A Mirror Floating in Water

It was a deep and dark hole in the ground which was part of the house. You came down into it by stairs and it smelled of a damp wetness which would at times be filtered by a grumbling machine in the laundry room, though it no longer worked for he had not cared to empty it.

To step down into there was as if to be lowered into an underground lair, for it was underground and the walls had reeked a slimy yellow color which had grown with age. She found herself down here at the foot of his bed, not knowing why she even spent her time coming down.

"I'm going, do you want to come?"

He stared straight ahead at her. Her eyes shifted to the lower-left. One of her hands had been on her hips. She wore a jacket.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

He looked up at her from under his bangs. She left.