Arnolfini Reaction
by Dan McNeil
Sitting next to her, in the smoke of the Arnolfini, close, but not yet touching, I notice that her accent is Bristolian, birdlike and monotonal, unlike that of the students clotting the bar. Is she a bird?
A second beer and her accent begins to replicate that of the students. Her speech slows, her cadences become ponderous, slurred and imaginary. In my increasingly dreamlike state, I like her more, although I understand her even less.
A third beer and her speech pattern and that of the students finally merge, forming a continuous and impenetrable wave of white noise. The situation is futile -- understanding her now is impossible. Although our feet touch and our ankles hook together, I realise that I must act tonight.
Previously, I drank at the Arnolfini with Rebecca. Rebecca came from Burnham. When Rebecca became impossible to understand, I drank at the Arnolfini with Cat. Cat felt more civilised than Rebecca and her cadences were smooth, flowing and multitonal.
Sitting next to Cat, in the smoke of the Arnolfini, close, but not yet touching, I notice that her accent is Bristolian, birdlike and monotonal...
Copyright © 2004 Dan McNeil
Dan McNeil's fiction has appeared in Alien Contact (German translation), Antipodean SF, Dusk, Fantastic Metropolis, Fragment, Laura Hird's Showcase, Mad Hatter's Review, MonkeyBicycle, Outsider Ink, Redsine, The Beat, The Quarterly Staple, Whispers Of Wickedness, Word Riot and Zygote In My Coffee. His reviews have appeared in Laura Hird's Showcase and Ink Magazine. Some fairly pointless information about the reclusive McNeil can be found at The McNeil Variations.