Inside a Writer's Office

This office is like another world

A large computer dominates the desk

Papers stack up beside it

A disorganised mess

Books are strewn about in wild disarray

In fact the room is nearly overwhelmed by books

So much so that a cat sleeps

Contentedly draped over a stack of them

A coffee mug surrounded by

Artsy coffee stain rings on the desk's wood top

Sits near the keyboard

Late afternoon light from a nearby window

Nearly washes out this desk

A shrivelled houseplant in the corner

Is evidence to the creativity going on here

The owner of this room

Shrugged it off weeks ago

In favour of her writing

The room appears to be empty

But a small sound of movement

From behind the computer's screen

Tells you otherwise

A woman is there, perched in the desk chair

Sitting up straight and alert

With her legs folded beneath her comfortably

She's at ease here, in her natural environment

Her long hair is swept up into a very messy bun

A blue ink pen sticks out of it at an odd angle

It seems to point comically

At the shrivelled houseplant in the corner

Almost as if the pen is mocking the dying plant

She's paused, with her fingers hovering

Over the keys, poised to type

But she is not typing

She stares, beyond the computer screen

At the opposite wall

Her eyes glazed over, in deep thought

She bites her lower lip

Long moments pass

Then her eyes slide back into focus

It's as though she's waking from a dream

A small smile plays around her lips

And she begins typing

Slowly and tentatively at first

But then gathering speed

Her fingers seem to become a blur

As she types faster and faster

She's worked herself up to a creative frenzy

Occasionally, she laughs madly

Like a crazed villain

Once or twice, she pauses to wipe her eyes

And sniffle into a tissue

But always she resumes

Typing at lightning speed

Night falls and she pauses to turn on a lamp

The cat wakes and tries to disturb her

She pauses to scratch its ears

But she continues writing

Finally after several hours, she stops

She smiles proudly at the screen

Then rises from her desk chair

Stretches her hands towards the ceiling

To work out the kinks

From sitting for so long

She opens the door to her office

And she calls down the hall to her husband

"I wrote a new novel!"

After a long pause

A voice responds in disbelief

"In five hours?!"