Whisked Away, Into Hope
From “Nip,” by Puloma Ghosh:
But we stay for one more round, and after, Nolan says we should come down to the house he’s staying at for the summer. The backyard opens to the ocean, and “it’s beautiful; you’ll see.”
When you read “Nip”:
Watch for the line above.
Don’t stress about it. Just remain alert.
There’s much else you can focus on before you arrive.
It sits wonderfully at the apex of the story, so you will have time to become engrossed in the lives of this “we.”
You can learn more about the bond between Lucy and her friend. Absorb their history. See the places they’ve been. Develop concern about their future.
Sink into them so when Nolan comes around and whisks them through the night toward the ocean, you can share in the surprise and thrill that it happened so quickly, and wonder about the effects of hurried time.
This was hours of the night compressed. The bar; the travel; the house; the sand and sea; a quote that holds hope and expectation.
They will have to think hard to remember the details, even though they were present for each one.
You can invent your own moments to fill those blanks.
They will come to you. Though they are past.
Lucy and friend move toward more future.
You follow. Attentive. Having learned.
Hope but concern.
Having seen.