Freaky Optical Illusion

[nonionay]

On my desk is a little crumb-covered plate which once held the bagel I had for breakfast. I just cleared one of my long hairs from it. Immediately afterwards, I was staring vacantly in the direction of this plate, pondering the novel I'm working on. Suddenly, I saw the hair I'd just cleared away. Then it vanished. My heart raced. WTF? Was I seeing through time? I stared again, more intently. It happened again. Just a flash. A thin, dark line looping over the edge of the plate.

A third time, and I figured it out.

Right beside the plate is a tiny plastic cup which hold the tiny elastic bands I tie my braids with. It's clear plastic, but the rim is viewed edge-on, and looks white against the dark brown of my desk. The hair I saw was an afterimage of that white line, seen as my eyes twitched naturally.

I like these moments. They give me material for when I have to write characters' "What the hell is going on?!?" moments.

Speaking of which...what the hell is that scratching outside my second story window?

Comments

[anghara.livejournal.com]

what the hell is that scratching outside my second story window?

Probably plunderpuss...

[smallbearcub.livejournal.com]

I really love that one of your initial reactions was, "Am I seeing through time?" I have those moments all the time and always wonder if anyone else does too. Now I know.

[laurajerry.livejournal.com]

I came in the house the other night, and it was totally dark except for a lighter spot on the living room door that was shaped exactly and iconically like a ghost. My brain kind of fractured into two halves, the logical part of me going "That can't be right, there has to be some sort of explanation for this." and the illogical part going "OMG WTF BBQ!!!" when I turned on the light causing the image to instantly disappear, it made the disparity in the two halves of my brain worse. I turned off the light to investigate and realized it was just a reflection of light off the clock in the living room, and the exact angle of the door made it look just right.