The Floorboard
Prose
He paced back and forth anxiously, hands clasped together, rubbing his own skin raw. Every few paces or so his eyes darted to the floorboard in question, then away again, as if he glanced at something forbidden that he wasn’t meant to see. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and could almost hear it beating within. After a few minutes he walked over to the spot, slowly kneeled down on both of his knees, and placed his hands down, flanking the board on either side.
He knew the floorboard well at this point. It had been years, him inspecting it now and again, getting down to look at it up close. It was two inches wide like all the other boards, but this particular board was only about two feet long. This wouldn’t be significant if it weren’t for the fact that every other board in the room — in the house for that matter — was easily five to seven feet long.
It was also the only floorboard in the entire home that was loose. It’s how Sophia had discovered it all those years ago, probably while she was getting ready for work or for an outing of some kind. That’s how he wanted to remember her…gliding around the room in a beautiful frenzy, throwing on dresses, critiquing herself in the floor length mirror, and finally settling on an outfit. She’d gently, but deliberately, clasp her high heels on, and he would sneak a peek at her through the doorway as she put her earrings on. She’d walk up to him and hand him a necklace, turn away from him, and pull up her brunette hair to reveal her neck so that he’d be able to put the necklace on for her.
He could still smell her perfume sometimes he thought, every now and then, despite the time that had passed. After everything that had happened between them, he hoped she had known how much he loved her.
It was a day just like that when Sophia first brought the loose board to his attention.
“Hey, did you notice there’s a loose board in the guest room?” Sophia mentioned as she walked to grab her jacket, moments before heading out the door.
“No, I didn’t. I’ll take a look at it later and see if it’s something that needs to be fixed,” he replied, knowing well that he would probably never check.
Sophia knew this too, and remarked with a half smirk, “Ya never know, there may be hidden treasures in there!” She held his face in her hands and kissed him delicately before singing out, “Have a great day! See you this evening!” And off she went.
Over the next year, he and Sophia joked often about the floorboard. What could be in there? Treasure? Bones? A key to a secret room? Spiders?
“Maybe I hid something special in there, just for you,” she’d wink at him. “Dare you to look.”
Or on another occasion, “Hope you check that board soon! I’d hate to have it pop loose as I step on it, and fall into a portal to another dimension!”
After time passed, they would forget about the floorboard altogether, until one morning or another one of them would accidentally step on it, and discover that it was still loose. He felt like it was their special secret, their mystery that they shared together. A magical, mystical hope that they had something special buried within their home. He didn’t want this hope to end or this mystery to be solved, so he never did check what might be below the surface.
Their home had been much quieter the last few years, as he was now the only one occupying it. Occasionally he surprised himself by stepping on that loose board by accident, but most often he intentionally avoided it, making note not to loosen it further.
When he thought of that board, that mystery, he thought of her. It was theirs.
And on this day, boxes packed in the U-Haul, keys laid out on the kitchen counter, he had a decision to make.
As he stared at that board, a hundred thoughts raced through his head. The silence of the house was haunting him, memories flooding his mind. In a moment of clarity, or desperation, he grabbed at the corner of the loose board. Without nails, he was unable to pry it up, and his eyes shot around the empty room in a panic. He pushed himself up to his feet, and he found himself searching every room for something, anything, he could use to pry up the board.
He grabbed a key from the kitchen, and hoped it was thin enough to help pry up the stubborn board, and sped back to the room. Dropping to his knees once more, he got to work.
“Come on, come on, COME ON!” he pleaded, his voice echoing off the empty walls. His hair was falling in his eyes, and he rolled up his sleeves.
He decided to take a moment, and sat up straight. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and could swear he smelled her perfume surrounding him once more.
