Synkroniciti is excited to welcome poet and writer Ira Schaeffer of Rhode Island with a creative flash memoir piece, “This Is Where We Came In.” The story starts with a dreamlike narrative set in a movie theater.
“I am back at the movies with my parents and sister, sitting in the dark, trying to make sense of the picture. As usual, we arrive in medias res. The action could be rising or falling, the characters up a tree or climbing down. It doesn’t matter. The main thing is finding four seats together close to the screen. It’s our movie-going routine. We sit. We watch. And when the reel comes round again, my mother stands up and announces: “This is where we came in.” And then we file out.”
It isn’t clear at first if this is a dream or not, but gradually we begin to understand that the feature playing is a re-enactment of abusive events that have played out previously at the family home. We realize not only is this a dream, it’s a recurring nightmare. Mother is the primary antagonist of the film, and yet she doesn’t recognize herself or care about the patterns of abuse playing out onscreen–hardly family entertainment. Ira uses the film as a mirror, allowing him to step outside of trauma and examine what happened when he was afraid to look, afraid to be present. This masterful technique also shields the reader from looking directly at the violence occurring on the screen and behind the scenes.
“Once again violins and flutes play their mournful tune as the camera shows a close-up of the girl’s bruised face and arms. Why doesn’t the girl fight back? Why does my sister never fight back?”
This is an unsettling and profoundly moving tale illustrating how the subconscious returns to trauma decades later. It’s always the same movie but the mind longs for resolution.
Read “This Is Where We Came In” in Synkroniciti’s “Patterns” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Ira Schaeffer’s flash fiction and poetry have appeared in a variety of print and e-publications. Much of his writing examines the old hurts and bizarre moments from his childhood, a fraught period, which continues to shape his psyche and his art.