Frank Prem’s Exercises On Inspiration: June Entry (The Hole)

Interested, fellow Arcians? Tail feathers all in a kerfuffle in anticipation? Are the bird louse just making you itch to jump in and participate? Then fly on over here for the shimmy and saddle on up to join. Keep on writing.

This month’s prompt: a place that inspired your writing.

Once upon a time the author and the Saint lived in their first apartment together after getting married. It had one bathroom, a pet troll and a weekly garbage truck guaranteed to wake you up early on Saturday mornings.

One day, the author noticed a hole forming in the ceiling of their bathroom, just above the shower head. Maintenance was called. After awhile, the problem was diagnosed and fixed but a gaping hole was left. How long until the drywall was fixed? About three weeks was the estimate. And so we waited for the magical drywall repair person to arrive.

In the meantime, there was a hole. Just a hole, staring down at you as you used the restroom or washed away the day. Day after day, the black voided corner sat quietly, biding its time until the magical spackle arrived.

Once in awhile, I imagined hearing a skittish noise, like the sounds of fingers tapping along a table. I pictured  a creature in the hole, in the shape of a hand with an eyeball in its palm, staring at me. Or was it a bat with an intelligent, humanoid face, twisting its ears at me, anxious for his cave to be covered up and his portal closed once more? These beings passed the hole opening throughout the weeks, always hiding their mysterious forms from full view.

The water grows cold. I turn the faucets off. And I go off to write about a creature who hides in walls, staying just out of sight, mocking my protagonist’s trials.