Like Lost Elephants

[bossymarmalade]

Justin went into Chris' room early one morning, and found Chris standing about a foot from the television, moving restlessly back and forth from one foot to the other. "Hey, Jup," Chris said, quickly, as though it was a relief to find somebody else in the room. The television was on the early morning news, and there was a representative from PETA on, talking about circuses. Justin caught something about elephants and thought about the blow-up clown doll that his mother had gotten for him when he was a kid, from Barnum & Bailey's. That clown had lived in the basement and it always scared him to think of it down there, just bobbing lightly back and forth, waiting for him, endlessly bobbing because it couldn't fall down.

"There was this thing on TV last night," Chris said. "This thing about these elephants, and they were brought to America for circuses and stuff and got separated and sold off to different people. And this one elephant got taken away by this guy and all its life it only knew that guy, it only knew people, it never knew another elephant." Chris' voice was even, almost monotone, but it was falling over itself in a wounded sort of way and Justin could feel anxiety rising in his throat.

"Yeah?" he said, because he couldn't think of anything else to say. Chris didn't seem to even hear him.

"Yeah. And then this woman somewhere, she bought this huge piece of land, for unwanted animals." Chris took a breath and the next words came out in a whoosh. "And she got elephants. From different places, about four elephants." Justin stared at the television and the man talking there, and he couldn't even hear him anymore, because all he could hear was Chris' voice tumbling inexorably on, like needles going in and out of flesh, building blood and breaking skin. "And the elephant who'd never seen any others, she--it turned out there was--and they knew each other, Jup, and they were put next to each other in the pen and they cried all night--" Justin stared harder at the TV and tried to ignore the alarming hotness sparking behind his own eyes, the sudden burst of water leaking down his face, the hurt rawness of Chris' voice, still going, still talking, "--and they knew each other even after all that time and kept touching each other, with their trunks, and crying, and the bars between them were bent in the morning from them bumping against them, J, and they'd been--but they knew...."

Justin swallowed, hard, and wondered who it was Chris had lost.

Comments

[riveroflife.livejournal.com]

How on earth did you just make me tear up thinking about elephants? Damn, woman! And that last line is fantastic. That is a great last line. There is so much Timbertrickery emotion running rampant right now that I fear I will not make it. But what a way to go.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I'm a big believer in the power of a last line. ^_~

Thank you!

[glassapple.livejournal.com]

Eep! Poor Chris!

:snugs:: Lovely, hon.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Poor Chrissofer indeed. All weepy over lellyphants...!

Thanks. ^_^

[silviakundera.livejournal.com]

Oh, oh. ::whimpers:;

Yes, I echo with the "how can you make me sad for elephants?!"


good, good stuff.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Those elephants really come out of nowhere, don't they?

Thank you! ^_^

[alicewonders.livejournal.com]

oh ouch. oh what blisful pain that was. I am in awe. elephants, who knew? besides you of course.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

*giggle* Actually, it came as kind of a shock to me, too. And then I had to make it happen to Chris. Poor boy. ^_^

Thank you!

[tnl.livejournal.com]

Oh, my goodness. How sad. How lovely.

[glockgal.livejournal.com]

That was so sad. Elephants touching and crying. Is there a saddest thing in the world?!?! Oh, yes. Chris telling Juju about it.....god, this was painful. Damn you!

[tnl.livejournal.com]

Oh, my goodness. How sad. How lovely.

What a beautiful vignette -- thank you.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the kind words! I'm glad you liked it. ^_^

[likeahiphopsong.livejournal.com]

Oh that was really nice. I mean, it hurt, but it was lovely. Poor elephants. Poor Chris.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Hurting and lovely go hand in hand so often, don't they?

Thanks a bunch. ^_^

[notapuppy.livejournal.com]

Wow. Just. Wow.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

*g* It's amazing how happy those three words can make me. ^_^

Thank you!

[mitajoey.livejournal.com]

Wow, that was beautiful. Kinda makes me want to know who he lost too. Its so sad.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Poor Chris. Being mean to him just comes so easy....

Thanks for the feedback! ^_^

*cries!*

[pop-tarts.livejournal.com]

That was horrifically sad! Come on. Doesn't Justin want to touch and kiss it better? *whimper* I'm all sad.

Re: *cries!*

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

*g* I'm sure Justin does just that, in the moments after I've stopped. After all, who could resist?

Thanks for the words, kitten. ^_^

[kezzyau.livejournal.com]

Oh, Glitter how lovely. And elephants really *do* remember one another like that, and clowns really, truly *are* scary and this *is* a squeelicious bit of Timbertrickery. :-)

[kezzyee.livejournal.com]

Whoops, I used the wrong LJ persona! But everything I said still stands. ~_-

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

A Kez comment is welcome either way. ^_^

And I lurve your icon, by the by! Photomanips are the way to go, man. *snuggle*

[kezzyee.livejournal.com]

This icon?

I found it during a general surf where I ended up on a thread on one of those chat boards where all the posters have apparently only barely evolved from single-cell micro-organisms from the shallow end of the gene pool. You know the type.

But they did have a link to this photo, which was supposed to "prove" that Lance and JC had been caught a-kissin', and getting it was worth the probable loss of brain cells I incurred in reading through the half-witted drivel, juvenile insults and all caps non sequiturs.

Glad you like it. :-D