept ruminating over her past thoughts, yearning for her ideas to converge at a zenith on which a true awakening could emerge out of the dusty powder of her life, out of the quiescent sea of her mind in which she had disposed all of her thoughts, and all of her worries, for so many years.


The author's comments:
In this epoch of encouraging and promoting freedom of expression, only those enmeshed in nexuses of social oppression are rendered quiescent. Now, more than ever, is the time for them to be heard.

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This article has 3 comments.


on Aug. 5 2013 at 1:38 pm
BlackbeltJames GOLD, Reading, Other
14 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
Isaac Asimov - "Intelligence is an accident of evolution, and not necessarily an advantage.”

This is a very interesting piece, you draw the readers attention (not just by the subject haha) and create interesting characters that intrigue the reader. Your descriptions are technical and portray everything perfectly. Although complex to some people, especially with the vocabulary used, it is thougth provoking and an interesting take on it. As much as your language suits the moral and subject it could confuse or spoil the flow of the story to some people.
This is a good read and is a suitable length to get the story across and the meaning, without becoming tedious. It is very interesting and intriguing due to the different views and information that is told about the situation, not just the basic story, but background information as well as that is very important. Good job, keep it up :)

on Aug. 4 2013 at 9:22 pm
Claudia.VII BRONZE, N/A, California
2 articles 0 photos 51 comments

Favorite Quote:
\&quot;Let them eat cake.\&quot; -Marie Antoinette.<br /> \&quot;Genius is born-- not paid.\&quot; -Oscar Wilde.<br /> \&quot;Press the button, we\&#039;ll do the rest.\&quot; -George Eastman<br /> \&quot;If you\&#039;re going through hell, keep on going.\&quot; - Winston Churchill

Hm, I'd have to agree that this is a very thought-provoking piece. I'd have to apologize in the sense that I'm an amateur writer and can't throw around words like syntax or prose, but I can tell you this. I liked the ideas that you put in here, and into the character's mind. I like the stark, gray reality you made her live in and the "customers" she was forced to oblige. I liked it all, really, and I think this is a story for the books! :)

on Aug. 3 2013 at 10:04 am
WriteOrWrong BRONZE, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
3 articles 0 photos 105 comments

Favorite Quote:
Sometimes you just need to take a nap and get over it. -Maura Stuard

This is so unique and daring. I love hearing from a new perspective. The descriptions are phenomenal, I love how it started so implicit then gradually became explicit. I can only suggest rereading the piece to avoid some awkward syntax and adjusting some wording here and there. I would also suggest using some sentence length variety. This is fantastic, though! I adore how you opened readers mind to the thoughts of a new character. This is very original and thought-provoking. Welcome to teen ink!