tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10790394894658229962024-03-14T03:43:37.121-05:00Larks Fiction MagazineDedicated to bringing the very best in amateur fiction.Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-85193773327686107372013-03-25T21:58:00.000-05:002013-03-25T21:58:59.326-05:00Issue Eight, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
From the Desk of the Editor;<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Hello and welcome
to the last Larks Fiction Magazine... for now. After a long debate
with myself and staff it has become aparent that we haven't been able
to give the time the magazine and it's creative contributors need. So
for now we will be closing down.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
This isn't good bye
forever—just for now. We feel that when we can fully give the
attention that a magazine needs we will start afresh.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
What this means
right now is that if you have not recieved any letter or response
back from our editors (outside of the automatic response) please
consider your story, poem, art, or other creative work open for
submitting else where.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
We will still
strive to create the artist bio page, finish the emagazines, and a
few other small projects that we promised to complete. There will
still be a Larks Media, but for the time being no magazine.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
Thank you for the
wonderful time we shared. I will personally never forget the tales I
have read and the friends I have made.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yours,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Daniel J. Pool</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ex-LFM Editor</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qcPrtw37BzWad4ohJ8dlivLxRRjgdUPGS74cF-mGKwKqlDPhlVUtR1mw4ZRUHFZnTKRW9XWaQ0ehBzfoT7vf-Swrfc1n6t4OX8YaG8dpT8TC24XF1TpQ-8ljTL9v0azqABzz_Lozh_s/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qcPrtw37BzWad4ohJ8dlivLxRRjgdUPGS74cF-mGKwKqlDPhlVUtR1mw4ZRUHFZnTKRW9XWaQ0ehBzfoT7vf-Swrfc1n6t4OX8YaG8dpT8TC24XF1TpQ-8ljTL9v0azqABzz_Lozh_s/s320/IMG_1225.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-61952812845496336402013-03-13T23:35:00.001-05:002013-03-18T21:48:57.364-05:00Issue Seven, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> Hello and welcome to another issue of Larks Fiction. Sorry about the late post. We have been extra busy here at the office. Please enjoy this fine helping of indie literature!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yours,</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Breaking The Cycle</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By Alan Hlad</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Trisha
adjusted the mirror in the foyer, the one that always seemed to hang
cockeyed, and finally decided to walk through the door. She buttoned
her coat and took a deep breath. The cold air smelled fresh, despite
a thick layer of leaves decaying in the yard. Looking back at the
house, she recalled how her day began. And how another weight was
added to their out of balance marriage, tipping the scale over for
the last time.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It
had been like many other mornings. She had been sitting alone at the
table, reading a book, and sipping lukewarm tea, when she heard the
creak of his footsteps coming down the stairs. He had stayed up late
working and hadn’t made the effort to come to bed, instead choosing
to sleep on the leather sofa in the study. It had become a habit. And
she had gotten used to having the bed to herself.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">Obsessed
with making money, Damon spent excessive hours at the office. The
only time he wanted to be around her, it seemed, was when he wanted
sex. He would often come home late from work, the sour smell of malt
scotch on his breath, and announce he wanted to go upstairs. There
was no <i>how was your day, honey?...you look
pretty, sweetheart</i>… or even <i>I
missed you, darling</i>. It was just <i>let’s
go upstairs</i>, as nonchalant as ordering a
cheeseburger and fries from a drive-through window. Considering there
was never any foreplay, going upstairs usually lasted all of five
minutes, and that was if he even made the effort to take off his
pants. Afterwards, he would roll off her and leave. No words, no
cuddling, just the sound of him doing up his zipper and the study
door closing behind him. She always relented to his requests, praying
to God that someday their love would be rekindled, and that he would
return to the man he once was, or had pretended to be, before she had
said the words…<i>I do. </i>
</span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">She
buried her intuition, replacing it with affirmations of lies she
repeated to herself…<i>he will change
someday…he will change someday…he will change someday. </i>But
deep down, she knew the truth.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Damon
went straight to the refrigerator. He rummaged inside, popped a can
of Red Bull, and gulped it down where he stood.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“My
doctor appointment is this week,” she said. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He
tossed the empty can into the garbage. Opening the pantry, he stuffed
his hand into a box and pulled out a fistful of cereal, not bothering
to get a bowl.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">“They’re
going to run some tests to find out why I’m not getting pregnant.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“You’re
too damn uptight,” he barked around a mouthful of cereal. He
overtly ignored the wet piece that flew from his mouth and landed on
the floor. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She
bit her tongue, trying to avoid another argument. Staring into her
tea, she saw the reflection of a woman she no longer recognized.
“Will you come with me? I don’t want to go alone.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">“I’m
busy. Somebody needs to make the money around here.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">“What
if they can’t find what’s wrong?” </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
“I’m not the problem.
There’s no way I’m shooting blanks.” He smirked and went
upstairs to shower. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She
felt like she was going to vomit. Closing her eyes, she envisioned
herself on a runaway train, headed down a track towards certain
tragedy. There was no suppressing her reality any longer. She had
made a huge mistake.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Trisha
glanced one last time at the white house with the picket fence that
was to be their fairytale castle. Her dream to live happily ever
after had become a nightmare. Her heart pounded. Butterflies swirled
in her stomach. Carrying her suitcase filled with childhood photos
and a few changes of clothes, she gathered her courage and opened the
taxi door. She got in and sat down with her luggage on her lap.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: medium;">“Where
to?” the taxi driver said, his dark eyes peering at her from the
rearview mirror.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Trisha
fiddled with the handle, her hands shaking. She noticed the familiar
smell of pine coming from an air freshener stuck to the dashboard.
“Drive.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
driver nodded and pulled away.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She
watched her house disappear, then slumped back in the seat and closed
her eyes. A warm tear slid down her cheek. She made no effort to wipe
it away.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">An
hour later, the taxi stopped, its brakes screeching like nails on a
chalkboard. She paid the driver and got out. Walking up the steps,
she opened the door, and adjusted the mirror hanging cockeyed. She
carried her suitcase up the stairs, feeling as if it were filled with
lead, and unpacked.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
card to the taxi service was still in her hand, its edges worn, but
she held the names of each of her drivers in her head. She slipped
the card into her wallet, knowing she would retrieve it again in a
few weeks, and again a few weeks after that, like a perpetual lunar
cycle, only to drive as far as the city limits and turn around. And
each time she would convince herself the pine-scented air inside the
taxi caused chronic reconsideration, or limbo. One, or the other.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="color: black;">She
felt an invisible ankle bracelet scraping her skin raw, as if she
were an inmate on house arrest. But there was nothing there, only a
stubborn voice whispering lies in her ear. </span></u></span><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="color: black;"><i>He’ll
change. </i></span></u></span><span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="color: black;">
</span></u></span>
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: blue;"><u><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About
the Author;</span></span></u></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Alan
Hlad’s work has appeared in </span><span style="color: black;"><i>The
National Underwriter, Claims Magazine, </i></span><span style="color: black;">and
</span><span style="color: black;"><i>Property
Casualty 360. </i></span><span style="color: black;">He
is an insurance executive in Akron, Ohio, a frequent conference
speaker, and a member of the Akron Writers’ Group.</span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;">He
is currently working on a novel.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</span></span>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-73374985025631557692013-03-04T21:46:00.003-06:002013-03-04T21:46:54.954-06:00Issue Six, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the
Desk of the Editor;</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
Hello and welcome to the sixth issue of volume five. We apologize
about this being a week late. I was out of town—then Jess and I
miscommunicated. But we are back now!</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
In this issue returning Larks author Quentin Pongratz is joined by
returning poet Charles Bernard in a Larks Hall of Fame Edition.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
In news our new headquarters got its old roof removed and new one
stuck on! Also we have released <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyFD0j1wCdo">a tiny video tour of our officebuilding online</a>. It is pretty rough but you can see what we have been
doing for the last year.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
Lastly we are hoping to release Quentin's first novel Del City Nights
as the first ever Larks publication! We are just waiting on cover art
and formatting.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
Thank you for reading and enjoy,</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">
Daniel J. Pool</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>An
Africa mother’s Advice</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By
Charles Bernard</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Tonight
witches shall gather
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Soon
the sun will go to bed</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ndubisi
my son come home</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Come
lay in your mother’s arm</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let my
love protect you</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Under
my bosom you will dwell
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Till
dawn in my warmth</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Come my
son
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
moon is full tonight</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let me
tell you stories</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
morals you must hold
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Close
to your heart all your life</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let
them guide your thoughts</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Leading
you through life’s path</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My son</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You’re
a prince
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Like an
ant be wise</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let
your judgment be sound</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let
your heart be filled with mercy</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Give
alms to the poor</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Give
food to the hungry</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Son</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fear
the woman</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her
love is sweet</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her
heart is dark</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Keep
your strength
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For the
love you shall find</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And you
shall be fruitful</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My dear
son</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I have
watched you grow</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your
temper is quick</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I fear
it would destroy you</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hold it
in check</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Say but
a few words</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let
them be your bonds</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> My son
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your
are my strength
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Do not
forget me when am old</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Remember
the breast that fed you</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let my
old bones cling unto you</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let my
dry skin feel your warmth</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My son
soon</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I will
be gone from here</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Uphold
your father’s name</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let not
his legacies die</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Do me
proud in your deeds</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From
the spirit land I will smile</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For
even in death I will watch you
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the
Poet;</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">Charles
Bernard is a poet, writer, and engineer from Abuja. His new work, <a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/category/trapped-drafts-of-my-novel/">Trapped</a>, is currently undergoing revisions. You can follow
him on Twitter </span><a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619"><span style="color: #c75e41;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">@chalzz619</span></span></a><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;">and
see his blog at </span><a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/"><span style="color: #c75e41;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/</span></span></a>
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>What Lights Through Rafters Break</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By Jessica Rowse</b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq1FYTuSIWudCqdLrz1nKDi8CEz41B3YP6bQXJqeBugzcnVVzsAlIsYby5vWX1tPaS87Z3hjPs7nY4jlOdDlm9IoYdtR9mIcChyphenhyphen9iC5W9V4DQcv7YtkbopYLQkV5vS7_SK0BZbynXsIg/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq1FYTuSIWudCqdLrz1nKDi8CEz41B3YP6bQXJqeBugzcnVVzsAlIsYby5vWX1tPaS87Z3hjPs7nY4jlOdDlm9IoYdtR9mIcChyphenhyphen9iC5W9V4DQcv7YtkbopYLQkV5vS7_SK0BZbynXsIg/s400/photo+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Inspiration</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By
Quentin Pongratz</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hey
Daniel. How’s it going? Haven’t talked to you in awhile. How is
everything going with the house? I heard you guys were going to be
laying down some tiling soon. That sounds fun. The reason I’m
messaging you is I have this story idea, or maybe a book idea. I’m
not sure. I’ve been setting up this whole world in my head but I’m
not sure where I should start or what the scope of the narrative
should be. I was thinking I could lay out some of my ideas for you
and you could give me some feedback. If you aren’t too busy, let me
know and I’ll lay it on you.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh
hey, Q. Yeah, the house is going along nicely. All the tiling caused
a story idea to pop into my head that I might have to bounce off of
you once I spend a little more time thinking it up. But yeah, go
ahead and send me some of what you were thinking and I can tell you
what I think. That is, of course, if you’ll let me put the story in
my magazine. =)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Alright,
so the world is post-apocalyptic. Yeah, I know that’s really
overdone at the moment, but I’m not even sure it’s something that
will actually be in the story, maybe only hinted at.Well, the reason
the world is post apocalyptic has to do with the main character and
his creation. He’s this amalgamation of life and death. Somewhat
like a zombie (also extremely overplayed but I think this one’s
okay because he’s not really a zombie.) I think I should mention at
this point that my main focus on a lot of this is the names.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This
creation, this creature of life and death, is called a chira, or
maybe kyra. I’m not sure how much I want to obscure it, but it’s
because it’s a chimera but instead of being a combination of two
creatures, it’s a combination of two different states of being:
life and death. It’s missing a me because it’s missing a me. In
order to combine the two states, the personality is removed... or the
me. Following me still?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So
our main character is one of these Chiras, possibly the only one.
Here he is in this far future world. Humanity has banded together in
small pockets and resembles a medieval feudal system. You got kings,
knights, castles, the whole deal. I’m not sure how fantastical I
want to go with it at the moment, but there’s potential for mutated
lizards being dragons and other animals becoming typical fantasy
creatures. So, I’m thinking a sort of dark ages plus a bit of
fantasy, or fantasy lite.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now
you may be thinking, what about magic and wizards? Well, that’s
when we look to our main character. So he wakes up in this world with
no memories or anything. He has had his me removed, remember? Haven’t
thought about where I’m starting, so I’m not sure how he goes
about discovering it, but he has these light based powers. Stuff like
he can shoot light beams out of his hands and he can ride upon the
light to have a flight type ability.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now
this may sound like it’s veering into superhero territory and
you’re right. I’m trying for this medieval type world with
superheroes. A sort of smash between two genres. Every kingdom has
their own superhero. I’ve thought out some besides just this light
guy, but not enough to go into too much detail here. So our main
character finds a kingdom without a superhero through some
circumstances and they take him in and start calling him Light after
his powers and it’s not like he can correct them with a different
name.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I’m
think I’m going to head to bed now. Let me know what you think of
just that much and I can get you more tomorrow.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That
sound pretty fun actually. I like the whole premise of the fantasy
superhero thing you’ve got going. You plan on having a sort of JLA
type organization, or are they purely rival type things? As far as
where to focus the story, I’d say just start from him waking up (or
whatever it is that he did to become conscious of not having any
personality or memories) and just go from there. Amnesia is always a
good starting place because the character will be in the same spot as
the reader. Just send me some more and I’ll send you some more
feedback.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
was thinking about having a superhero group type thing. I’m not
sure exactly the details but allied kingdoms would definitely have
the same sort of alliance between their heroes. I was also going to
put all sorts of other nods to different comic book tropes. Like the
one where good guys when first meeting each other always have to
fight before they’re allowed to team up and fight the true bad guy.
In this society that might even be an actual law for them to test
each other before being able to ally different kingdoms.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
reason I’m not so sure for starting at the beginning is it seems
kinda boring. I feel like it’ll be a lot of origin story for him to
figure out the world and his powers, but I’m still torn because
it’s a lot of info to have just there and the reader figuring out.
That and there’s a long time between him starting out and what I
consider to be the more main plot with his rival.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So,
sometime in his initial travels and adventures he gets this note from
a seer type of person. I’m thinking in a cave because that seems
pretty mystical, but it’s not too fleshed out yet. He’s told that
this note will tell him who he used to be, but there’s a catch as
there always is with people who give you what you want and live in a
cave. The catch is that anyone who reads this note will die. That is
besides one person. Which one person, he might ask.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But
a man that lives in a cave is more often than not, completely cryptic
in his conversations. He would say something like, the one who can
read this is a princess. Then he reveals nothing more. So, Light with
his note of death, is in search of a princess that can read who he
used to be. He’ll search some and end up killing a few princesses.
This leads the remaining kingdoms to employ a new hero that has
popped up. The begin calling him L which is short for Life.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Life
because he’s trying to figure out and stop what is causing all
these deaths. His name is shortened because of Light. Life and Light
are similar sounding names and to keep from any confusion people just
start calling Life, L. That and it’s another sort of pun her with L
sounding like hell which L ends up being for our main character
Light. Speaking of names and their extra meanings, the princess that
eventually is able to read the note is Misa. (Misa = Me-sa = Me-saw)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So,
I’m thinking I want that to be the main plot, but I’m not sure
exactly how far back to start, or how I’m going to fill in the
readers of this world. A short story would be hard, but I’m not
sure I have enough for a book without having the pacing being very
weird and choppy. Let me know what you think when you get a chance.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lol.
Are you serious?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
know I don’t have the ending really thought out the moment yet, but
yes I’m serious. I think the story is pretty good for what I have
so far.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
story isn’t the problem, it’s the names.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
spent a lot of time of time on the names so I could make most of them
be puns. I mean, I can change the spelling on some to obscure them
more if you think it’s too obvious.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You
going to have Ryuk and Rem show up too?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
don’t know how you knew but they’re in my notes for a couple of
the other heroes. Rem is a person that can control your dreams and
sleep. Ryuk is a zombie.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here’s
the thing I thought of for him. He was a superhero before the world
changed over to this new thing. He was like Captain America, but for
the United Kingdom. Re-U.K. eh? It’s weird you knew my characters
names though. Did I tell you about this idea already?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No.
It’s all from an anime series called Death Note. You’re not
messing with me? You really came up with all these names without
knowing about it?
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh
my god.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So,
what now?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well,
I finished it.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
story?</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No.
I watched all of Death Note. Every single character I have in my
notes is a name from this show. I had a set of twins. Where one of
them would become a extra strong and full of rage when he wasn’t
near his twin brother.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He
was calm when the other was in close proximity. He was Mello(w) when
the other was Near. And now I can’t get the anime out of my head. I
tried to think up more stuff for my story universe after watching it
and then my plot starts becoming the other plot. I don’t think I
can work on this story anymore.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just
try writing something else completely different. Get your mind off of
this and then maybe you can come back and come up with a solution. I
don’t think you should drop this story because at it’s core it’s
really fun. You just have to change it up some for it to be
different.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Well,
I tried writing something else and this is what came out...</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Light
traces his finger around the edges of L’s lips. “How did I not
know?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When
Light’s finer gets to the middle of his top lip, L gives it a small
kiss. “I’m not sure. You’re reasoning skills are almost on par
with mine. You really should have seen this coming.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Maybe
all the Kira stuff just clouded my mind. I couldn’t see what was
right in front of me this whole time.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L
rolls his body towards Light and places his hand on his bare chest.
“You should have seen this coming just from my obsession with
sweets.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Light
huffs out a small breath of what might be considered laughter while
the edges of his mouth twitch upward for half a second.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
can smile, you know. Here with me. There’s no need to be so serious
all the time.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“One
doesn’t have to smile to be happy. Content.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“No...
They can show it in other ways.” L’s hand moves from Light’s
pecs to Light’s abs. His hand moves down his abs then back up again
before diving further downward.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Again?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We
don’t have anywhere else to be, do we?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We
could be looking for Kira.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
could already have Kira in the palm of my hand.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We’re
here... Like this... and you still think I could be Kira?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“There’s
still a small possibility. It’s less that I think you are and more
that I think you were. Don’t be offended, If we never put on these
cuffs, we could have never gotten ourselves into this situation.” L
squeezes.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
just wish you could trust me. I’m here, an open book for you to
read.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“A
book with a few missing chapters in the middle. Things that don’t
make sense. Until they make sense, I...”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You
can’t trust me?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L’s
hand trails up to Light’s face. L puts his hand on Light’s cheek
and looks up into his eyes. “I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me
one day, but surely you can see where I’m coming from.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I’m
all yours for when you’re ready.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L’s
hand goes from Lights cheek to his left hand. “This hand?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Light
squeezes L’s hand. “This hand.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L
moves his hand up. “This forearm?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Is
yours.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L’s
hand moves up Lights arm. “This elbow? This bicep? This shoulder?
This collar bone? This neck?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,
yes, yes, yes. It’s all yours.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L
reaches his thumb from the side of Lights neck to cross the front of
it. “This adam’s apple?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Light’s
adam apple moves out from under L’s thumb as he swallows. Light
blinks. “Yes.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L
takes his hand off of Light. “I’ve asked you before, but I think
now is an appropriate to bring it up again. Does the phrase Shinigami
love apples have any meaning to you?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Light
averts his eyes from L. He turns his head. “It shouldn’t...
but... I can’t shake this feeling.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What
sort of feeling?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“There’s
this sort of pang of loss when you touch me there and ask me that.
There’s nothing that I can recall or connect with anything I know
on a reasoning level, but on a primal level, I feel that it means
something.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Interesting.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What
do you think this means?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
think it means you were definitely Kira at some point.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Does
that mean you will never be able to fully trust me?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">L
traces Light’s lips again. “I’m not sure. Maybe. Maybe not. But
we don’t need to fully trust one another to still have some fun.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A
black hand touches Light’s adam apple unnoticed by both before
their bodies move and intermingle and someone or something says a
word that neither of them seem to hear. “Juicy.”</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">End.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
just can’t get them out of my head. Everything I write is just
going to be these Death Note characters now. I’m ruined. I’m
forever ruined by some anime I hadn’t even heard of until just the
other day. I don’t think I can ever write anything untainted by
this anime again.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Quentin</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That
sounds... rough. I’m sorry to hear all that, man. Not sure what I
can suggest. Maybe if you write enough about it you’ll write it all
out or something? That’s the only thing I can think of. I’ve
never really had that problem, so I don’t really know what to tell
you.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">--Daniel</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daniel
stared at his screen for a bit. The vertical line after his name
blinking in and out of existence. He looked down from the screen at
the tile floor below his socked feet. “Oh yeah,” he said out
loud.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What’s
up?” asked Kate.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
just remembered a story idea I had about this tile.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What’s
it about?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
haven’t really worked out much of the plot.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Well,
just tell me what you have?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Well,
I haven’t really worked out any of the plot.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“And
you’re sure it’s a story idea?”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I’m
not sure. Just something about that tile makes me want to write a
story.”</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I
guess you’re the writer.” Kate shrugs and goes back to looking at
the magazine in her lap.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daniel
looks back at the screen and the blinking line. He moves his mouse
over to the send button and clicks. <a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2010/09/issue-three-volume-one.html">He closes the window and opens uphis word processor and starts typing...</a></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Quentin
Pongratz is a writer, vlogger, and <span style="color: black;">mathematician</span>
from Oklahoma City. He enjoys writing quirky fiction with an eye for
puns. His first book, Del City Nights, will available soon. <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Quentin-A-Pongratz/189398104475773">You canfollow him on Facebook HERE</a>.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thank
you for joining us tonight! Make sure to come back and see more great
indie literature!<a href="http://sheilacjohnson.blogspot.com/2012/11/larks-fiction-magazine.html"> Also check out this blog by Larks writer Sheila Johnson--cause awesome!</a></span></div>
<br />
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-80158748068052976132013-02-18T21:11:00.002-06:002013-02-18T21:20:32.091-06:00Issue Five, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From the Desk of the
an Editor;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello
and greetings to this issue of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue
we explore the weird world of inanimate objects and their lives.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
big exciting news, our editors will be running the Luchador 5K Run in
Tulsa, Oklahoma to benefit underprivileged children afford summer
camp programs. If you are near Tulsa near the end of March come out
and chat us up whilst eating our dust! Here is the website:
https://luchadorrun-es2002.eventbrite.com/?rank=10#</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Besides
charity we are continuing to read submissions. We should be nearing
the end of the backlog so expect the new submission email address
soon!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jessica Rowse</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM Editor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Concerning
Lost Buttons</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></b></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Daniel J. Pool</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
On a Monday in June I hung low from a single thread; bobbing in time
with wet tennis shoes. I stared at the shoes; so smug as they paced
the wet earth. I felt loads shift and an arm scuffed me. I fell.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Hitting the ground, I yelled. I yelled to the coat, to the trousers,
even the smug tennis shoes—but they did not or could not care. I
lay on the bitter earth, alone and thread-less.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
In anguish I cried out for no one; just for myself. My life was over,
what is a life without a button hole and thread? What is a button
alone?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Shut up,” said a smoky of a voice from nearby.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Who’s there?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“You think you have it rough bud?” asked the voice, completely
ignoring my question.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Well yes, all of my life is now useless; I am without a place or
stitch in this world. No one would give a darn about me now,” I
lamented.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“How do you think I feel? I was loved. I was important, and then
they used me, and threw me out.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
The wave of anguish the words create, forced me to turn over, to see
next to me was Cigarette Butt.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Wallowing in a pool of grief he cried, “There is no point to being
without being useful, and for us sir, we are no longer.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“But then why am I left? Just to fade in the sun and bide my t<span style="font-size: large;">i</span>me
till I am dust?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
His filtered silence answered me, for us there was only waiting left.
Waiting to not be, and we might as well never had been. A cancer of
silence grew between us. A light rain fell<span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Breaching the void, a drizzle of a voice said,”Don’t listen to
him, if we can wait we can live. It is not our usefulness that will
save us, but our outlook on ourselves.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Cigarette Butt rolled his eyes, “Stay out of this Condom.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fin</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Daniel J. Pool is an author, blogger, and reporter from the Southern
Mid-West. His work has been featured in Indigo Rising, the Fringe,
and the Scarlet Sound magazines respectfully. In his spare time he is
training to become a luchador warrior.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Twisted Vine</span></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>By Jessica Rowse</b></span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTQ83U6GKX5CrsAIH9a30pTdso6aI_E-JTY3gONzJvxwptIbSU9k7jWvHFGC_FcVLALHDhqSXg-PTP_FOKV4OwpqRRyDliWz0Izgwvaa36GZ8dS-OiE6NsSjvm1UngL3p-4-4sT928sk/s1600/IMG_0860.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTQ83U6GKX5CrsAIH9a30pTdso6aI_E-JTY3gONzJvxwptIbSU9k7jWvHFGC_FcVLALHDhqSXg-PTP_FOKV4OwpqRRyDliWz0Izgwvaa36GZ8dS-OiE6NsSjvm1UngL3p-4-4sT928sk/s320/IMG_0860.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
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</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></b>
<br />
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By <span lang="en">Lara
Kern</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span lang="en">There
Finley sat in the sink, dirty again. This was his life now- tossed
carelessly in the sink with other dirty dishes in even dirtier water.
Didn't these people care about the mess that they always seem to
leave behind? Trash was constantly scattered through the small room,
and it left behind an almost gut wrenching stench that did not seem
to bother the owners of this quaint dorm room. Finley had been taught
differently at the prestigious school for young cutlery that his
parents had insisted upon. He had struggled for so long to learn how
to behave like a young, prestigious piece of cutlery. He was even
forced to clean the grit underneath his master’s nails.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
had never attended one of the fancy dinner parties that he was
promised in school. His owner didn't even take the time to polish
him- or any other piece of silver for that matter. All of that time
and effort wasted. Instead of attending formal parties, Finley was
deduced to the filth of greasy, cheap TV dinners. To add insult to
injury his owner decided to use Finley to unclog the kitchen sink on
a regular basis.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
refused to imagine what his parents would say if they could see him
now. What a total disgrace he had turned out to be. The worst part
was that Finley wasn't as disgusted as he should have been- like his
parents would have been if they had seen their little boy in this
place. A college dorm was his parents’ worst nightmare. He hadn't
always lived like this though. His family had picked out their house
and owners with a great deal of care and attention. They failed to
factor into the equation however, that the young boy would eventually
grow up and leave that pristine house for something quite the
opposite.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
boy, Adam, as the adults called him, had been taken with Finley since
he had laid eyes upon him. From the first moment that Finley had been
unwrapped from his package, side-by-side with his parents, Adam’s
eyes lit up. Finley found out much later on from his father that
Adam’s house had no small forks before their arrivial and all of
the other forks were simply much too big for Adam's tiny, pucker of a
mouth. It only made sense when the grown up Adam moved out to give
him the fork he had cherished in his youth. The reason for Adam’s
departure from his childhood home was foreign to Finley. He saw no
reason to leave but apparently life had more in store for him and
Adam.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
was glad that Adam had not insisted on taking his family after much
thought because he came to the conclusion that his family simply
could not handle the young man. Sure, Finley rarely cleaned his spot
in the cutlery drawer but what young fork ever does? Finley's mother
had insisted that he keep his living quarters neat and tidy and he
was relieved to be rid of that burden. Besides, Finley didn't leave
moldy pieces of bread out for weeks like Adam. Finley knew that this
was his life now and he had to make of it what he could.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When
Finley first arrived at the dorm room he was perturbed. Maybe, he
thought helplessly, this was a waiting room or something of the sort.
A fort night passed and still Finley was stuck in this place. That
was when he found out that everything he had been prepared for and
had studied so diligently was being thrown out of the window. The
other cutlery was unrefined and undignified. They refused to even
talk to Finley and so he had found himself friendless and lonely.
Finley had begun to notice changes in Adam as well. A small voice in
Finley’s head tried to reason that it was merely human nature to
grow up.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That
voice in Finley's head started out small and turned into something
bigger, a shout. The voice yelled at Finley about things that he
considered minor. The voice continued on until one day it turned into
a need. Finley didn’t know what to think at first so he held strong
to the ideals that were instilled into his metal points. In the
meantime, Adam was ever evolving into someone of his own design
without the limitations created during his childhood by adults. He
wore, said, and did exactly what he wanted.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Adam
began seeing a girl. Finley had never cared to even consider Adam's
life. Finley's number one concern was his wellbeing. It wasn't that
Finley disliked Adam because that wasn't the case at all. In fact,
Finley respected Adam enough to stay out of his business. It did not
take Finley long to learn the girl's name, Kathy. He had overheard
one of their many late night talks and began to wonder if there was
someone like Kathy out there in the big, wide world for him.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Weeks
passed by and Finley had begun to ache for someone to share his
thoughts with.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As
the weeks faded into months Kathy began to spend more time at the
quaint college dorm. Then, everything changed. Adam packed up his
belongings and lugged Finley just blocks away from the dorm but it
felt like miles to Finley. Adam and Kathy had rented an apartment
together for the summer. Finley had slipped into a comfortable,
predictable life back at the dorm. Sure, his life had not been
perfect but who can accept perfection from a twenty year old male?
Besides, Finley had loved their late night snacking and random
assortment of foods. Now everything would change. They would no
longer eat peanut butter out of the jar at two o'clock in the
morning.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
had liked Kathy. Why was she taking away his best friend? Adam,
Kathy, and Finley had been at their new apartment for less than a
week and Finley had already sulked up in his place in the drawer. He
had even tried to maim a poor, defenseless visitor who reached into
the drawer unknowingly looking for a utensil. Somehow during Finley's
attack the visitor slammed the drawer closed causing some of Finley's
teeth to get mangled. The man took no notice and continued making his
sandwich as Finley lay huddled in his corner. He shuddered and tried
to will his would-be brilliant, shiny teeth to bend back in their
proper direction, but it was no use nothing he tried made any kind of
difference.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
had stayed huddled in the corner for days. At first, Finley had been
furious at Adam for abandoning him so suddenly. Then, he became angry
at himself for attacking one of Adam's friends. Finally, Finley had
become depressed and hurt by the fact that absolutely no one was
there for him. He had huddled in a quaint, dark corner of the drawer
alone and uncared for.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
was sure that he would not live to see another day. His teeth were
cruelly twisted on top of his head as if in a bun. It was the most
excruciating pain Finley had ever felt. He just knew he would be left
here alone and unloved in his pathetic little corner forever.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
few days later, someone pulled the drawer out harder than expected
and Finley, along with the other cutlery, all shimmied to the front
of the drawer. Adam began to paw through the drawer looking for
something to stir his morning coffee with. It was a relief to Finley
when Adam found him. Adam gently lifted Finley out of the drawer and
inspected his cruelly twisted teeth. He ran a finger down the
deformities and even inspected it further in the light. Finally, Adam
carefully bent each tooth back to its original shape.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After
Finley had been saved he took a new lease on life. He began to open
up more to the other kitchen utensils. The Spatula, Conrad, helped
Finley with the transition and they soon became good friends. Conrad
had been brought to the small apartment because Adam had nothing to
properly flip pancakes with. Kathy was Conrad’s owner; he loved to
share stories about when she was only a little girl. Then, very
gradually the number of kitchen utensils began to expand. Finley
remembered a time when Adam had only two of the basics: two bowls,
two plates, two cups, two forks, two knives, and two spoons. Now,
combined with Kathy’s things, Finley found it difficult to
comfortably lie in his favorite drawer. At night, he was packed into
the small drawer with all of the other cutlery, sardine style, and it
was hard to breathe.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
had become more content with his life than ever before. He rarely got
upset due to the lack of use or polishing because his anger never
solved the problem. Friends like Conrad had helped him regain a sense
of direction in his life. The only thing he longed for was someone to
share his hopes and dreams with. He wanted someone who would be there
for the good times and the bad.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
few days after his realization, Kathy brought in a cardboard box.
When their eyes met over the soapy dish suds it was a serendipitous
moment. No words could properly describe the volume of feeling that
was tugging a Finley’s heart strings. The oval shape of her head
made Finley’s heart swoon. She was absolutely the most beautiful
piece of cutlery Finley had ever seen in his life.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
awkwardly shuffled in one spot and lowered his eyes to the floor. He
nudged Conrad, “Who’s that?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Conrad
laughed cordially, “That, my good fellow, is Petunia.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petunia,
“Finley let the name roll from his tongue in a hazy daydream voice.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Conrad
leaned closer to Finley as if they were discussing a conspiracy on a
larger scale, “Petunia was the prettiest thing you have ever seen
back in her youthful days. She has become weathered and unused as of
late and is frightfully upset about the whole matter. You see,
Petuina was Kathy’s favorite spoon. She never ate cereal, soup, or
porridge without her and then one day everything turned south. Kathy
barely even polishes Petunia anymore.” Conrad clucked his tongue in
a disapproving manner.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
forced his gaze from Petunia back to Conrad, “But why?” How could
someone not see Petunia’s beauty? It was obvious to Finley and he
had not even been properly introduced to her yet.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Over
the next few days Finley tried his best to get to know Petunia but
his efforts were dashed on the rocks. Finley discovered that Petunia
was quiet and shy. He never saw her talking with anyone and she
barely explored outside of the drawer Kathy had placed her in. She
did occasionally take short walks around the kitchen counter but she
never wandered far. Finley would watch all of the other utensils
trying to talk to her and he was relieved to see she never favored
one.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Not
too long after Petunia's arrival, Finley got his chance to talk to
her. A bunch of other utensils had arrived after Petunia and some of
them were not as sweet as she was. One was Billy. Conrad had warned
Finley against any type of interaction with Billy. Apparently, Billy
was a troubled young man who was recklessly dangerous. He had gotten
into so many fights that Kathy's parents had given him to Kathy as a
moving present. Billy proceeded to pick on and torture all of Kathy's
cutlery and even the kitchen appliances.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
was unsure why but Billy made him feel uneasy. Conrad had informed
Finley that at one time Billy and Petunia had been a couple. Petunia
had ended the relationship when Billy became violent. Finley was
displeased to see Billy lurking around Petunia’s drawer in an
obvious attempt to get her back. He did that every night and every
night Finley lost sleep worrying about Petunia.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
had succeeded in keeping his distance until he heard muffled voices.
One sounded like Petunia’s melodious voice. Finley had thought
nothing of it until he heard a scream and metal hit metal. When he
made his way to the noises Finley saw Billy standing over a sobbing
Petunia.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">You
stupid little…” Billy raised his blade to strike Petunia again.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">What
is going on here?”Finley's voice was tense and full of anger.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">Nothing
that concerns you,” Billy's dark eyes narrowed at Finley.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petunia
began to sob, “Please Billy stop. Leave him alone.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">SHUT
UP! Just shut up Petunia. If you won’t like me then no one will
like you after I’m done. Do you get what I’m saying?” Billy’s
voice was irate.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petunia
continued to sob but said nothing else.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Billy
turned his back to Petunia and rounded on Finley, “What are you
still doing here? I thought I told you to scram!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">I
don't think so,” Finley had never been in a fight and was scared
out of his mind, but he refused to let Billy see his fear. </span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
jumped out in front of Billy and ended up tripping the big, bad bully
with his slightly larger feet by accident. Finley watched horrified
as Billy took a terrifyingly long fall and landed with a loud clank
on the kitchen floor. Billy swore and spat, his blade was bent and
his temper was running high but there was nothing he could do to
repair his damaged ego or his bent blade.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley’s
stomach sank. He had never meant to hurt Billy. He had only wanted to
protect Petunia. Petunia still was lying on the counter. Finley knelt
down and gently patted her head, “Are you okay?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Petunia
stirred a little from her dazed state, “I believe so. Is Billy
gone?” Her eyes gleamed with fright.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">You’re
safe.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finley
saw relief wash over Petunia as their eyes met.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<span lang="en">Thank
you,” she replied.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div lang="en" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Finley and Petunia finally got the chance to talk about their past,
present, and futures. Petunia had experiences like no one Finley had
ever met. While Finley had found himself in etiquette training
Petunia was out exploring the world with Kathy. He found that he
could sit for hours and listen to her beautiful voice. Finley had
finally found the one that made him whole and he had never been
happier. Finley knew this wasn’t an ending but the beginning to
something more.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div lang="en" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div lang="en" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the
Author;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div lang="en" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Lara Kern was born and still resides in Gainesville, Georgia with her
husband, two dogs, and cat. She has been writing on hubpages.com for
over a year and has currently <span style="font-size: large;">started a blog entitled Confessions of
a Rambling Girl.
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for joining us once again! Come back next week for more great fiction! Or see our back issues for more indie lit.</span></span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-73837540665078085532013-02-11T21:12:00.002-06:002013-02-11T21:13:47.061-06:00Issue Four, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Welcome
to another exciting issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. In this issue we
are ecstatic to bring you a another poem from Charles Bernard as well
as a new work from up and coming author Jeff Hill.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
news we participated at an indie arts event in conjunction with the
Maysville History Club at Coffee-Ville in Lindsay, Oklahoma. The
history club performed a theatrical version of the life of Vernon
Patterson, local folk character and school teacher. We are happy to
say nearly seventy people turned out to see the performance!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We
must apologize for being so behind on online editions. We are
striving to get caught up. Stay tuned for e-magazines!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank
you for reading!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM Editor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This
February Born</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></b></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Charles Bernard</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This February born</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
drives me insane</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
takes me on a journey</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
makes me float</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
brings me inspiration</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
guides my imagination</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
makes my aspiration</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
is like a prescription</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
completes my description</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
causes me sensation</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
brings me to submission</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
tunes me to her station</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
always gets my attention</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
weakens my frustration</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh February born, don't drive me to extinction...</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Poet;</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">For
more about Charles follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619">@chalzz619</a> and see his blog
at <a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/">http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/</a></span></span> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There Be Dragons</span></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">By Jessica Rowse</span></b></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQEv4UARcEhyphenhyphenudjQVllgR7xIbPJMUg165KJmsAzbVASHVLgt6jphBFgJvz8D6UD1Ub2bRJ_3YE_KyllmSgI6phL7btKleQtEYr0ffFRwp5rLDTYZibzxJ7ky2gWc79zUu1CKDyzJISNw/s1600/IMG_1225.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIQEv4UARcEhyphenhyphenudjQVllgR7xIbPJMUg165KJmsAzbVASHVLgt6jphBFgJvz8D6UD1Ub2bRJ_3YE_KyllmSgI6phL7btKleQtEYr0ffFRwp5rLDTYZibzxJ7ky2gWc79zUu1CKDyzJISNw/s400/IMG_1225.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stone
Mask Girl</span></span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></b>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Jeff Hill</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A haunted house in
the middle of a small college town is the setting for a brutal death
on a hot summer night. The kids around the neighborhood all say that
the house is haunted before this night, but it’s really just old
and full of secrets. There is a woman who lives there, but no one
even knows she’s there.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They see her every
once in a while; in the windows, in the back yard, but never during
the daytime. They say she’s dead, but no one ever bothers to ask
her. Other than vandals or kids on a dare, she never has any
visitors. For all the town knows, she is a ghost.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But she’s not.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The old woman is not
that old. She is only twenty-six. She is in a constant state of
mourning. Her husband left her. Her son left her. Her parents are
long dead, and so are all of her friends. The life she led in her
past days was that of danger, deceit, and drama. But she would take
it all back just to be considered among the living again. Her biggest
mistake was not leaving the life of crime behind her. No, the old
woman who is really not that old made a far worse mistake. She tried
to change. She tried motherhood. But, as luck would have it, she gave
birth to something evil.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Living a life of
betrayal and wickedness never helped anyone, but she thought that by
bringing a pure child into her environment, she would be forgiven for
her past mistakes. But she was wrong. And after three stillborn
babies, a record among the townspeople, she did not, as her husband
said, “get the hint.” But that didn’t stop her. She kept
trying.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then, one day, she
succeeded. The child was born; a little girl whose beauty was only
paralleled by the glimmer of hope in her eyes. And that was what she
was called, from day one. Hope.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But the child was
born different, and in this world, different never means something
good. She was an outcast, born with a rare skin disease, allergic to
the sun. Constantly shrouded in darkness, Hope and her mother were
shunned by the father and his perfect son. When the father left
Hope’s mother, she stopped speaking and she stopped going out into
public.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The girl also
stopped speaking, but for a different reason. A few years later,
people would say that it was because she wanted to mimic her mother.
Some would say that she chose not to, for a deed that happened in her
name; one so heinous, so evil in nature that she simply did not
deserve to speak again. But her doctors would have a more logical
explanation. She simply couldn’t.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I am getting
ahead of myself. I promised a ghoulish tale, and no ghost story is
complete without a ghost.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After two years of
being regarded as a supernatural being, Hope’s mother got sick and
tired of being a ghost. She did not leave a letter. She did not leave
a message. The only thing she left, when she raised the gun to her
temple, was her daughter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Time went on. And
Hope survived.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At
least, that’s how they tell it…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tim’s
Aunt Mindy died last week, and I’m only a little ashamed to admit
that my curiosity outweighs my remorse. The doctors said that it was
just her time, a plain and simple heart attack. But I can’t help
but wonder if the little girl she adopted had something to do with
it. I know it’s horrible to think such things about family, but, in
my defense, I didn’t even know them. I never actually met her and
it had been at least ten years since Tim had even spoken with his
aunt. Not since she adopted the stone mask girl.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her name was Hope,
and the first few years of her life were full of tragedy and horror.
She was born with a rare genetic disorder, a form of photodermatosis
that rendered her completely incapable of going into the sunlight.
Abandoned and left for dead by her birth parents as a baby, she was
found in the woods behind her birthplace and went through several
Catholic orphanages until finally finding a home with a young couple
on the eve of her sixth birthday. The man and his wife were wealthy
and prominent citizens, but could not conceive a child of their own.
It seemed that poor little Hope was going to finally find a happy
ending.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But tragedy struck
again, and a car accident claimed the lives of the man and woman who
had promised the small child love and affection. Hope survived the
wreck, but was not found until roughly four hours later, a victim of
the sun’s harmful rays. Before she could be put back into the
Catholic orphanage, her disease had demanded an urgent visit to the
emergency room. That is where Hope and Tim’s Aunt Mindy first met,
in the intensive care unit. Mindy was in fact a nurse at that
hospital, a childless widow herself, and felt a strange connection to
the child, bringing her home with her after months of operations.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The papers were
properly filed and within a few short weeks, Mindy and Hope were a
family. Mindy put in for early retirement and devoted the last ten
years of her life to the little girl who wore a stone mask to protect
and hide her face from a cruel and unforgiving world. They seemed to
be a happy little family, but little things make me wonder. It’s
the little things that have kept me up at night, like the fact that
the girl doesn’t talk. She is at least sixteen by now, but she has
never spoken a word. Or the fact that she lives in the basement den,
modeled after a dollhouse.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tim dismisses my
suspicions as cruel and unwarranted. But even he can’t ignore the
padlock on the outside of the stone mask girl’s door. Or the fact
that Mindy’s reclusive nature over the past ten years was
unbelievably uncharacteristic of a woman of her caliber. Even though
this frail girl had never spoken a word, and had never hurt a fly, I
couldn’t help but wonder what her power over Mindy was and where it
came from.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Regardless of what I
wonder all day long, the simple fact still remains. I don’t have a
job. Tim does. Someone needs to watch her. Easier said than done. Why
am I so afraid of this little girl? Why do I see only blackness when
I stare past her stone mask and into her eyes? Why do I think that
the first day living in Mindy’s house is going to be the longest of
my life?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh my God! I saw
them move!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tim doesn’t ever
believe me. He always says that I have an overactive imagination,
just like that of a child. But I say that he just has an under-active
imagination, like that of an idiot. Always saying that I have a
“flair for the dramatic,” he dismisses almost everything that I
ever tell him. He doesn’t even believe my stories of funny things
that happen at the store or the library.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I swear to God that
I just saw them move again! The freaking walls are alive or
something! I hate this house. I look at the clock on the wall, the
one that is about five feet farther away from where it was less than
ten seconds ago. It’s only nine o’clock. Tim’s not going to be
home from work until after at least six. Damn him and his painfully
predictable, stereotypical, and inconvenient job.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“You just need to
stay on your meds,” he’d tell me. But that’s just his under-active imagination talking again. He doesn’t want to
understand me. I’m a writer. I can’t just look at something and
ignore it like he does. Things like this don’t only happen to me,
I’m just the only one who sees them.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I can’t believe
we’re living in a freaking haunted house. With a mute deformed
retarded girl living in our dungeon. This is like something straight
out of a Gothic horror novel. No one would believe this, the more I
think about it. Even I am having trouble grasping what’s going on
this morning.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Earlier today, when
Tim left for work, I went up to the attic and did a little bit of
looking around. I found some old picture albums, most of little or no
importance. But one in particular stood out. It was a photo album of,
get this, dead people. They were all posed in their finest clothes,
after being dead, and underneath each one was a handwritten date of
birth, name, and date of death.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I turned the
pages, I heard a loud thump below me, probably the stone mask girl.
Tim said that I should make her some soup or something around noon
because that’s what she eats and that’s when she wakes up. Why
was she up so early, I wondered? Would I be breaking her routine if I
fed her this early? Oh, well, I thought.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So I went downstairs
again, walking into the kitchen and starting to wonder what I should
make her for breakfast. I thought about things that a girl her age
would eat, but then I thought about her condition. Tim said that he
heard that the cancerous legions she got from the sunlight had spread
to her mouth, which could have explained why she ate only soup. It
could also explain the reasoning behind her speechlessness. Either
that, or she just chose not to speak.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That’s when I saw
the walls move. Literally. The entire kitchen shook and I thought it
was an earthquake or something, but then I realized that this was
Nebraska. There pretty much was no such thing as an earthquake here
in the Midwest. The only ting we ever had were twisters, and those
were few and far between. So I know what I saw, and the walls
definitely moved.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I hear scratching on
the door to the basement and I can’t begin to tell you how much
that creeps me out. I can’t even bring myself to say anything to
the girl. I can’t even ask her what she wants, or if she’s
hungry, or if she’s got a weapon held high as she waits for me to
open the door and let her kill me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What a thing to
think, huh? This is crazy, but then again, that’s exactly what Tim
would say. Mister no imagination would not think twice about going
into a room alone with a girl like that. He says that my fear is
mean. Plain and simple. But I think that he’s just too naive to
see what I see. Like that time we went to New York.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We were walking down
the street, pretty late at night, after I had met with my editor and
gotten turned down for publication for my fifth or sixth time that
year, and I wanted to go back to our hotel room. I wanted to sleep,
but Tim wanted to sight-see. Long story short, we were mugged after
we went into an alley that I had been saying all night did not look
safe. He actually thinks there is no evil in the world. But then
again, he doesn’t really think there is good, either. Just lots and
lots of shades of gray.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Like I said, an
idiot.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I love him. I
really do. He’s the best thing that has ever happened to me in my
whole boring and unsatisfying, adventure-free life in Nebraska. He
says we met because we went to school in the same college, but I tell
people that we met because he saved me from failing out of school by
sitting by me in art history. Again, who’s story is better?
Exactly.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thump.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dammit! There it is
again! The freaking pictures are all falling down as I walk away from
the door that the stone mask girl is hiding behind, the one that she
is plotting behind. Maybe she’s doing this, I start to wonder.
Maybe she’s somehow controlling events from down there, like an
elaborate stage or something. That stone mask hides a theatrical
genius, a puppet master of the creepiest kind. I’ll bet that’s
it. She’s just really bored, really warped, and really, really
creepy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After the ninth or
tenth wall move, I decide that she will have to wait until lunch, as
planned, for her antics. She’s just messing with me, trying to make
me go crazy. But the jokes on her. Tim and all of my doctors already
think I’m crazy. I have enough meds to make a living selling them
to junior high kids after school, it’s actually kind of ridiculous
if you think about it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Going back up the
stairs, I see a new closet that I haven’t looked in yet, and decide
to take a gander through more of Mindy’s things. As I open the
door, what I see scares the crap out of me. I swear to God, it’s a
freaking noose. The closet is entirely empty, save for the noose and
a single wooden chair.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Screw. This.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I slam the door
shut, I turn just in time to see someone walk right into the bedroom
that Tim and I have commandeered.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Tim!” I scream.
“Thank God you’re back!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then I look at my
watch. It’s only nine thirty. That’s not Tim that just walked
past me. The walls are moving again, I can hear them down the hall.
The noose is smacking against the closet door, I can feel my skin
crawling as it does so. And the stone mask girl is scratching at the
door again. What does she want from me?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I pick up the phone
and dial Tim’s office.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Tim!” I yell
into the phone.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Sorry, Gwenny,
he’s not in right now.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Crap. It’s his
secretary.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“He’s got a
business meeting with the board of directors until about noon-thirty.
You want me to have him call you when he gets back to the office?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“No, I…”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Gwenny,” she
sighs, “You sound stressed. You okay?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Yeah,” I say.
“It’s just… Tell him I called.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Will do. Have a
good one.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“You, too.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Maybe I am imagining
all of this. Maybe I should just take some pills and go to bed for a
few more hours. Yeah. I think that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll
just go to the kitchen, fix myself a glass of water, take a few
pills, and go to bed. I’ll just go sleep this paranoia off and wake
up when…</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What was that?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I just heard a loud
crash in the basement. Oh my god. What horrible things have I been
thinking all morning? That poor helpless little girl probably just
hurt herself and can’t cry out for help. Before I even know it, I’m
at the padlock door, opening it with the one of the hundreds of keys
that Aunt Mindy left in her will. She has a key for every single room
in the house, including storage closets and the doors that lead to
doors, that lead to white blank walls where rooms should be.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m inside the
basement, walking down the stairs, and the dimly lit room is not
reassuring that something good happened down here. I feel the hairs
on the back of my neck standing straight up. I hear nothing. The
walls aren’t moving anymore, the scratching stopped when she
probably fell down the stairs or wherever she fell. I think I
imagined the noose, but I’ll have to look later. I don’t hear a
thing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Not a sound.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m frantically
looking around the stone mask girl’s room, not quite sure what to
expect. I’ve only seen her once, and that was just for a brief
time. And there were policemen, doctors, and of course, Tim was at my
side the whole time. I’ve never seen her face to face, well, you
know what I mean. Not with just me and her in the room, and certainly
not in this room.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This room.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What a trip. I
swear, it couldn’t be creepier if it tried. It’s almost as if it
has a life of its own. Mindy always thought of Hope as a sort of
innocent little girl, one who never grew old and never matured. It
was very evident she treated her like a child from the first time I
laid eyes on the photographs of this place. It’s like a doll’s
house. Lots of pink. Lots of antique furniture. Lots of places to
hide.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Hope?” I ask.
“You down here?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of course she’s
down here. Where would she possibly have gone? Unless it’s somehow
her messing with the house when I’m not looking. Maybe she lives in
the walls like the villains of those old Lifetime Original Movies I
used to watch with my mom when I was a teenager. Yeah. Right.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I start to move
forward, away from the staircase, and notice that this basement is a
lot larger than I had imagined, and only the front room is actually
done up like a dollhouse. The rest of it is, well, a stereotypical,
scary, dirty cellar-type basement. Hope’s room is not the
dollhouse. That’s just what Mindy showed everyone. No, she lives
somewhere else. Somewhere far worse.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She lives in a dimly
lit closet-sized room at the end of the hallway, with only one lamp
and a bed that looks as if the sheets haven’t been changed in over
a decade. There are rats and roaches everywhere, and I almost start
to understand why the girl killed her foster mother.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No! I can’t think
such things! This is a poor and innocent little girl, who didn’t do
a damn thing to deserve the life she’s been given. I should be
ashamed of myself… by I’m not. I’m too scared to be mad at
myself. I can barely even open my mouth to form another word, let
alone ask the girl if she’s alright.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then I see her.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She’s sitting in a
chair, next to her bed. She’s got something in her hands and is
dressed in a doll’s outfit, one that looks not only uncomfortable,
but outdated on top of that. I can’t take my eyes off her mask.
It’s so damn creepy. All I can see is the white stone,
expressionless, faceless, soulless. And those eyes. What am I talking
about? There are no eyes! Only blackness. She has no freaking eyes!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Compose yourself.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I take a few deep
breaths and try again.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Hope, honey. Do
you want something to eat? Is that you that’s been making all of
those noises?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She suddenly stops
rocking in her chair, lifts her head up, and looks directly at me.
She holds up her doll to the light, and I see all that I am willing
to see for today. The doll has no face. It’s been crushed in.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Never mind,” I
say, “I’ll come back later.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m lying, and as
I turn to walk back towards the stairs, she gets up. Oh my God. She
knows I’m not coming back down. She knows that I’m going to wait
for Tim to get off work and then send him down and then leave her
forever. I’m never going to be her mother, I’m never going to
love her. And she knows it.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She starts walking
toward me, and I turn my brisk walking pace into a full-on sprint to
the stairs. As I climb each step, I imagine how she’s going to
murder me. You know, stab me a million times, then stuff me and put
me in one of her dresses that Mindy made her. I’m going to be stuck
down here forever with the stone mask girl and she will play with me,
just like one of her screwed up creepy little dolls with no face.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My legs are heavy,
my heart is beating faster and faster. Each step is getting harder
and harder to climb, and before I know it, I’m being grabbed on the
ankle by the stone mask girl. I fall up the stairs, landing square on
my face.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And then I black
out.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When I come to, I’m
lying on several steps, and my head hurts like crazy. There’s a bit
of blood on my forehead, but I’ll live. That is, if I get out of
this dollhouse in time. I look around the room frantically, and
expect to see her lunge at me with a pair of scissors or a knitting
needle or something that she means to kill me with, but I’m wrong.
She’s just sitting there, on the bottom step. Not moving, just
stroking her doll and looking back at the dollhouse room.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then I cough, and
she turns. I swear her head pulls a Linda Blair on me, but that can’t
be possible. I’m just so scared that I’m starting to imagine
things again. My overactive imagination is going to be my downfall,
according to Tim. But I think, in this case, it’s going to save my
life. I bolt up the stairs.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Slamming the door
behind me, I go to put the key in the door, seeing the white stone
mask brush past it and the eye of the stone mask girl look directly
at me. Her eyes aren’t black at all, but that doesn’t register
until I put the padlock on and hear what sounds to me like crying.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then the doorbell
rings. It’s Tim, back home. He always rings the doorbell when he’s
carrying in groceries.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He’ll be coming
into the house any minute now. That means I only have a few seconds
to do this. I have to go back into the basement. He’s coming, I can
hear him cussing up a storm outside, but that doesn’t make what I
have to do any less scary, believe me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m unlocking the
padlock as I hear the front door open, Tim’s footsteps coming
toward me. I shut the door. His voice calls out my name, but I am
silent. Just like Hope.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And there she is.
Waiting for me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“I’m not scared
of you,” I tell her.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her stone mask
glowing in the darkness, she doesn’t say a word. She doesn’t move
a muscle. She just sits there, watching me. I swear to God she’s
just waiting for my next move, waiting to lunge out and kill me, just
like her father has been doing for years.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“You killed her,
didn’t you?” I ask her. “Mindy, I mean.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No response.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“It doesn’t
surprise me. I mean, just look at you.” Come on. Move. Do
something! “You’re a freak. You’re not even human.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No response.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I hear Tim calling
me from above, looking through room after room in this haunted
mansion. His under-active imagination keeps him safe, but my
overactive imagination keeps me focused. I know what’s going on
now, and I know what I have to do.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There are sewing
utensils on the table next to Hope. She looks at me as I look at
them. Then she moves her head toward them. Even though she is closer,
I think I could get them before she does. But I have to act quick.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I jump forward,
grabbing one of them, but what happens next surprises me. She doesn’t
even move. She just looks at me. I’m frozen with fear, looking face
to face with the stone mask girl. She lifts her hands to her mask,
removing it and her hair covers her face. I drop the scissors to the
floor.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As she gets up out
of her chair, dropping her doll onto the floor in front of her, I
inch backwards, back to the stairs. I know now that I wasn’t wrong.
I know now that she is exactly what I thought she was the first time
I laid eyes on her.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I’m crying,
begging, when she begins to raise her arm. Just when I think she’s
going to strike me down, I notice that she has stopped moving. Her
hair parts, and I see her face.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Before I can
register what has just happened, before I can understand what is
really going on, I hear that damn rope swing again. Upstairs. Tim is
silent. I can’t hear him. All I hear is the noose, swinging, and it
sounds different. Heavier. But I don’t want to hurt this poor girl
anymore. She’s been hurt enough. I take the scissors to my throat.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And after all was
said and done, Hope survived.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; margin-top: 0.02in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.02in; margin-left: 0.1in; margin-right: 0.1in; margin-top: 0.02in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jeff Hill is a
writer who graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A proud
alumnus of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and regular participant of the
National Novel Writing Month, Script Frenzy, and the Clarion West
Write-a-Thon, he is also a past participant in the Nebraska Summer
Writers Conference and the Sarah Lawrence College Summer Seminar for
Writers in New York. His fiction has appeared in Weirdyear, Cuento
Magazine, Weekly Artist, Writing Raw, Microhorror, Fiction 365,
Flashes in the Dark, Postcard Shorts, Static Movement, Eunoia Review,
and The Cynic Online Magazine and is forthcoming in Apocrypha and
Abstractions.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank
you for reading! Make sure to follow us @LarksMedia and on Facebook!</span></span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-69173818495315502662013-01-28T22:30:00.001-06:002013-01-28T22:33:36.441-06:00Issue Three, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hello
and welcome to another issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. Due to a
recent injury (see attached photo and story) I haven't been as
vigilant at keeping up with the In-Box. My apologizes.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We
had a work get withdrawn so this week is a little thin on quantity
but has plenty of quality. We are offering a work of one of our
favorite poets Charles Bernard and the story behind my leg!</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Enjoy,</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: -0.01in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: -0.01in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">LFM
Editor</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Fogged Drenched Sun</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwsxzpbfyfhjgpgkLi_CVmw50DrDDz6vFr9DInq7vtr130_Qe2P504m06jNX2VWM7EddO77kOg3476zA4DqTWGLgXJJhu8A5HLvbd2NHx2DR2H9RjhbpWlfE99o3PRHEnWlNF8NhlJfQ/s1600/photo+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwsxzpbfyfhjgpgkLi_CVmw50DrDDz6vFr9DInq7vtr130_Qe2P504m06jNX2VWM7EddO77kOg3476zA4DqTWGLgXJJhu8A5HLvbd2NHx2DR2H9RjhbpWlfE99o3PRHEnWlNF8NhlJfQ/s400/photo+(2).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photo by Jessica Rowse</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The
African Child</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By
Charles Bernard</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Dark
as graphite yet his teeth glitters</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cracked
lips yet his smiles radiates</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Empty
belly yet he is laughter filled
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Under
the burning sun he lives</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Burning
with zeal and hope</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Bleak
future dream at its peak</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Magnificent
walk on cracked feet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From
dirt a rose spring fort</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Black
skin and a pure heart</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He
is African and happy</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">For
more about Charles follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619">@chalzz619</a> and see his blog
at <a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/">http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/</a></span>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>What
Really Happened at Fox House</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By
Daniel J. Pool</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As
many of you have heard, the Larks Media team has been busy fixing up
a historic building in Lindsay, Oklahoma to be our new world
headquarters. The building is well over one-hundred years old and
needs more than a little tender-love-and-care to bring it up to
snuff.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our
current project was to refinish a back porch that had been converted
into an enclosed sun room. Our plan is to make it into a bathroom (on
account of indoor plumbing not being a well accepted practiced when
originally built).</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We
ran into the issue that builders from before statehood were not
governed by any codes for constructing homes (or the laws of
physics). Some rooms were built to withstand a direct hit from an
artillery shell while others were being held together by prayers and
cinder-blocks.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We
chose to reinforce.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To
do this we ripped out a rotten floor and placed more floor beams into
the structure. This gave us a good strong base to put a sub-floor on.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While
placing the sub-floor I got the bright idea to skip across the
rafters to show off to my father-in-law. As if karma was sitting on
my shoulder, I miscalculated my footing and fell straight between the
newly reinforced wooden beams.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
fall was more unexpected than painful but seemed to take several
minutes to finish. This gave my brain ample time to call myself every
name known to man for a clumsy moron while skinning my shin down the
hundred year old beam.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As
if my ego needed another kick to the head, I discovered that my fall
was nearly a full foot longer than I thought it should have been.
This was mostly in part to be distracted by how bad my leg suddenly
felt but also because minutes before I had the fore thought to dig
out the crawl space.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You
see there is nothing worse than a fat man stuck under a house. Except
maybe being that fat man trapped under the house using a hand spade
to burrow to freedom. Thus I dug the crawl space out to allow easy
access to plumbing.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This
also resulted in easy access to my most personal inventory.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now
face down in the silt of red dust common to Oklahoma, my pride
attempted to hide further under the house while I gulped down curse
words.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My
father-in-law, true to form, asked if I was “Alright.”</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Not
to show weakness in front of him I answered “Fine.”</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So
I gathered myself up. Dusted myself off. Then hurried outside. Safely
outside I released a string of language so blue that the neighbors
are still keeping their children inside for fear of frost bite.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Having
let go I felt much better. In fact the leg just looked. Gathering
myself up I returned inside just in time to watch my father-in-law
make the exact same miscalculation. A cloud of dust, obscene words,
and a ball cap sailed into the air.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I
asked him if he was “alright” to which he said, “I'm fine.”</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So
we boarded over the rafters with plywood and called it a day. Now I'm
on the mend but I still look like a Willy Wonky blueberry in need of
juicing. It's not stopping me from getting around but I have to keep
it elevated and medicate liberally.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZey263ZYWzz6opy8kPcdmM1MvyxtiM7vSlfNJNIt3XiNdFTC6HsNAM-Ln7m8Wtk6BlWayG5P-ngSQ00OTx7aSXz1cE9j4QW4s5jVZ4CHo05wfdrjfpR2UhaJ3YnTaL2xUvpnZxMSxCwM/s1600/leg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZey263ZYWzz6opy8kPcdmM1MvyxtiM7vSlfNJNIt3XiNdFTC6HsNAM-Ln7m8Wtk6BlWayG5P-ngSQ00OTx7aSXz1cE9j4QW4s5jVZ4CHo05wfdrjfpR2UhaJ3YnTaL2xUvpnZxMSxCwM/s400/leg.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And
that's what really happened... mostly.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for reading!</span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-12147401387384980882013-01-21T19:57:00.001-06:002013-01-28T21:06:10.880-06:00Issue Two, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the Desk of an Editor;</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to
another exciting issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. In this issue we
dive into everyday life being not so everyday.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In news our chief editor
took a nasty spill and bruised his leg up while renovating the new
office. He is up and around now. Daniel's leg is just a little more
colorful than it was before.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Otherwise not much news
here. We are still working towards catching up on our back log. We
will be sure to keep you posted for when we are accepting submissions
again.</span></div>
<div lang="en-US" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thank you,</span></div>
<div lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jessica Rowse</span></div>
<div lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The Good Samaritan</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" lang="en-US">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By Miriam Foley</b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">As soon as you talk
to the police you get scared, don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t you.
The way they call you by your surname and look all serious and ask
you questions from across the table and record everything you say.
You become aware of yourself. That it</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
all going down on record and there</span>’<span lang="en-US">s no
way back. And you know that if you change your story, they</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll
have you down as a liar.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They gave me a cup
of tea, told me I could have a lawyer if I wanted one. Called me by
my surname.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I said, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">call
me Ian.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">'Okay, Ian, want a
lawyer?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I said no. Felt bad
enough they were working on Christmas Day. Didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
want to make someone else have to.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">Anyway, it all
started this morning when I was on my way to work. I was down to open
the shop so it was still fairly dark and the road and cars were shiny
with frost. I was thinking that it was all for nothing; no-one was
going to buy anything at this time of the morning on Christmas Day,
but then I remembered that last year one bloke came in for gravy
granules, and another came for wrapping paper before the kids woke
up, even though we don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t sell wrapping
paper.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am down to work
every Christmas Day; part of my contract and all that. You can
imagine how dull that is. Dull as dishwater. But it's the company
policy to open three hundred and sixty five days a year so what can
you do, you can't tell everyone that and then close on one day of the
year can you? That would ruin everything.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">So that</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
why I was up so early this morning and walking down Melrose Avenue
until the end when I took a left, crossed the roundabout and went
over the bridge.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">Only today there
was a bloke standing on the ledge of the bridge, with no shoes on. He
was crying and rubbing his face, putting his hands through his hair
over and over. So I said, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">You alright
mate?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">He jumped like the
kids when I catch them with a can of coke down their trousers and I
thought he</span>’<span lang="en-US">d only go and fall off the
edge. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Do I look alright?</span>’<span lang="en-US">he
said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">We have a cocky one
here, I thought. Have to be careful how I deal with this one. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Well
I don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t know. That</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
why I</span>’<span lang="en-US">m asking. Because maybe you</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
not.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">He wiped his nose,
which I was pretty pleased about because he had loads of snot coming
out of it. And the snot went onto his sleeve and made it shine like a
snail</span>’<span lang="en-US">s trail that you find on leaves in
the garden early in the morning when you</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
a kid.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">His jumper was
black, a v-neck I think, and he had a shirt on underneath open at the
collar. He looked pretty smart; like he was on his way to work too.
His eyes were all red and watery and he had them opened really wide
which made me think of a story I heard once about a man</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
eye actually popping out because the muscles were fucked and he had
to get it pushed back in again. His face looked old, maybe older than
usual. Like when you</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve been up all night
partying and you look in the mirror when you go to the loo and you
look loads older. I</span>’<span lang="en-US">d put him at an
old-looking thirty five. Yeah, about ten years older than me.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I remembered the
bottle of water that’s always in my bag. I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
know how long it had been there but I thought he might be thirsty.
People in those kinds of situations usually are. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Do
you want some water?</span>’ <span lang="en-US">I asked him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yes please.</span>’
<span lang="en-US">He said, breathing in through his nose so all the
snot went back up. Then he swallowed, which made me shiver a little
and I wrinkled my nose but as soon as I wrinkled it I unwrinkled it.
I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t want to push him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I stepped forward,
not too close, and reached my arm out until he could take the water.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">He gulped it down
so fast that I could see his adam</span>’<span lang="en-US">s apple
bob up and down, up and down, and some water dribbled down his chin
from the side of his mouth.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Look mate,</span>’
<span lang="en-US">I said, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">why don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
you come down from there. You</span>’<span lang="en-US">re making
me nervous.</span>’ <span lang="en-US">And he was too. Making me
nervous. It was like I</span>’<span lang="en-US">d drunk loads of
Red Bull and couldn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t stay still.
Unnerving is what you might call it. Unnerving indeed.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">No,</span>’ <span lang="en-US">he
shook his head slowly, then fired the empty bottle high into the air.
</span>
</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I leaned over the
bridge and watched it drop until it hit the ground and got crunched
flat by a car tyre. That was the other thing making me nervous: the
cars whizzing below. Zoom! Zoom! It was like Formula bloody One down
there. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Oi!</span>’ <span lang="en-US">I
shouted, </span>’<span lang="en-US">I wanted that back
thank-you-very-much. I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve had that bottle
for months now. I only use that one.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Well buy a new
one!</span>’ <span lang="en-US">His voice went croaky when he
shouted. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Fine.</span>’
<span lang="en-US">I said. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">I will. But
I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll have you know, I only drink from
that one to do my bit for the planet. We</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
all buying stuff every day that comes in plastic and we throw it out
and it ends up in a big pile of shit in Africa where poor kids play.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He peered over the
edge and I thought he was going to take a leap.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
do it!</span>’ <span lang="en-US">I yelled. </span>
</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">I</span>’<span lang="en-US">m
looking at your bottle. I wasn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
thinking.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yeah, no-one
ever is.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">You</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
right. No-one ever thinks about what</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
coming. It</span>’<span lang="en-US">s all about today. Plastic.
Toys, cars, credit cards.</span>’ <span lang="en-US">He sobbed and
his shoulders shook.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
think he</span>’<span lang="en-US">d take it so much to heart. So
to make him feel better I shrugged and told him not to worry. That I
still put my fruit in those plastic bags at the supermarket because
there’s no way to keep four oranges together otherwise, and I like
oranges. I thought maybe I should try and help him. I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve
never been one to help others, like one of those Samaritans or
something. That whole thing about getting help doesn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
really do it for me to be honest. I just keep to myself. Go to work,
do my job, keep my head down. Smoke a bit, drink a bit. Hell, it</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
Christmas, I thought. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">So mate, what</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
up?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">You don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
want to know.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I looked around and
was surprised there wasn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t a load of
people crowded around us, like in films. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">You</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
right,</span>’ <span lang="en-US">I said, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">I
don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t.</span>’ <span lang="en-US">And I
turned to walk away.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Wait!</span>’
<span lang="en-US">he said in a shrill voice that sounded like a
girl</span>’<span lang="en-US">s. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
go.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I tutted. I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
mean to but I was just getting a bit fed up. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Alright
then. So, what is so bad that you</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
standing on the bridge looking like you</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
going to jump?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">He cried into his
hands. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">It</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
just so bad,</span>’ <span lang="en-US">he balled, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">my
life isn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t worth living.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">I decided to get
some biscuits out of my bag because I hadn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
had breakfast and I was getting hungry so I opened the packet and
took one. I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t offer him one because
I didn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t want to disturb his flow, if you
get what I mean.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">I lost my job
six months ago and I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve got no money.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Well that
doesn</span>’<span lang="en-US">t sound too bad -</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">And I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve
been leaving home every day and telling my wife I</span>’<span lang="en-US">m
going to work. And I</span>’<span lang="en-US">ve remortgaged the
house twice to get money to put into the bank every month and now
they say the house belongs to them when we bought that house as a
home for our family and I plastered the walls myself and painted it
top to bottom and put a new garden in.</span>’ <span lang="en-US">He
stopped to breathe. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">And we have nowhere
to go, and there</span>’<span lang="en-US">s no way out. The best
thing I could do with my life right now is end it.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">You have kids?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">He shook his head.
</span>‘<span lang="en-US">She</span>’<span lang="en-US">s seven
months pregnant. And I have nothing to give her. But if I die she</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll
get insurance and they</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll give her the
house back. What will she have with me? They</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll
take everything we own. We</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll be out on
the street with a new baby!</span>’ <span lang="en-US">He turned to
me, waiting.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">Man. What can you
say to someone like that? I was like, shit, man, I wish I'd just kept
walking. Who needs this shit at six in the morning when they're on
the way to work and it's Christmas day and they have nowhere to be
and no-one to be with? I mean, it's not exactly what I needed if you
know what I mean. And I was already late for work and I was the one
opening the shop so it wouldn't be open even though I was only
opening it for some dick who</span>’<span lang="en-US">s forgotten
to buy wrapping paper and gravy. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Are you
sure she</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll get the money?</span>’ <span lang="en-US">I
asked him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">'If I die, yeah.
People are already doing it.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yeah?</span>’
<span lang="en-US">I thought about it. Then I thought I should know
his name, so that if he did jump I could just tell the police who it
was, instead of everyone saying someone unnamed had jumped from the
bridge. I mean, that would make everyone worry wouldn't it? Or maybe
if they were cosy with all their loved ones around them by a nice
coal fire they would count everyone present in their head, happy that
no-one was missing.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Like when you
watch the news and see dead people and feel sad for a second, but
then a film comes on and you forget all about it. That's the great
thing about films. They take your mind off everything. 'What's your
name?' I asked. Maybe it would be nice to help someone for a change.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">'Steve.'</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">'Steve, right. I'm
Ian.'</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Hi Ian.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Hi. And you</span>’<span lang="en-US">re
sure she</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll get money?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yeah. But it
can</span>’<span lang="en-US">t be suicide. Then she</span>’<span lang="en-US">d
get nothing.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">Sweat broke out on
my forehead. </span>‘<span lang="en-US">You sure you don</span>’<span lang="en-US">t
want to come down from there?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yes.</span>’
<span lang="en-US">His voice was calm.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Want to come
with me to the shop where I work and buy me a bottle of water?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">No.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Look, Steve, I</span>’<span lang="en-US">m
trying to help you here.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He looked at me
with his eyes bulging wide and his hairs standing up on his head.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I sighed.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">You’re a good
guy.</span>’ <span lang="en-US">He smiled weakly, </span>‘<span lang="en-US">Do
you have a family?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Nah, man. No
family, just me.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">'Well mate, when
you do, you</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll realize that you</span>’<span lang="en-US">ll
do whatever it takes to look after them.</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yeah?</span>’</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">‘<span lang="en-US">Yeah,</span>’
<span lang="en-US">His tired, streaming eyes held mine.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">So that</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
it. Steve loved enough to give his life for them. It</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
like something out of a film. I can</span>’<span lang="en-US">t get
my head around it. But that</span>’<span lang="en-US">s it. That</span>’<span lang="en-US">s
the story.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can’t tell them
that though, because that means he’ll have died for nothing.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So I ask the
policeman if I can have another cup of tea.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span lang="en-US" style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I don’t even like
tea, but I figure I could use another couple of minutes to think up
some way out for both of us.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">#</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="en-US">Miriam Foley is a</span> graduate of English
Literature. She is currently working on her first novel and a
collection of short stories. She works as Lifestyle Editor for an
online publication, and has recently published a piece of flash
fiction and her first short story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQ2rFx-LZvPsoKiBAWrXAbJZ53aihPkNZosUH3Oeis9F68D7aFNc_1o-CfI5GuIyVsDBLEuL5KD4CZsZYNo4wPkGrZ4cGwfyX4UPnECmjq-gMqEL5O0Xg2Dm0sypq5b7YwQv4NVH-lNA/s1600/IMG_0906.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQ2rFx-LZvPsoKiBAWrXAbJZ53aihPkNZosUH3Oeis9F68D7aFNc_1o-CfI5GuIyVsDBLEuL5KD4CZsZYNo4wPkGrZ4cGwfyX4UPnECmjq-gMqEL5O0Xg2Dm0sypq5b7YwQv4NVH-lNA/s400/IMG_0906.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>The
Dreamer's Reward</b></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">By
</span><span style="color: #222222;">Clarissa
Call</span></b></span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy stood among the firs, her starry eyes raised to the peak of her
house. There it was, the same as it had always been, a haven of
beauty and peace. How she loved to gaze upon it. She forgot now her
mother's petulance and the rude roguishness of her older brothers.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She never tired of gazing at the house-never would in a thousand
years. It was everything a house should be, down to its
creeper-trailed side porch and white picket fence. Her favorite part
of it was the small tower room placed at the top in the very center,
with windows in all four directions. How she longed to climb up to it
and look down on the surrounding country like a glad queen looking
upon her thriving realm.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her house was sky blue, with deep purple trim and white lacework
under the eaves like the icing on a gingerbread house. The first two
stories were perfectly symmetrical and aligned, their windows
reflecting the golden sunset glow. Around the corner of them was a
straight, peaked wall, with the side porch and more rooms extending
from it. Lucy could see nothing on the inside, as all was veiled by
lacy curtains; all except the tower room, whose curtains covered only
the topmost sections of the window-panes. Lucy looked speculatively
up at a near-by beech tree. If she climbed up to its highest
branches, would she see into the room...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No. Only with Henry would she try scaling the tree in a full-skirted
dress. But that is getting ahead of the story. Henry shall be
introduced later.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh, how she wanted the house for her home! The house she really lived
in was nice enough, but rather drab, and dingy when it rained. But
her house stayed the same in any weather. Surely it would remain
unshaken even in a cyclone. It wasn't only that it was a beautiful
piece of architecture. Lucy felt that it belonged to her, though she
didn't legally own it. What were money and law to the soul, after
all? Ah, but if she had money, it would be hers! She scowled, hating
the sordidness of the world that could mar her dreams. Lucy had never
been inside the house or seen its owner, who had kept it locked up
and deserted her whole life. It wanted to be lived in and loved. No
one could love it more than she, she who slipped away to its
caressing solitude whenever she could. There she could forget for a
while the hardships of the day--her mother's fussiness, her two
brothers' jeers. “That house will never be yours,” they said,
grinning maliciously at each other. “We're just poor farmers.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No one sympathized with her passionate desire. Lucy wrapped an arm
around the beech and rested her cheek against its trunk, remembering
the first time she had voiced it. Her father's sister had hosted a
Christmas party when Lucy was five years old. All the aunts and
uncles and cousins were gathered around the table, and the host,
Uncle Warren, asked everyone to state his dearest dream, whether it
had come true or not. “Anyone who answers dishonestly will be put
out in the street like an impudent pussy,” he joked, after which
his wife kicked his ankles surreptitiously under the table. Lucy, the
youngest one there, answered when her turn came, “To live in my
house.” Everyone laughed, condescendingly she thought at the time,
but really they laughed with amused wistfulness at the innocence and
simplicity of her dream. With their prompting she went on to explain
about its beauty and allure while the eating went on.
</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At that juncture kindly Uncle Alden leaned over from beside Lucy and
whispered to her, “Never let anyone discourage your dreams. You
must find out their merit or folly on your own terms.” Lucy had
never forgotten those words. They bore her up when she was called a
naive little country girl who hadn't seen any of the world; if she
had, she was told, she would have found a thousand prettier houses
than the one she so stubbornly set her heart on.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The sun had set in the velvet dusk. With a last lingering look, Lucy
turned homeward. A buggy rattled up from a cross-road with Old Man
Miller, owner of Miller's Store in town, driving it.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Want a lift?” he inquired amiably.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Thank you very much.” Lucy climbed up beside him.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I hear you folks are hankering to sell your farm and move to the
States.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A cruel hand squeezed Lucy's heart. She looked at Old Man Miller,
deathly pale. “You-you heard-”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Old Man Miller looked alarmed and distressed. “Oh, now don't be
telling me you didn't know. I'm sorry, Lucy, I never-”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy raised a hand. “It's alright. I'm simply surprised.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Surprised! That was hardly the word for it. Lucy was devastated. The
world had ended for her. If her family sold the farmhouse and moved,
she would have no choice but to go with them. She had no money, no
job, and could not possibly buy her own house. She might board in
some hostile hovel, but there were none nearby and she would
not--could not--live so far away from her house that she could not
easily go to it when she had the chance. It was already a mile away
and quite a trek over hill and through forest. There would be no more
blissful hours on its lawn or doorstep, no more dreamy speculations
about what lay beyond the windows and doors.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When they reached the Dunlap house Lucy stumbled into the sitting
room where her mother, father, and brothers were gathered. They
looked at her still form and stricken face.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“She's found out. Knew she'd make a fuss,” her father muttered to
his wife. Lucy reflected how grotesque he looked, his scruffy beard
greasy and full of crumbs from supper.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Enjoy your house while you can, little sister,” intoned Burt.
She could have thrown the nearby poker at him.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Why didn't you tell me?” she demanded in a low voice</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“To avoid your tantrums as long as possible,” her father grunted
brusquely. “So the less of them the better for all of us."</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I do hope you'll be sensible about it, Lucy,” her mother said,
looking down her sharp nose at the knitting in her lap. How many
useless booties have you made by now? Lucy thought. Probably enough
for all the babies in Canada.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We might have to bind you hand and foot and carry you on our backs
if you aren't,” warned Jim with a grin.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Henry would never let you. The image of his impish face in her mind
bid her speak on. “I would rather starve on the doorstep of my
house than leave it and go with you,” she said with trembling lips.
She turned to sweep grandly up the stairs, but unfortunately stumbled
on the hem of her dress, making her brothers guffaw with laughter.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy got herself up to her room and dissolved in tears as she sat
before her window. How cowed she was! How timid and cowed and
spineless.
</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Due to the immense load of baking and washing and mending-along with
chasing a group of rebel hens back into the yard-that her mother put
her to, Lucy did not get to her house until noon three days later.
She went up between the shadowing firs, up the walk and the steps,
patting the heads of the two stone dogs that flanked them. They faced
one another, each with a stone basket of flowers in his mouth.
</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What's this?” Lucy saw at once that there was a small white
envelope with a bulge on the door-mat. Her hand shot out to grasp it,
then hesitated. Suppose it wasn't for her? Maybe someone was coming
to tidy or do repairs, and this was the key for them to get in by.
Did that mean that it would soon be inhabited?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A wild thought darted across her mind, quickening her heart. Suppose
she used the key herself and took a quick look around the house? No,
no, her older, sensible self said. No. I would never do that.
Besides, whoever it is meant for might be suspicious at the open
envelope.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She turned over the envelope. On its clean surface was written in
firm script, 'Lucy'.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That was permission enough. Lucy sat on the top step and stretched
her legs out, breathlessly holding the envelope to her eyes,
fingertips tingling.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Inside was the key and a short note, saying merely, “It is time. I
hope all is as you would wish it; a little boy named Henry has helped
me to arrange it all. This is the key to the sun-room.” At the
bottom was scrawled 'Mr. Fairfax'.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy jumped up and darted onto the lawn. “Henry!” Her ecstatic
eyes roved the surrounding firs. “Henry!” He was so near, so
real. She was sure she would get a glimpse of his puckish form. But
the firs only rustled in apology that they did not show what she
sought. She knelt on the grass and looked dreamily upward, the note
in her hand.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Henry...her girlhood companion whom she often wondered whether she
had only dreamed of. Apart from Uncle Alden, he had been the only one
who understood her longing for the house and not scorned it. Until
she was ten years old she had spent solitary moments in the hollow
where her house stood. Then Henry was suddenly there beside her as
though formed from the leaves, tanned and clad all in green. It was
as though they had always known each other, and thereafter they met
in the hollow every day after school was over for Lucy. Henry always
arrived after she did, and she could never tell where he would
appear. They spent so many happy hours spinning fancies about the
house and what was inside it, and climbing trees to try to peer
through the windows.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There was the snow-white bird who--Henry always insisted that it was
a 'who'-- alighted on the kitchen window-sill on moonlit nights to
whisper words of wisdom...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The lady who swept about in trailing green skirts scattering coziness
and joy; only the back of her was usually seen before she
disappeared, leaving one with a longing to see her bright laughing
face...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The great cat, long and lean, who curled up in dark corners and
spaces because he would turn into a lion in full sunlight; with his
fur that was pure yellow, he was like a great glowing ball, and at
night he lighted the inhabitants of the house upstairs to bed...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The square window in the upstairs hall that changed each day to show
beautiful places: cool gardens and airy meadows, seaside castles and
forest cottages, instead of the yard outside...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The light green vase with its elegant swirls; it sung softly when
flowers were put into it, particularly if they were red roses...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The flat wooden piper who silently piped, frisking up the stairs when
no one was looking; but when he did, those in the house felt a
little, indescribable pulling of the heart-string, and felt even
fonder of those around them...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A dragon, ten feet tall and long, with plumage of vibrant red, gold,
green, and blue, stalked about the back yard; when one went out to
it, it just looked and said a thousand wonderful things with its gaze.
Occasionally it could be prevailed upon to let one ride on its back,
soaring above the treetops, but only at dawn when the sun's opal
light washed the sky...</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What pleasure and fun they had had in their mutual imaginings! Rarely
did they disagree over them.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy never saw Henry anywhere else and told no one about him. He was
always there to cheer her after a hard day, to play and sympathize
with her. He was her own lovely secret, though she herself only knew
for certain that his name was Henry.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Then, after an all-too-short four years, he suddenly stopped coming
to her in the hollow, and after a month she despaired of ever seeing
him again. She wrote letters to him and left them on the window-sill
of the sun-room in the hope that he might somehow get them. She wrote
of the times they had had, of the fancies she continued to think of,
and of her troubles. The letters were always gone the next time she
went to the house, but she never received answers and couldn't be
sure who took them.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Eleven years had passed thus, and yet Henry was as real to her as
when they had trysted in the fir-shaded hollow. Lucy sought no
attentions, masculine or feminine, drinking deeply the cup of
solitude. But for her it was a cup of sweetness. Memories of Henry
sustained her, although her belief in him was always strongest when
she was at her house. She could not imagine him older than a boy. How
disappointed he would be to see her, as good as a frumpy old maid.
Lucy was blind to the girlhood charm that had stayed with her.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But who was this Mr. Fairfax? He must be the owner Lucy had never
seen or heard of. If he was getting help from Henry, why didn't Henry
simply come to her? There was no doubt that this note was referring
to the Henry she had known. Suppose he had remembered everything they
made up about the house and told Mr. Fairfax about it? Lucy dashed
around the corner of the house and up the side porch stairs. The
sun-room door opened silently after she unlocked it. A cooing greeted
her. On a table by one of the cushioned wooden chairs was a large
cage holding five live doves! Lucy opened a window and set them free.
The birds swooped in and out, landing on the furniture and her
shoulders.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You aren't 'the bird who whispers words of wisdom', but you
make fine companions anyway,” she told them.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Over the next few months Lucy accessed more of the house two
rooms at a time as she kept finding new keys and notes that grew
longer with each one, recounting old revels. There was no doubt that
they were from Henry, somehow sent through Mr. Fairfax. They also
contained hints of a future meeting, and she knew he would at last
come to her after playing with the notes and keys for so long. Every
time she entered the yard Lucy fancied that she heard his impish
laugh.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Fear gnawed at her if she did not firmly suppress it, fear that, as
preparations continued to be made for the Dunlaps' departure, she
would be gone by the time Henry revealed himself. If she could see
him even once she would go quietly enough. In the meantime, finally
discovering the inside of herhouse was almost as good as having him
back.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her family were glad to have her out of the way and did not try to
keep her from visiting the house. As far as they knew, nothing about
it had changed, and she was not going to tell them that she could go
inside it. Her brothers would paw through its contents for valuable
items, her mother would sniff at its extravagance, and her father
would guffaw, “This it? I might have known it was nothing much.”
Lucy looked at them with pity in her eyes. They had no dreams or
hopes beyond settling on good land and making a decent living. What a
shame they could not share the delights of the house.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy's longing for Henry increased each day. If he was there he would
marvel at it with her. It seemed that, each time she stood among the
trees by the house, Henry, her child fellow and companion, would slip
from their shadows any moment. Oh, where had he gone? And how was he
leaving notes and keys for her? Surely the house did not belong to
him.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps he would not have grown up, but stayed young and boyish. In
which case, how dismayed he would be to find that she was grown! But
not changed in spirit, not wrapped in the often gray adult world. She
could still swap fancies with him and climb trees, if he would only
show himself.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy took refuge more than ever in the house, because in its serenity
she could believe for a while that it was truly hers and she would
never leave it. It gave her so much joy that it bore her up through
tiresome days of helping her mother and never doing anything well
enough for her. It allowed her to force a smile when her brothers
teased her about digging up gold or treasure so she could buy her
house. The thought of slipping away there each day that she could,
spending time in the yard or rooms of the house she could open,
sustained her.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She went in the evening, to sit awhile and gaze at the wash of pink
sunset with its silvery crescent moon. She went in the dawn.
Something brushed against her once when she came into the yard and
she jumped, thinking of the dragon, then laughed at herself. It was
only a bough laden with velvet leaves. She ran it through her hands,
murmuring, “Even the dragon's plumage could hardly be richer than
you are.” She went in the afternoon and sat in the sun-room to read
or dream, the flowering cherry tree outside the white picket fence in
the side yard dusted with lavender loveliness, framed by the light
yellow curtains that, as she and Henry had pretended, fluttered and
billowed pleasantly when there was not a breath of wind and stayed
still when there was. The doves, who nested in the firs at night,
swooped in and out of the windows. A special one, the smallest of the
group, once brought her a twig with three tiny evergreen leaves on
it. She stroked the inclined little head and tied a red ribbon around
its neck as it gave soft coos. “You must have been the one who
brought the sign of land to Noah so long ago; I know it by your
eyes,” she said to it.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy found every room full of delight, each gorgeously furnished but
immensely cozy. There were no end of things to explore and discover
in them. The odd thing was that many of the fancies she had shared
with Henry were half-true. In one of the upstairs bedrooms--one's
theme was blue, another red, and a third green-- she found a green
vase, and when she placed some purple asters in it, a woman's voice
came forth, singing Puccini in a poignant tone. She had no interest
in inspecting it to find out how it worked, firmly believing that it
was by magic. On the living-room mantlepiece was the small figurine
of a fat, jolly man with a wide face named Old Man Magee, who always
danced in firelight, so Henry had said. Whenever Lucy went upstairs
she passed a wooden Piper on the banister, poised to sound forth his
elfin notes. The dining-room held a great oak table like the one
Henry invented. It was not much to look at, but it supplied “gorgeous
feasts,” as he called them. Lucy fingered the smooth polished wood,
a smile playing about her lips as she remembered the sumptuous meals
they had dreamed up.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy unlocked the door of the Spooky Room one evening, the last room
she had not yet explored except for the tower one. The Spooky
Room-for she and Henry had decided that there must be one in every
house-was on the second floor at the very end of the hall, and had a
low doorway whose top came to a peak. The room was not dangerous or
cruel but deliciously eerie. Lucy ducked her head and entered slowly,
hardly daring to think that it would be as they had planned it. Two
lanterns bolted to the opposite wall sputtered to life and threw
wavering shadows over the room. There it was between them, the
round-framed portrait of an austerely beautiful woman. She was like a
witch, with dark, severely pulled-back hair coming to a widow's peak
on her marble forehead. Sharp, cruel-looking fingers were folded on
her lap, and the corners of her thin mouth curled down in a scornful
grimace.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy turned to the right and saw the massive bed hung with heavy,
deep blue curtains beside a window with matching velvet drapes that
shut out all outside light.
</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She remembered well the hushed evening when she and Henry had
crouched on the lawn while she told him what happened in the Spooky
Room at night: “The bed-clothes tighten around you like arms when
you get into them, and red dots like two burning eyes stare down from
the canopy. Just as you're at last dropping into an uneasy sleep, an
icy finger touches your forehead, just one light touch that leaves
you cold.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“In the narrow, full-length mirror behind the door a shadowy gray
form appears, its wispy long hair and wrappings slowly swirling as if
the figure is lying in water; the large mahogany rocker by the bed
rocks gently forward and back; the rich red rug at the foot of the
bed jerks from under your feet when you step on it.” Luckily, it
was thick and cushioned the inevitable fall. When Lucy tried it she
fell to the floor, skirt flying, and sat there laughing till she
cried. Henry must have rigged some sort of trap for the carpet. She
looked up at the portrait, whose lady had a reproachful, disapproving
expression.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I'm sorry, madam, to create such a disturbance in your sepulchral
shrine,” Lucy addressed her. “Madame Melvant, I'll call you.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy wished suddenly that Henry was there with her. She would pretend
to be scared and he would pretend to comfort her, making defiant
faces at the lady in the portrait. Lucy got up and dusted herself
off, reflecting that, for all its eeriness, the room felt rather flat
without anyone to share it with.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The blow fell late that afternoon. Lucy had let herself pretend that
the Dunlaps were not really going to move away to the States. But
they were, and their house had already been sold. All that remained
was to pack everything up and depart next day.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“What did you expect?” chortled her father. “You've known it
for three months. Now, no fuss from you.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Come now, Lucy, and help me pack the kitchen things,” said her
mother, with as much expression in her face as a stone statue.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Maybe Judgment Day will come tomorrow. Then you won't care about
leaving your precious house,” said Burt, nudging Jim.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy stood stricken. There was no more pretending now. She really
would have to leave her house, likely forever. Her father no doubt
would try his hand at farming in the States and stay there.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She turned stormily away and went out the front door, leaving the
Dunlaps shaking their heads and wondering why the silly girl had to
turn out so differently than they.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Maybe I should just go with them, Lucy thought dully as she ran over
the fields and through the wood groves to her house. Maybe I deserve
it after setting all my affections on my house. But I might as well
leave. It's obvious Henry isn't going to come. Whoever has been
leaving the notes and keys has just been toying with me. Well, I have
had a lovely three months, and now I must say good-bye.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her face was white and drawn when she reached the hollow, and
she did not even stop to gloat over the beauty of her blue house of
fantasy. She didn't notice that the front door was unlocked, nor that
the tower room finally yielded to her when she climbed straight up to
it. Lucy went down on her knees before the north window, her face in
tearless agony. She realized that it was Henry she wanted, even more
than her beloved house. With him she had always felt safe, special,
loved. Never, with him, had she felt cowed or insignificant, but
strong and brave. He had always been there when she wanted him; now
she needed him and had no idea where he was.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Henry-Henry-why don't you come? I need you so.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There was a rustle and a light step behind her. Then a strong hand
enveloped both of hers as another held her waist, and she was gently
pulled to her feet. Lucy slowly lifted her eyes.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He was manly and grown, even taller than her brothers, whom he could
have easily overpowered at once. But he was unmistakably Henry, with
a lingering air of boyishness in his matured face. His eyes would
have twinkled down into hers if they hadn't been clouded in concern
for her anguish. There was a long pause as they looked at each other
for the first time in eleven years.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Henry-it's you,” Lucy said whimsically, her face washed of its
pain and sorrow. “Why, you're all grown. I half expected you to
have remained a boy all this time.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Are you disappointed?” Henry inquired, his eyes twinkling this
time. They were the same smoldering black, with the old straight
brown hair and sculpted face, but he had discarded his puckish garb
for a dark brown suit. He was tall and slender, but the arms beneath
his sleeves were suggestive of rippling muscle, and altogether he had
an air of great agility and strength, just as he had when he was a
boy.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Why did you wait so long?” Lucy asked softly, gazing at him
hungrily. He was really there at last.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “Because I had to
be sure,” he replied. “Sure that you still cared about me and
hadn't grown too old for our childhood fancies.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I've never stopped caring about you, Henry,” said Lucy a little
reproachfully. “And I would trade all the fancies in the world to
have your company again. But you see, I won't be able to come here
anymore--not for a long time, at least.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Why can't you come here anymore?” asked Henry gravely, looking
tenderly down at her. The evening sun was bringing out the red tints
of her brown hair and the tears that clung to her cheeks. How he had
longed for her all these years!</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy stared at him. “I'll be turned out of my home. I can't buy
myself another. There's nothing to do but join my family. And they
know it,” she added bitterly.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Henry smiled now, as though on the point of revealing some enchanting
secret. “I do hope that you have more confidence in me than that.
Lucy, my queen, you are to live here always. In this house--in your
house. With me.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“With you?” repeated Lucy, her heart giving a thrill. Could he
mean-?</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yes,” said Henry quietly, eyes shining. “This house needs you,
but I need you more. I love you, Lucy. I have from the first moment I
saw you when we were young. I was here at the window a week ago when
you came out from the firs, looking up to the tower room with your
soul in your eyes. I knew then that you have stayed the Lucy I used
to play with. Can you love me, Lucy? I have no right to expect it
when you only know me from distant years. If you don't I will arrange
for this to be your home all the same, though perhaps you will allow
me to visit-”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy stepped forward, put a hand behind Henry's head, and kissed him.
His hair was unbelievably soft beneath her fingers. She, who had
always been so timid and cowed, was bold in her passion.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Enclosed securely in Henry's arms, Lucy laughed joyfully.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“If you wanted me to live with you in a hovel I would. You see,
since you began leaving notes for me my love for you has transcended
my love for the house, though of course I still am inordinately
devoted to it,” she said gaily, looking fondly about the room.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“And it is yours,” assured Henry. “Yours at last. When we were
children I lived in this village with my parents for the four years
you and I were together, but I always liked to keep an air of
secrecy. You see, I am both Henry and the present Mr. Fairfax. My
uncle, Mr. Frederick Fairfax, owned this house and promised to leave
it to me when I told him about our liking for it. When he died a year
ago it passed into my possession. So I decided to fix it up for you
just the way we always imagined it to be and let you see it in
increments. Of course, the magic table is one thing I couldn't quite
manage, nor the square window on the landing that changes to show
far-away places.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Those notes could only be written by you, Henry, and no one could
prepare the house for me as you have. After all, it didn't matter
that I never saw you. Everything revealed your spirit. The gulf of
years has been crossed, and it is as if you had never left. That's
the best thing of all. The house only takes second place to you.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Henry laughed exultantly, carelessly. “Then I need never worry
that you care more for our house than for me.”</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Lucy, during the last evening she was to spend in her family's now
vacant house, sat down at her desk by the window and wrote to them
that she was marrying the owner of her house and would not come to
live with them, but would write on occasion.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote style="margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0.39in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Dunlaps never answered the letter, and for the rest of their
lives they shook their heads incredulously and avowed that Lucy had
always been possessed of a touch of madness in caring more for that
house than anything else on earth, even her savior, who,
paradoxically, is not of earth. Of course, we know that, if they
could see Lucy and Henry standing together at the window of their
tower room, there could be no denying that it was an exceedingly
happy sort of madness.</span></blockquote>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">#</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author;</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Clarissa
Call has always loved writing fiction, but only recently has it
become a serious career pursuit. She writes for the sake of beauty
and hope rather than for popular preference. If nothing of hers was
ever published Clarissa would still continue writing, for to her it
is an instinctive necessity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thank
you for joining us and I hope you will come back next week for more
great indie fiction!</span>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-70305636628782825452013-01-14T20:41:00.000-06:002013-01-14T20:42:48.072-06:00Issue One, Volume Five<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hello and welcome back! We apologize for the long delay in new issues. We have been at conferences, training sessions, building offices, and editing some large projects. Hopefully we should be on track now for the new year.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We are still catching up on old Smashword copies. These should be coming out soon. Currently we are to March with May on the agenda.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In news we are closed to new submissions. We will reopen the mail box once we are through what we have. When we do reopen the box look for our brand new shiny email address.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yours,</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>What Granny Would Say</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By Charles Bernard</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I watched her oiled lips
as she spoke</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her bright eyes glowing as
a flame</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Stories of kings and
queens
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was told under the
moonlight</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The morals she stressed</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When life twists so badly</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I think of what granny
would say</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The night often runs deep</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I lay at her feet sleeping</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Silent clasps of rosary</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Cutting silence in the
dark</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Hushes of prayers hover</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Heavenly bliss envelope us</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Nights granny would pray
on</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">With her eyes alone</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She rebuked all my wrongs</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her anger screams to my
heart</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Without a word without a
Cain</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Often praises she
whispered
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When sadness looms
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I think of what granny
would say</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The eyes that rebuked have
dimmed</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her hands bonny and dry</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her back bent from years</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her hair all white
</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her skin wrinkled</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Even in her silence</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Nourishing old age</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I stare Longley at her
lips</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I wonder what granny would
say.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For more about Charles follow him
@chalzz619 and see his blog athttp://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QPBKezhq8qmdm-g-QcYlecWNKuhqnboTF-Wov3Rnlp3ua2Vb6JFi9Yw_i4Hgl95fmux_c1wp9EZ0mfZihP0Ti2FpV2uxwppL6HJOIteXNZAYJOMBPgFvMHIgsKUXrUKQeAdW7l2sAYc/s1600/photo+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QPBKezhq8qmdm-g-QcYlecWNKuhqnboTF-Wov3Rnlp3ua2Vb6JFi9Yw_i4Hgl95fmux_c1wp9EZ0mfZihP0Ti2FpV2uxwppL6HJOIteXNZAYJOMBPgFvMHIgsKUXrUKQeAdW7l2sAYc/s400/photo+(1).JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Final Issue</b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>By Ryan Stevens</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent entered the patient’s room,
stopping abruptly at the door’s threshold. His eyes adjusted to the
light. Fluorescent bulbs bathed the room in a stark bright glow. His
hand went to the small service weapon on his hip. He felt foolish
seeing the patient in his current state.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He was no longer his former self. The
head-to-toe muscle and imposing outfit was replaced by atrophied arms
hung in leather straps on either side of the gurney. The agent’s
reaction was justified, but he felt a pang of guilt for it.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The patient’s entire body was a
mediator for various tubes. The small room had a potted plant in the
corner nearest to the door, and an oak table with a newspaper laid to
the left of the patient’s gurney, within reach of his sallow,
wicker arm.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The front page had a photo of a
devastated city street. Skeletons of crumbling buildings were on all
sides. Debris and wreckage abound. The headline read Captain Thunder
Death Toll Rises, Thunder Included.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The patient appeared asleep, his mouth
covered by a small mask that echoed with his rattling breaths. His
dry lips moved and he croaked, “Who’s there?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Uh, federal.” Said the agent,
caught off-guard by the patient’s consciousness. “This visit is
...unexpected?”
</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He observed that the patient’s eyes
were indeed open, dimly glimmering like diamonds at the bottom of a
trench, and he looked thirty years older than he actually was.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Of course not,” The patient
mumbled. His head lolled to the left, his dark eyes examining his
strapped wrist. “I regret nothing. Lemme say that. The cost was
worth it.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“For you, maybe. But for all those
people, maybe not?” The agent surprised himself, saying these words
with an edge not intended in the least.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Was an accident,” the patient
wheezed, “never happened before.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent snapped back, “Once is
enough, don’t you think?” and regretted the statement
immediately.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The patient tried to raise himself up
but the effort exhausted him. “You don’t get it. You... can’t.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He exhaled gruffly instead of
displaying masculine animal aggression. The sound brought to mind an
asthma attack. The agent bent over, meaning to help, but the patient
barked from his bed, “I’m fine! I’m fine. Where’s the
Gauntlet?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent couldn’t stop himself from
a quick sigh of relief. Finally, a question he had been prepped for.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“In our custody,” he said with
clipped, officiating delivery. Neither man said another word for a
few moments, and before the agent could reject the impulse, he spoke
again, in a tone completely unlike the previous manner he had been so
thoroughly trained in. “I have to say, sir, I was a huge fan. My
son has all your toys, a poster over his bed. Says he wants to grow
up to be Captain Thunder...” The agent tried to gauge any reaction,
any opinion in the patient’s face, but the jaded folds were
undecipherable. “...Gonna be a hard reality for him.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I never saw a dime from all that,
y’know,” He coughed before continuing, each sentence seemingly
heaved out through tremendous effort. “Why’d I want to? Not like
I needed it. That ain’t why I did it, the... the merchandise,
publicity, all that pomp... I could fly to Jupiter, tore a Semi in
half once, who needs royalties then?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“You did a lot of good, sir. You
really did.” The agent’s words began to grow heavy, more dense.
His tongue struggled to lift them. “But there’s...no coming back
from this. We’re making sure power of that magnitude never sees
daylight again.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The patient snorted. “Good. No one
else gets to play with my toys, damn straight!” His lips curled,
either in a smile or a grimace, the agent wasn’t sure, sending
spider-web creases all over his cheeks. “Didn’t know it, but the
damn thing made me infertile.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He laughed, an ethereal echo that
clattered in his throat, “Did you know that?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent’s skin felt as though it
were crawling. His head felt too small and his skull too large, and
above all he could feel his cheeks blushing. He noticed that the
patient’s eyes gleaming slightly brighter, not from pride or joy,
but from longing.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I didn’t,” the agent said
simply.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Well it did. When I figured it out I
didn’t pay much mind, not when there was people to save. ‘Bout
three summers ago.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent nodded. “The Somerset Crime
Organization.” The agent also recalled viewing court summons and
divorce papers in the patient’s records, dated three years
previous.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Yeah.” A pause, as the patient
exhaled slowly, then inhaled even more so, his eyes closed in
concentration.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent heard an urgent beeping
outside the room as an emergency blossomed elsewhere. Then the
patient resumed speaking.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I tell you, when it fell out of the
sky all those years ago, I almost crashed into a telephone pole. I
was quarterback in high school, probably those reflexes that saved
me. Scared the hell outta my wife,” his voice trailed off, and his
eyes clouded, lost in thought. He coughed again.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent nodded, curt, dismissive, but
not callous.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Sir, I have orders that must be
fulfilled.” He started forward, but halted, weighing in his head
whether or not proceed yet. He found need to stall.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I need to ask, what were you
thinking? What led you to do it?”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I wanted to be a hero, do the right
thing.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“No, I meant...” the agent
swallowed cold bile, his throat clogged solid. “...the incident.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Oh.” He began to speak, but the
words stuck in his throat and he hacked some more. “They robbed a
bank, they were getting away. I had to catch them. I just get mad
sometimes, feel like a maid. I mean...”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Another coughing fit rocked his fragile
frame.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“...my mom used to fuss about how
whenever she cleaned up we’d be right back to dirtying the place in
no time. That’s how I felt, sometimes. I just saved you all,
couldn’t you...”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">His voice grew more ragged, his
breathing more labored, his last words coming out in a pant.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“...stay ... saved?”
</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent stiffened and spoke like one
reading off of cue cards. “We’ve studied the Gauntlet’s limits.
Not practically, like you probably did, but scientifically. The power
of a thousand suns, used to catch bank robbers and coke-heads.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Someone had to.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent nodded again, more slowly
this time, conceding a point. “I-I suppose.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I didn’t realize I could do that
much damage.” The patient, with considerable effort, rolled his
head back, finally looking the agent right in the eyes. “Honestly.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent held the gaze for barely a
moment before his eyes fell and he studied the patient’s bed.
“Doesn’t undo it.” He said, his voice falling as sharply as his
eyes.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The conversation halted. The agent
thought of the large plush Captain Thunder toy he’d gotten his son
for his birthday, with its floppy, cotton-stuffed limbs and how his
son slept with it in his bed. He couldn’t help but notice how the
blankets seemed to surround the patient’s body the same way the
sheets on his son’s bed did the doll.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Anything else?” The patient’s
voice sounded both sharp and exhausted, and his head bobbed forward,
hanging down like a dangling convict in older times. “I’m getting
tired.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“I guess not. I...” The agent
licked his lips, steeled himself. “Sir, on behalf of the whole
nation, I want to thank you for everything else you did. If I could,
I’d say you’d be remembered for the good things, not just for
this event.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent had gotten these lines
prepared for him, but he tried with all the conviction in his bones
to make them ring true.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“But you can’t.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The agent stood still and was silent.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The patient reclined slightly, coughed
again. “Well, get on with it.” He whispered. “I read the paper,
I know where this is going.” His withered hand gestured to the
table. “Truth and justice, y’know.”</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“Thank you for your efforts,” said
the agent, his voice as rigid as his rehearsed lines, even though it
was not.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">His hands moved quickly, mechanically,
performing the task before he was truly able to register his actions.
He disconnected several tubes from the console next to the patient’s
bed.</span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He picked up the newspaper, headed for
the door, hovered, hesitated, his eyes squeezed closed, listening for
the deflating-tire hiss of breathing to cease. When the silence
descended and persisted long enough to ensure the patient was not
faking, the agent turned back halfway, but a cold emptiness in his
stomach gripped him and he lost his resolve.</span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The End</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author;</span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ryan Stevens, 19, lives in Columbia,
SC. He grew up in a small rural town on a farm, but writing suits him
much better. He likes to write about screw-ups and misanthropes, but
every now and then there’s a moral.</span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-21334703507945743572012-12-31T17:01:00.004-06:002012-12-31T17:05:46.347-06:00Issue Twenty-Six, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Welcome one and all to the final issue of Larks Fiction Magazine (for 2012)! In this issue we meet to new indie writers from in and/or around Oklahoma.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In news effective immediately we will be closing submissions for a little while. We are way too backed up and our small staff hasn't been able to pull ourselves out of the slush pile. This isn't good bye forever but we will be waiting before we take more stories.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When we do reopen submissions we will have a brand new shiny email address. Until then however you might try submitting to some of our friends and distant relations listed at the end of today's issue.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for joining us again and have a happy new year!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Winter Moon</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Holly Thomson</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Winter moon, pale & round</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rising out of a purple ground</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">on the way</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">to hold your sway</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">over men & beast</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">May your celestial wanderings</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">never cease</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the poet;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Holly Thomson is a wife,
mother, and special education teacher from Oklahoma. She enjoys
spending time with family, reading, and writing the occasional verse.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wake Up Somewhere</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Thaddeus Komula</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wake up somewhere new the screen says
to me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was one of those adds for vacations
to different planets by the travel bureau. Sounds nice but since I
don't have enough money to keep my lights on every month its out of
the question. watching the end of the infomercial I check the clock.
1:23 am I work at 6. If I get up now I can make it to my factory
early. Maybe I can pick up part of a shift. Getting up and walking
down the hall to the bathroom is hard some days but today is worse
than most. I'm sore again from a night on the couch instead of in bed
where I know I should sleep.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sometimes the weight of the day just
comes on to strong. Shower is cold again it should have been fixed
last week I need to remember to complain at the next tenants meeting.
Breakfast is the same as every morning; boiled egg and dry toast,
black coffee. putting the dishes in the sink making and note to
myself to remember to clean up when I get home. I put my dull gray
uniform on over my boxers and undershirt.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Black socks and black boots laced up
and ready to go. I try to remember where I left my keys. On the
coffee table like always. Closing and locking my door apt 321 I try
not to make much noise in the halls on the way to the elevator.
Pressing the lobby button I wait and day dream. I am only on the
third floor I should really take the stairs.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The bell dings and the door opens. I
get in press lobby the doors close and it starts to descend. Bells
ring The door opens to the lobby. I cross and walk out in the the
early fall morning air. My car is parked on the street. There aren't
any fliers or tickets this time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The drive to work is about as
uneventful as it gets; light traffic and no roadblocks. Picking up
some overtime I am on the clock as soon as I get in the door. It
seems someone is always sick or out for some reason or another. I go
to work making plastic casings for long term sleep shuttles for the
travel bureau. I take a break at 4:44 am. More black coffee and a
cigarette no—slowing down. Work just goes on. I can't help but
think of leaving just taking a vacation and not coming back. 7:45 am
bathroom break passing by Frank Ambros in the hall on my way to the
pisser waving and saying hello.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ambros is the boss (well the boss of
my shift in the factory, other bosses work the other shifts and they
have a boss as well everyone works for bureau or one of the other
powers). 1:43 pm is lunch and then its all a downward slide, cleaning
my station and product checking for the new hires, mine all score
fine. leaving work and going to the convenience store for my after
work purchases cigarettes and beer the register reads $8.88 I pay the
cashier with a ten grabbing my change and purchases I get in my car
and drive home.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wake up somewhere new the screen says
to me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was one of those adds for the
vacation service to distant planets.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I still don't have the money to get
out of this place. Its 1:12 am.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the author;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thaddeus Komula is a writer,
musician, and dreamer from Oklahoma.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for reading this
special edition of Larks Fiction Magazine. Make sure to keep checking
back for more great articles, poetry, stories, music videos, and art
from rising independent minds in 2013!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Also make sure to check out
our friends and distant relations in the writing world:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.weirdyear.com/">Weirdyear
Magazine</a></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://thefringemagazine.blogspot.com/">The
Fringe Magazine</a></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.indigorisingmagazine.com/">Indigo
Rising Magazine</a></span></span></div>
</li>
<li><div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://storysouth.com/">Storysouth</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also keep up with me on my personal writer's journal at <a href="http://concerningfiction.blogspot.com/">Concer</a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://concerningfiction.blogspot.com/">ning Fiction </a><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://concerningfiction.blogspot.com/">here on Blogger</a>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: large;">Here's to a happy and healthy 201<span style="font-size: large;">3!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-43808975879337556222012-12-10T22:04:00.001-06:002012-12-10T22:04:35.594-06:00Issue Twenty-Five, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">From
the Desk of the an Author;</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">Hello
and welcome to another exciting issue of Larks Fiction Magazine.
Today we are featuring prose of the everyday world in literary
fiction.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">As
of now we are changing our guidelines for publication. We are
currently trying to allow content to be published on our site as well
as in the emagazine editions. Due to copyright concerns we cannot
accept any work that is not acceptable for resell.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">This
is not because we are evil greedy publishers but because we do not
want to accidentally sell work we do not have rights to. If we are
not allowed to sell your work then we cannot include it in the
emagazine. Which in turn creates too much time researching which
rights we have and do not have.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">So
from today on we will only be considering that can be sold. Further
more we will consider any work submitted to us as appropriate for
resell.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">All
the best,</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">Jessica
Rowse</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">LFM
Editor</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Juan
Valdez Sings <span style="font-size: x-large;">the Blues</span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">by
Jesse Kirkpatrick</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Misty
Mountain Hop” came on. I used to like that song, before I started
working here. The CD changer in the back cycled through a program
that repeated every four hours, meaning I heard Mr. Plant yearn to go
“over the hills” about two and a half times a day. I’d been
there for five weeks, with about three days off a week. This is
repetition 47, since I was sick last Tuesday.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Right
after I came in that morning, I’d been going at the newspaper
bundles (delivered late) with an X-ACTO knife when someone walked by
the window, and my heart crawled up in my throat. <i>Was that Audrey?</i>
I thought. <i>Nah, couldn’t be. You’re just tired, that’s all.
She probably isn’t even in this state.</i></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I’ll
admit, it wasn’t the first time. One of the actors in our <i>Barista
Basics!</i> video looked like her, except with red curls instead of
straight black strands. I played our last conversation in my mind,
over and over, for the first few weeks post-breakup, hoping that,
like in one of those <i>Choose Your Own Adventure</i> books, I could
go back and not pick the “You are eaten by robots” ending. It
almost got me in trouble with Reggie, the manager, not a day after I
was hired. After I’d faked memorizing our operations handbook, we
were doing a store overview when I zoned out.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">And
now, here I was, zoning out again. I brought myself back and checked
my watch. Reggie should’ve arrived. He had a low tolerance for BS
but he was decent, with no obvious craziness. It had become clear
from day two that he was a by-the-book kind of guy. He was glad I
could at least pretend to be responsible.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Me?
I was desperate for anything, having been smacked with the reality
that my degree wasn’t getting me where I wanted to go. Did I want
to stay here for the long-term? Not as just a coffee monkey.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Reggie
had mumbled something about needing an assistant manager since he'd
be overseeing two stores soon. I was the only one in the running. Not
that there was much competition. Everyone else was swiping tubs of
caramel, hiding 6-packs in the back of the fridge, or some other kind
of unreliability. Or Bobbert, who is his own category.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
glanced over at the pastry case. In another 10 minutes, we’d change
over to the evening layout: the doughnuts, Rice Krispies, and the
petrified breakfast sandwiches got shuffled into the back. I quickly
fixed the only drink I hadn’t gotten tired of yet (iced tea with
black cherry syrup) and ducked into the back room.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">As
soon as I fell asleep, the sun came back up, which meant I had to be
in the same old place, doing the same old things. I had the “bitch
shift”: eight to eight. No satisfaction in opening or closing, a
lunch break, one snack break, and a guarantee of being hassled
nonstop.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
scanned the storefront, policy having become instinct. We were
running low on napkins, someone had spilled a mocha on the floor, and
today’s shipment needed to be unpacked. I turned to go into the
back of the store, and then the little shift leader in my head ran
away screaming. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">As
the door shut behind Audrey, I kept staring to make sure I hadn’t
died and gone to retail Hell. She had taken her place in line, just
three customers insulating me from the inevitable. She hadn’t
changed visibly. Same white shirt with the skull and roses, same long
black hair, same plaid skirt. Two customers left. My mouth operated
independently of my brain and the suit nodded, so the autopilot
must’ve gotten it right.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">What
the hell was she doing here?<i> Maybe she won’t recognize you</i>,
I thought. <i>Yeah, right.</i> One customer left. Bobbert was
cleaning and Tina’s till had been closed out, so I was stranded.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Audrey
came up, her platforms thudding on the floor tiles. I wondered how
quickly I could fake my own death. She just stood there silently,
waiting for the world to come to her.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Welcome-to-Misty-Mountain-Coffee-how-can-I-help-you-today?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Good,
the words were out there. After the money changed hands, I’d be
home free.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Silence.
I knew I couldn’t stare at the touch screen forever. I met her
eyes, and I swear I saw them focus on something inside of me. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Large,
iced skim mocha, no whipped cream.” </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">A
chill went down my spine. I had forgotten how much she could pack
into a single word.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Is
there a problem?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
whirled to the right and called the drink. Bobbert gave me a short
nod and started prepping it.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’ll
be $3.45.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
sorry. I didn’t hear that, Paul.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Game
over. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">$3.45.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Thank
you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
put out my hand to take the money, and she bypassed it entirely,
slamming the three bills and change on the counter. I scooped it up
and dropped it in the drawer, and she’d moved on down to the drink
counter. She tapped out a rhythm on the counter until the cup arrived
in front of her. Audrey nested at one of the corner tables, picking
up a paper someone had left there. Her eyes met mine, and there was
that smile.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
buddy, you with us?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Another
customer, a tall guy in a pin-striped suit, had come up to the
register. To his credit, he looked concerned.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Of
course. What’ll it be?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Huh?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
said, what would you like?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Oh,
a large melon green iced tea, light on the ice.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Is
that all?”<br />“Yeah. You sure you’re okay?”<br />“Sir, that’s
none of your business. $2.73.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The
guy blinked but said nothing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bobbert,
calling.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
was staring off into space.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Calling!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He
snapped to and stifled a yawn.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
called the guy’s order. There wasn’t much of a line. As I went
back to refill the ice water pitcher (our most popular drink, by
far), I whispered to Bobbert, “Hey, can you solo it?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It’s
almost three, dude. The after-school rush hits soon.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Just
for a minute. I need a break.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Okay.
Don’t go AWOL, man.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
went through the double doors, plunked down in the chair, and put my
head down on the desk, next to a policy binder.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Relax</i>,
I thought. <i>She can’t follow you home or anything. Probably just
in town and wanted a drink. By the time you pull yourself together,
she’ll be out of the store.</i> I tried to look out the tiny
plastic windows without anyone noticing. Sure enough, there was a
line forming. Bobbert was holding his own, but I couldn’t see
around to the end of it.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
slammed my fist on the table, hard enough to make the phone jump. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
swung the door in just then. “Paul, I need you out—holy shit,
dude, you okay?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
shrugged, got up, and headed out to face the crowd. They didn’t
seem as pissed as I would’ve expected, but the bar was a mess. The
whipped cream was out, two of the blenders were dirty, and a roll of
receipts stretched out of the register. No Audrey. Just as well.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
calling.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Right.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
need one double mocha shake, extra large; a berry iced tea, no sugar;
a single espresso for here; a banana cake; and a small, light
dreamsicle shake.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What,
did you give me everyone’s order at once?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Nope.
That’s just the first one.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
shook my head and began prepping the shake.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Boo!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
jumped, dropping the whipped cream. The canister hit the floor
trigger-first, coating the bottom edge of the cabinet. I cursed.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">It
was Audrey, leaning on the edge of the counter, grinning.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Why’d
you do that?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">To
scare you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And,
again, I ask why,” I muttered, as I placed the can back up on the
counter and grabbed the roll of paper towels. Bobbert and the rest of
the line hadn’t noticed my fumble, as far as I could tell. I felt
her eyes watching me wipe the goo off the tiles.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What…why
are you here?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
stirred her mocha. “I’m a customer, Paul.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
know that.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Still
haven’t done anything useful, I see.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s
not fair.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Neither
were you,” she shot back, grin completely gone. “This tastes a
little sour. You used fresh milk, right?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
I could answer, she added, “Make it again.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What?
You already drank a quarter of—”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The
customer’s always right, Paul. Here.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
uncurled her hand, leaving the cup on the counter. “I want a
replacement. Are you okay, Paul? You seem stressed. Still living at
home? How’s the job search? Oh, was this all you could get?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
not living at home.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
balled up the paper towels and hurled them into the trash can.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
you can’t be angry with me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Why
not?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Because
you dumped me. It was your decision.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Which
you agreed to,” I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
laughed.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
walked over to Bobbert, feeling her watching me. “Let’s switch,
dude.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But
you don’t have a till assigned.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bobbert,
I ask very little. Just this once. Please.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He
nodded and took his position at the bar. The clock read 3:13 p.m.
Another four hours and change to go. Her eyes followed me as I
shuffled over to the register. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Large,
iced skim mocha, no whip,” I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Again?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yes.
Again.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
rang up the next two customers before I dared look over. She was
still there, nails drumming out a beat on the polished counter.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Large,
iced skim mocha, no whip!” said Bobbert, and he slid the cup down
the counter.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
heard Audrey’s voice but not her words.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
made sure that was fresh, going right by the book. Here, I’ll—”
Bobbert cracked open the beverage guide and was about to put it down
in front of her, when she interrupted:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
trust you. I just want him to make it.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No,”
I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Because
you’ve had two now, both made by the book. So it’s the espresso
or the syrup, both of which are close to full. I can’t dump those
out to please one person. Sorry.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
turned away so quickly that I got a crick in my neck. I heard her
walk away, her soles grinding wasted espresso beans into the tile.
She’d nested in the corner again. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Who
was that?” whispered Bobbert.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No
one.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">She’s
cute.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bobbert,
leave it be. Trust me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Just
sayin’ she’s cute,” he mumbled.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
was enjoying my Gameboy and my raspberry shake when Bobbert began
rifling through the shelves.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We
have any more peppermint?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Nope,”
I said. “It’s on the refill order and will be here tomorrow.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not
even in the back?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
checked yesterday.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Still
determined, Bobbert started shuffling boxes on the highest shelf.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
Paul, what happened?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">With
what?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">This
girl. What’d you do to piss her off?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Leave
it, Bobbert.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Dude,
it’ll be good for you. Get it off your chest.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
hit 'save' and switched off the game.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Well,
I met her through a friend of mine who was an orientation leader back
at school. We kept running into each other, and eventually, she
invited herself over to watch movies.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
didn’t ask her out?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not
at first. But I didn’t object. It was cool for about a year. We got
pretty close. But then we didn’t go out of the way for each other
as much.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Things
always settle down some, man.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
know, but this was different. We both took it for granted and let
some other issues just…sit there.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So
you had a fight?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yeah.
I started it. Convinced myself that it would be better for both of us
to get out.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">And
she didn’t agree?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
took a deep breath. “Not at first. Turned out I was one of the few
good things in her life, the way she described it.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So
she was high maintenance?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No,
that’s the thing. She was really sweet and smart, the exact
opposite of what happened the other day. Total one-eighty.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Damn,
dude. And now she shows up here.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yeah.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
still into her?” He’d pulled the stool up next to me.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s
the million dollar question, isn’t it? Maybe. If she forgave me. I
dunno.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Rough,
dude. So what’re you gonna do?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
have no idea. If she doesn’t come back, I don’t have to do
anything, really.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
furrowed his brow. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
can hear the gears turning,” I said. “Spill it.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Well
man, it’s like… there’s some things you gotta do for you, not
for them, y'know?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
mean closure,” I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Exactly,
man. Get your ducks in order.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
smiled, despite what was waiting on the other side of the scuffed
door.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
thought it was 'your house in order'.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
made a dismissive gesture.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ducks,
house, whatever. You know what I meant.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">We
let that sit there for a bit.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bobbert,
right now I want to finish my shake, clock out, and go home. Thanks
for listening.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Anytime,
man.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">That
Wednesday, I was scheduled for the closing shift. Reggie had said
he’d stop for some paperwork, and then do a tea tasting with me. I
was almost looking forward to it. I wanted to see if I could learn
the difference between a “rich mouth feel” and “subtle citrus
notes” or if managers were given new taste buds when they were
promoted.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">As
I came in, the walkways and counters were clean and the newspaper
stacks neat. There were only a few patrons sipping on overpriced
drinks. A slow reggae beat flowed out of our sound system, and as the
back of the store came into view, I saw that today’s shipment had
been put away, leaving only folded cardboard boxes up against the
wall. I let myself smile, looking forward to an easy afternoon
shooting the breeze with Bobbert.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
heard a soft cough to my left. I didn’t have to look over. How long
had she been here?</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hi,
Paul.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
forced myself to walk faster, to the safety of the back room.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
was just getting into a rhythm, not thinking about Audrey, when
Reggie came in. He nodded as he passed, still talking on his phone.
“I understand. And the sign is out front, along with the forms on
the table, right as customers walk in. I can’t make them fill it
out.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He
was silenced by the double doors. I poured more beans into the
espresso machine. I figured he was talking to Owen, the district
manager. Those are never happy conversations for him. He poked his
head back out, and I heard his phone flip shut.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">"Mr.
Paul, we’ll be doing the tea tasting at two p.m. sharp today. We’ll
try three different blends—”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Excuse
me, are you the manager?” Audrey was in front of the register, arms
crossed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yes,
I am. What can I help you with?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
want to complain about one of your staff.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Reggie
raised an eyebrow. “Can you describe them?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
aimed a black fingernail at me. “He refused to remake my drink
yesterday and was… insulting.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
weren’t even here yesterday!” I blurted.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Are
you sure? Do you remember every single person who came in and out of
the store yesterday?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Well,
no, but—”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
is this true?” Reggie asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
try to make every drink as best I can. And if I was <i>insulting</i>,
it wasn’t intentional.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s
not an apology,” Audrey said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’ll
deal with it, miss. I’m sorry you had a bad experience at our
store.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He
ducked under the register and rifled through a drawer. He grabbed a
piece of paper and held it out for Audrey to take. It was the
“bastard coupon,” good for one of anything in the store, no
expiration date.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
hope you’ll come back soon.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
smiled at both of us. “I’ll be sure to.” She turned on her heel
and headed for the door. Reggie nodded toward the back room and I
followed.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Do
you know her?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
nodded. He almost looked sympathetic.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
you can’t bring your personal life in here. I have no problem with
everyone socializing off the clock and joking around—some—but any
conflicts you have, keep them outside.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Reggie,
you know me. I don’t lose it at customers.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Regardless,
she must’ve had some reason to complain.”<br />“Yeah, she did.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Reggie
inhaled and exhaled calmly.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But
it has nothing to do with this place.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He
reached up and grabbed a thin, green binder. “Now then, we’ll be
brewing some red tea, from—”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So,
what happens? Do I get a write-up? A demerit?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not
this time, I trust you to handle it. But it can’t happen again.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
was on break, reading <i>Pop Sci</i> when Bobbert came in.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
dude,” he said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">How’s
it going?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
gave him a thumb’s down and kept reading.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
sorry.” He clocked in and rescued a breakfast burrito from the
fridge. “Oh, guess who I saw today?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No
clue.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Your
ex, just before I opened.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Huh?
Where?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Down
the street. She was unlocking Kitsch Korner as I walked by.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Explains
a lot. She didn’t see you?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
grinned. “I’m like James Bond, man.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
went home, cracked a beer, and began rummaging through my closet.
Audrey had given me a teddy bear once. I still had it, since tossing
him out would be like blaming him. After all, the bear hadn’t done
anything wrong. I found him the way he’d always been, wearing a
Hawaiian shirt, black jeans with a chain, and soccer cleats. I
plunked him in my guest chair and sat on the couch.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What
do you think about all this?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">His
eyes wouldn’t quite look into mine.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Don’t
give me that look. You know exactly what’s wrong. I can’t ignore
her, I can’t skip work–so, what do I do?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
was cleaning off a pottery table, just inside. I cleared my throat.
She looked up, letting my appearance sink in.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Back
for more?” The smile returned.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We
need to talk.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
went back to placing the pottery on the table. “No, we don’t."</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Wrong.
<i>You </i>don’t. I do."</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
put down a vase and crossed her arms.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">This
shit has to stop. You come in every other day to where I work, and
even though I hate the job, that’s not the point. You’re upset
about everything you didn’t say a few months ago, and it’s
twisted and exaggerated because you didn’t say it back then. It’s
eating at you and now you’re making it eat at me. I refuse.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">An
old lady who’d been browsing behind Audrey was glaring at me. The
guy next to her continued staring at the same page of a sketchbook.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
I—”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
not finished. When I’m done you can go ahead and call me on my
shit, say I’m hopeless, or I’m a coward, or that I cheated on you
with one of my friends, which I didn’t. Is any of this healthy? The
sniping back and forth? How much time did you spend plotting what
you’d do in my store?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
just stood there, holding a vase in one hand, cloth in the other,
stiff and unreadable.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
sorry that something we both wanted to work didn’t.” I said. “I’m
not over it and you’re clearly not either. Otherwise, I wouldn’t
be your lunch-break entertainment. But what’s going on now is not
healthy.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
felt all of the blood rush to my face, and by the end I was breathing
heavily. She put down the vase. The smile was nowhere to be seen.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
cared this much?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
cared, just not the way you wanted.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
nodded. “What now?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">We
had a small crowd around us. No one looked at me, though.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Now?”
I said. “I have to get back to work before Reggie kills me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">*
* *</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
got back to Misty Mountain Coffee, wondering if I’d really just
pulled that. As soon as I came out of the storage room in uniform,
Reggie was waiting. He put his arm around my back and said, “Mr.
Paul, step into my office.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the door swung shut, he started in. “You’re consistently late.
You haven’t been able to manage a high volume of customers
reliably. You don’t follow policy and you haven’t set an example
for the other baristas. Paul, I can’t give you the assistant
manager position. Not until you start taking things seriously. There
is no way it'd get past Owen.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">That
settled it. I saw it all stretched out before me. Irregular schedule,
so good-bye to a social life. Just making enough to hang on to my
crappy little apartment, never really going anywhere, never really
winning or losing.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then
I’ll start taking this job seriously right now.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Good
to hear it. Owen is coming by tomorrow and—”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
won’t be here. I’m done. I quit.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">That
got his attention. And then “Misty Mountain Hop” came on.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Okay,
so you’re giving me two weeks’ notice. Wednesday after next, I’ll
hand you your last pay stub and—”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No.
I’m gone. Right now.” I stood up and began to undo my apron.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s
against company policy. You consented to follow it when you signed
your contract.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
looked him right in the eye. I never realized how short he was.
“Reggie, some things are more important than the company.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
threw the apron behind me and walked through the double doors. </span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
was leaning up against the espresso machine, grinning.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">"Ship’s
all yours,” I said. “You have my cell, right?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Bobbert
nodded. “Good luck, man.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
got in my car and headed off to drink with an old buddy. I had
three-and-a-half weeks before I needed to worry about bills. I slept
for about ten hours, and then I called Audrey.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hello?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
it’s me.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
surprised you kept this number,” she said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
keep forgetting to erase it.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So
what happened the other day? Did your boss ride you for it?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Actually,
I’m done there.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She
laughed quickly. “Nice.”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yeah,”
I said.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So
this was just a casual call? To inform me that you’re a bum?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Then,
why call?”<br />“Audrey, you know that Thai place a block down from
Misty Mountain Coffee?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yeah.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Want
to go there tomorrow night?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
heard nothing but the fridge churning in my apartment.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paul,
did you just ask me out?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yes
and no. I want to see this through to the end. I want to tie things
up, one way or the other.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You
know, you’re really good at this.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Good
at what?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Leaving
me speechless.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
laughed. “So that’s a yes?”</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You’re
crazy.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
know.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">She
let out a small breath. “Yes.”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">*
* *</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">About
the Author;</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: black;">Jesse Kirkpatrick is a</span><span style="color: #222222;"> writer with longstanding
ties to the Washington, D.C.-Chesapeake Bay area. He frequents local
writer’s groups and is a recent graduate of St. Mary’s College of
Maryland, where he earned his B.A. In English.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #0070c0; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="color: #222222;">He
is currently writing his first novel.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A
Gift from Hans</span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">by
Clive Gill</span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">At
La Mirage Terrace apartments in San Diego, Bird of Paradise flowers
proudly displayed their brilliant orange and purplish-blue colors
above their tall, evergreen leaves. Purple leaf plum, fir and palm
trees guarded a trimly cut lawn in front of the two story building
located on a quiet street.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Second
floor entrances to Manny and Joe’s apartments faced each other. On
a warm, sunny winter morning in 1987, they met on the stairs located
on the outside of the apartment building, when Manny came home during
a break from his job as a school bus driver.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe
asked, “How you doing?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Okay.
You just heading to class now?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yup.
I couldn’t get any earlier classes that would meet the
requirements.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Uh
huh. Is one of the requirements you have to be crazy to study
psychology?” Manny smirked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ha,
ha…good one,” Joe responded with a wide grin. “Hey Manny, you
sold any of your Guatemala blankets this year?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Sure
have. Some of the bus drivers bought them. You need one?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’m
fine for now. Are the kids on your bus still giving you a hard time?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
rubbed his forehead. “Every day. Either the kids or the parents
stress me out.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
wouldn’t want your job. Say Manny, can you do me a big favor?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What?”
short, stocky Manny asked abruptly.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">When
my newspaper is delivered in the morning, will you let me read it
first? I’ll be happy to pass it on to you.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
nodded then tried to hitch up his pants that hung low on his hips,
but failed because his stomach hung over his pants like a sack of
corn meal.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Thanks,
Manny. See ya.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
turned, watching Joe’s tall, slim body and thick, black hair as he
ran down the stairs. Manny smiled, extending his fat face, as he
muttered, “I’ll read it first.” He lumbered up to his apartment
and opened the door. Hans, his black dachshund, barked while he
playfully ran around Manny.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A
week later Joe saw Manny, puffing like a walrus, as he walked up the
outside stairs. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
Manny,” he said looking into Manny’s deep-set, black eyes and
observing how Manny habitually squeezed his eyes and frowned. Manny’s
large head sat firmly on his short neck between broad shoulders.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Hey,
Joe.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">How
you doing, Manny?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Fine.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ever
see your ex-wife?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not
if I can help it. How’s that cute girlfriend of yours doing?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">She’s
starting to bug me,” Joe answered.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Oh,
yeah?”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe
said, “Yeah. We’ve been dating since high school. Maybe it’s
time for a change.” </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Maybe
so. What’s her major? I forgot.” </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Art.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
said, “Art, huh? Artists can be strange.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s
the truth.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I
saw a guy on T.V. called Jackson Pollock. He throws cans of paint on
a huge canvas.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Is
that right?” Joe asked.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Yeah.
And this other artist, I can’t remember his name; he attaches a
toilet seat to a wall. That’s a crappy thing to call art.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe’s
belly jerked as he laughed. “Ha, ha, ha. Yeah, it is.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Bunch
of weirdoes.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Guess
so. Just a reminder, Manny, to please let me read my newspaper
first.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Okay,”
Manny answered as he stared at Joe’s sparse beard and hazel eyes. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Thanks.
Gotta go…I’m late for class.” </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe
ran to his old, black Renault parked in back of the building, not
stopping to smell the pungent sweetness of white jasmine flowers or
watch a spectacular territorial fight between two exotically colored
male humming birds.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny’s
lips curled into a grin. He thought, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Joe’s
paper is mine first.</span></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
opened his apartment door and greeted an excited Hans, then took his
pet to the front lawn. Hans sniffed, searching for other dogs’
scents. Now he strained as he dropped his feces on the grass. Manny
ignored Hans’s droppings and returned to his apartment to eat and
nap before returning to work.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On
Sunday afternoon, Manny listened to the Boston Pops conducted by
Arthur Fiedler, with the volume so high that Joe felt vibrations
resound in his apartment. Joe mumbled, “There he goes again. Every
week… He’s a pain in the butt.” Joe left his apartment to study
at the college library.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">For
three months, Joe had not seen his newspaper until after Manny had
read it, then put it on Joe’s “Welcome” mat. When Joe opened
the newspaper, he saw spotted remnants of Manny’s breakfast which
sometimes caused pages to stick together.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On
a Friday night, when Joe was driving home alone, he said aloud, “I’m
fed up with Manny. I’ll get him.” Early the next morning the fog
lay low and while Manny slept, Joe waited for the newspaper boy
riding his bicycle. As the paper landed on the sidewalk, Joe opened
the front door and ran down the stairs. Cautiously, he removed the
newspaper from its plastic wrapping and opened it. With two small
pieces of cardboard, he scooped some of Han’s soft feces from the
previous evening, into the middle of the newspaper. Joe attached a
Post-it note above the excrement. He carefully folded the paper,
returned it to its plastic protective cover, sealed the top with
brown masking tape and left it on the sidewalk. He returned to his
apartment unobserved by Manny, his eyes sparkling as he smiled
broadly. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
awoke feeling hungry. He cooked three slices of bacon, a large
sausage, hash browns, garlic and onions and a mushroom omelet until
they were almost ready. He started to brew his favorite coffee, then
went outside with Hans to get Joe’s newspaper and to allow Hans to
pee against a tree. Manny said to himself, </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Paper
feels heavier than usual. Probably got lots of advertisement pages
today. I guess the delivery boy taped the cover ‘cause of the dew.</span></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Returning
to enticing breakfast odors in his apartment, Manny toasted an
English muffin then finished frying his food. He brought his
breakfast and Joe’s newspaper to the kitchen table. Noticing a bad
odor not overpowered by the breakfast, he turned to Hans who was
waiting for his bacon treat. “Did you fart? C’mon, if you’ve
got to let go, do it far away from me!” Hans wiggled his tail.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
blew his nose into a tissue, sounding like a foghorn. He jammed a
large piece of buttered English muffin and half the sausage into his
mouth. Chewing fast, he removed the masking tape, took the newspaper
out of the plastic and opened it. He noticed a lump in the middle of
the paper at the sports section. On opening it, his eyes bulged
while focused on the spread-flattened feces. He roared, “What the…?
How the hell did this get here? Damn that runt of a newspaper boy!”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Now
he noticed the canary-yellow Post-it note on which was neatly
written, “A gift from Hans.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">His
ears grew hot and red as a lobster. He remained speechless for five
seconds as his normally reddish cheeks turned white. He spat his
greasy food over the paper and yelled, “Ahhhhhh!” Now he
scrunched the newspaper. </span></span>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Oh,
shit!” he screamed. His stress caused blurry vision to grow in his
left eye and led to a migraine causing vertigo, nausea and vomiting.
He stayed at home for two days in darkened rooms.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">For
the remaining three years that Manny and Joe were neighbors, they
never discussed the “gift from Hans.” Manny allowed Joe to get
his newspaper first which was passed on to Manny after Joe read it.
Manny always picked up Hans’s feces from the front lawn and put it
into a black plastic doggy bag.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Manny
continued to play along with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops, but
at a much quieter tone, while Joe remained comfortably in his
apartment on Sunday afternoons.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">#</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Clive
Gill’s short stories have appeared in Pens on Fire
(</span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://pensonfire.com/" target="_blank">pensonfire.com</a>),
</span></span></em><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">6
Tales, and in Shark Reef (</span></span></span></em><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://sharkreef.org/" target="_blank">sharkreef.org</a>)</span></span></em><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">.
His has worked as a salesperson, mediator, farm hand, information
technology manager and school bus driver.</span></span></span></em></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><em><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Born
in Zimbabwe, he has lived and worked in Southern Africa, North
America and Europe. He received a degree in Economics from University
of California, Los Angeles and lives in San Diego.</span></span></span></em></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for joining us with this issue of Larks Fiction Magazine! Make sure to join us next week and as always see our back issues! Also KITTENS!</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-5824445969212164832012-12-03T22:29:00.002-06:002013-02-11T20:31:04.141-06:00Issue Twenty-Four, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">From the Desk of an Editor,</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Hello and salutations to yet
another exciting episode of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this edition
we search out the inner turmoils of life in the dream-scapes and
memories of our minds.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Speaking of dreams--we
obtained our loan to finish our new world headquarters! We hope to
have it ready for operation early next year. Until then we will still
be in the temporary space.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Thanks to our amazing
readers we have reached 20,000 views! Thank you so much and please
spread the word and check us out on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/LarksMedia">@LarksMedia </a>for writing
prompts, tips, and news.</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Sincerely,</span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Jessica Rowse</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I
Was a Village Boy</span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">By
Charles Barnard</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the deafening horn </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Was
a quiet walk to school</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the stinking sewage corners </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Was
a path filled with dews on grass</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the clipper carved hair</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Was
a razor clean shaven head</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the chlorine treated pools</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Was
mud filled streams</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Yes
I was a village boy</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Long
skirt wearing maidens fascinated me</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Before
the city mind corruption</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Car
was any car </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Rice
was for Sundays alone</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Fruits
was never bought but picked</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Religion
was a law </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Hatred
was rare </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Love
was free</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Yes
I was a village boy</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Parents
were gods </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Children
were lovely pets</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Money
was rare </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Food
was abundant</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Music
spoke only of love and greatness</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Every
lesson in school was magical</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Michael
Jackson thriller thrilled me</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Granny's
eyes was enough rebuke</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Her
smile was enough praise</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Yes
I was a village boy</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The
rain brought nostalgia of roasted corn and pear</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Flowers
blossomed without trimming</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Farming
was a joy and harvest was happiness</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Grey
hair was a crown of well lived life </span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Age
was all you need for respect</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Now
all these are gone and years have passed</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But
I never forgot that I was a village boy</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">About the Poet;</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">For more about Charles
follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619">@chalzz619</a> and
see his blog at <a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/">http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/</a>
</span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLVLvXyKINDFj1S1ax7LFNDdR-KWm3R4d3IfuaQyY3t0fd0qxWnUbY8or-fkmDcwpKJwiyp6_u-MmFUKp2NMo7BYeOG0XbfeAwowZx2q7rRkZNEUkpPQ-rsRaGUrGmE6qhRCD5Ahyjus/s1600/Image2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgLVLvXyKINDFj1S1ax7LFNDdR-KWm3R4d3IfuaQyY3t0fd0qxWnUbY8or-fkmDcwpKJwiyp6_u-MmFUKp2NMo7BYeOG0XbfeAwowZx2q7rRkZNEUkpPQ-rsRaGUrGmE6qhRCD5Ahyjus/s400/Image2.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Guinevere</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">By Anneka Shannon</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Originally
published in </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.roseandthornjournal.com/Home_Page.html">Rose
and Thorn Journal</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The music floats and pulses
and it is hard to imagine that it’s coming from another room. It
keeps me here, grounded, and for a brief second I remember that I
will love life again today or tomorrow or years from now. I listen to
the way it drifts so easily, smoothly, on currents of wispy emotion.
It feeds my emotion now. At first, I believe the mellow notes can
help me to escape from the present, from my guilt and his hands, but
then the violin wafts lengthy and howling into my ears. It reminds me
of a dream from the night before—one of my favorites, one about my
lover. The dream was bitter-sweet: a temporary pleasure. I try to
escape to that dream, to let the bright-dream taste in all that
yellow-ish gold enfold me into safety and delusion. I close my eyes
and think of the scent of his skin, of the song he sings to me, but
it is not his song in romantic whistles and tethered scales that I
hear. It is still the violin outside. The disgusting taste of
something I can’t recognize makes my face tighten and I open my
eyes.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He strides over and slaps
the side of my face for the second time. The room echoes with the
clap. The shock hurts. He sighs. I can’t look in his eyes so I
stare at his worn solider shoes. I was only a girl when I was first
introduced to his solider shoes and his lonely life. We have failed
together. I want to console him and tell him that I understand but I
don’t dare. My great failure, the shame of the wayward woman, will
be known by everyone. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I can tell that he is
thinking about slapping me again, but he does not. Instead, he slams
the door to put an end to the violin’s wail and removes his
clothes. I notice almost shamefully as he lifts the blankets of our
bed that his body is suddenly worn and bruised in comparison to the
youth that had once belonged to it. He turns his back to me as if he
feels my gaze. I wait, wondering like a child what I am supposed to
do. Nothing shadows whisper. I turn my back to him. I stare into
darkness, into the surrounding silence, limp and heavy and hanging
from the ceiling. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He says nothing still, so I
turn from my husband and leave his bed, just like so many other
nights. The cold floor makes my feet numb. I feel dizzy and rest
against the wall before I’ve even made it to the hallway. I have to
catch my breath because I am learning new things about myself all too
quickly. When I die, no one will forget my sin. I know already that I
am doomed to hell.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">And in the end, when we are
all dead and this war is over, what will I be remembered for? I’ll
be remembered as a disloyal, irrational woman, a beautiful woman, but
none shall know the love I’ve suffered, or worse, the remorse I
know better than my own hands when I hear that I am the one who
should be blamed for the lack of a child between us. Guinevere, they
say, is a cause for shame, an infamy to her husband and…</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">I pick myself up. I must
stop from thinking. On wobbly legs, I return to his bed. I cannot do
anything more but lift the covers and melt away.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">My dreams that night, full
of hate, sweep me up and surround me and I am allowed to whimper in
fever and what I imagine the smell of afterbirth to be. I dream of
all his men, the king’s men, each and everyone of them, burning
each other and giving birth. Ice covers their hands, but fire burns
on their lips while they ask for prayers and their pagan neighbors’
deaths. I watch from afar while they suffer, but I am not the queen
that can help them. In the end, all is left with the wafty moans of a
lone violin, melding its noise with the field and fire-blank of gray
clouds. Arthur’s court, its players, arise and take a bow.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">Exodus</span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: x-large;">By Eric Staggs</span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">1</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">They stood on the ancient
ramparts together, watching the refugees stream into the city. The
sunset behind them, the long shadows of the delicate spires of the
great Aldohthiir City looked like dark teeth, raking the very land
itself. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She wore her battle
regalia, finely wrought, delicate-looking breastplate of bronze
covered in runes and script, and leather pants with matching bronze
greaves and bracers. Her arms, tanned and sculpted from her days
campaigning in the Queens service, were bare save campaign tattoos
and a collection of scars. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He stood next to her, his
rightful place as lord-commander of her majesty’s armies. His
armor, no less finely wrought, was mangled and dented. Deep gouges
and scratches marred its surface. He wore pauldrons and a chain-scale
skirt of bronze as well, his helmet lost on some distant field. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She turned to face him and
he saw there were tears in her eyes. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It’s all going to
burn, won’t it, Marcus?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Just things, Zarana.
Just things. Buildings can be rebuilt.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">But it’s our home.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Not anymore. Now it’s
a piece of history.” </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She turned back to watch
the refugees. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I-I have to go.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">What? Where? The armies
are defeated. Even the Handmaidens are passing through the Gate.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">You should be with them.
You’re their leader.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I know.” she turned to
him again, “I just wanted to look one last time.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He nodded his
understanding. This was the view they’d both enjoyed more than
thirty years past, as young adventurers, tramping across the
countryside, cutting a swath of daring-do, fighting the Great Orcs,
almost single-handedly winning the first war. It was Marcus Tenibrass
himself who struck the killing blow against the demi-god bastard of
their beloved queen, sending the Great Orc hordes fleeing into the
dark north.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">So where are you going?
Won’t you be escorting the Queen with your Shayleen?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Zarana, the Shayleen are
all dead. I’m going to hold the walls as long as I can, while you
all pass through the Great Gate.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">By yourself?” She was
shaking her head, her typically unemotional demeanor lost. As the
First Handmaiden, she was Master of the Queen’s Assassins and
Protector, a position that required a level head at nearly all times.
</span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No, there are about two
hundred of us that will stay.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I’ll stay to then.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">No, I think you won’t.
The Queen will need you, and the Handmaidens will need you.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Orc-son! You’re trying
to keep the glory for yourself,” she tried to joke with him. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We’ll be the last
through, I promise.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She moved forward suddenly
and embraced him. He held her in turn, gently, though his armor made
it awkward and then drew back. He looked into her eyes, slate and
storms swirled there. He acted as if he were going to say something,
but closed his mouth and left her, Zarana, First Handmaiden and
Protector alone on the ramparts with her memories of their wild
youth. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">2</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The Gate was ancient, and
few knew exactly how its magic worked. The elder sorcerers and magi
had consulted the most ancient scriptures and realized that the Gate
was built into the city itself, and would consume settlement wholly.
None of the magi or wizards or sorcerers could offer an explanation
of what would happen to the city as the magical energies that fueled
the Gate surged through it. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Many were optimistic,
suggesting that the ancients knew this day would come to pass, and
that the entire city would be transported through the gate. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Zarana, part of the Queen’s
inner circle, had heard the archmages talking in hushed tones to
their ruler. Many elder magic-users believed the energies required to
open the gate, to rend open reality itself, would eat up the city,
burn it to ashes from the inside out, leaving the refugees and their
monarch alone, on a strange world. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">A world without orcs, at
least.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Zarana and her seven
Handmaidens rode in a protective circle around the Queen’s
carriage, Zarana at the rear, her tear-brimmed eyes ever watchful for
that last threat, that final encounter that would render her decades
of service inert. She’d told the courtiers that not even the Great
Orcs of Northwild knew of the Gate, that their fears were
unnecessary. It was a lie of course. In her years at court she’d
learned to be diplomatic and outright treacherous when it was called
for. She’d been warned by Marcus one day to never become the viper
she guarded against so vigilantly. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">She looked back, thinking
of him, hoping she’d not become that viper.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The Gate loomed before the
Queen’s entourage. A massive arc of stone, some hundred feet high,
engraved with runes so old, so alien as to not even be recognized as
ancient Aldothiir. They where strange and angular, jagged and
altogether alien. Their meanings could only be surmised by even the
most learned. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Zarana could hear the
chanting of the mages grow louder, their strange words at once
guttural and poetic. No stranger to wizards and their scuttling ilk,
she reigned in her horse, a white mare with a golden bridle decorated
with rubies, a gift from queen herself. She patted the beast’s
flank and whispered nonsense words to it. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">3</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">From the foremost
gatehouse, using a spyglass, Lord Marshall Marcus Tenibrass could see
his castle in the distance burning. He’d named it The Watcher’s
Fortress when he ordered its construction. It was the last bastion of
defense before the city, a wondrously advanced castle, complete with
engineering marvels of his own design, a griffon aerie, and more.
He’d personally collapsed the two-mile tunnel that led to the city,
a tunnel that had taken three years and three thousand dwarves to cut
through the very earth. It’s didn’t matter now he told himself,
the griffons are all dead.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Much closer than his
flaming home, Marcus saw the Great Orc horde, led by a vengeful
albino orc, known as Ashkevar. The origins of Ashkevar were a
mystery, but with him came thousands of white and grey orcs, covered
in thick, short hair. They were the masters of the Northwilds, come
to claim the southern lands as their own. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Comparatively few in
number, the Aldothiir, with their war colleges and sorcery couldn’t
stem the flow of orcish filth. It was the way of the Orcs, to breed
in great numbers and overwhelm their foes, masses of them dying in
the process. Marcus was shaken from his musings as a stone tipped
arrow struck him square in the chest, shattering against his
once-magnificent armor. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">That’s range,
Balthasar.” He commented absently to his adjutant. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Aye, Lord.” Balthasar,
a young man of excellent stock, raised his arm and bellowed out the
order for the last few archers to open fire with their flaming and
poisoned arrows. The Great Orc drums could be heard over the din of
onrushing war, and Marcus felt that rare and dangerous excitement
grip his soul. He drew his sword, also a gift from the Queen, so long
ago. The blade was called Marethuresa and was said to contain the
spirit of a woman cavalier, a knight-errant of such virtue that she
drove herself to madness pursuing the very source of evil upon the
world. When she found it, Marethuresa knew there was only one way to
combat it properly. She sought out an artisan and bade him craft a
long sword of adamantine-silver with angelic wings and a red eye so
baleful that evil would cringe and shrink from its gaze. This he did.
Then Marethuresa took the blade to a powerful wizard whose name was
lost in antiquity, the first of the war-casters, and offered her own
soul to keep the blade alight with wrath. This he did.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Marcus breathed slowly as
he held the powerful war-tool in his hand, feeling it tremble. The
artillerists fired their siege engines, catapults, trebuchet and
arbalests and still the orcs would not scatter. Still they came on.
Marcus took Balthasar’s hand and nodded to him. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It was a good life,
Sir.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It was.” And Marcus
leapt over the wall. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">4</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Zarana felt the air charge
with energy, unnamable but palpable energy. The setting sun, normally
an orange rose in the sky became green and the sky a deep purple, as
the ritual encompassed the Aldothiir city. She watched the stone arch
light up and radiate a keening sound. Colors took on shapes and
sounds became raw sensations. Her horse stamped the ground, nearby
one of her handmaidens was thrown from her mount. Great peals of
thunder, consecutive and angry shook the ground, in the refugee
column women and children cried out, men shook in silent terror.
Zarana’s long, black hair began to stand up, to rise as energy
coursed through the city, through her. She felt her heart begin to
race as only it had in her youth when she foolish ran into battle
alongside Marcus and her other companions, hacking her way through
impossible odds. She grinned wickedly through her delicate gold-chain
veil. The Magic was working.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">5</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">For Balthasar, who’d
grown up on stories of the exploits of his Lord Marshall Marcus
Tenibrass and First Handmaiden Zarana, a chance to see his commander
in battle, though he had no delusions it would be the last, was
thrilling. The martial culture of the Aldothiir would not allow
Balthasar to not enjoy this moment, the finality of it. His orders
were clear however, and he stood with a few other apprentice
swordsmen and watched the phenomenon occur. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Marcus had trained from the
age of ten to fight with a long sword, his natural ability was
stunning, and he soon mastered the various styles of the Aldothiir.
He was given a dagger for his off hand and he became twice as deadly.
Balthasar’s favorite story was during the First Orc Horde, before
the final confrontation, when Marcus, clinging to the back of a
mighty water serpent gouged out both its eyes with that dagger before
returning to the surface. Then there was the Lord Marshall’s duel
with the Queen’s own son-in-law, an uppity princling looking to
usurp the throne. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">None of the tales however,
compared to what Balthasar and the others witnessed that dusk at what
became known as the battle of Aldothiir Gate.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">6</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Marcus hit the ground in
front of the main gate seconds before the orcs first reached it.
Coming along was a battering ram, pushed by the seven foot Great
Orcs, smaller orcs in elaborate and heavy plate armor followed along.
In the distance, their leader, an albino orc in white furs rode a
mighty snow drake. It was in that direction Marcus was heading.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">He raised Marethuresa in
his hand and set to his grim task. The first and nearest orc was
beheaded in a single blow, the next had his throat opened, the next
howled as his entrails were spilled tripping other orcs in bile and
feces and flesh. The next died as a thrust speared his eye, and drove
into his brain. The next found his weapon hand cleaved entirely from
his arm, blood like a fountain, spraying Marcus’ and the nearby
orcs. The next was also decapitated; another fell clutching his
abdomen, another his throat, one screaming crawled off without his
leg below the knee. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Marcus for his part was
only warming up. The orcs were no match for him, even in greater
numbers; they dared not get too close. He found himself chasing them
back into their own oncoming allies. He leapt upon the approaching
battering ram and swatted the heads from three of its haulers, then
dropping behind it, to clove the rear axle with two quick, powerful
blows.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">From the ramparts and
gatehouse, Aldothiir archers fired their arrows madly, supporting
their frenzied commander. Orcs attempting to sneak up on Marcus from
behind were holed through, the Aldothiir marksmen taking careful aim
to put their arrows into the soft spot in the base of the great orcs’
skulls. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Marcus continued his
ferocious assault, coolly dispatching orc after orc. Sparks flew in
great arcs as his blade Marethuresa chewed through the enemies armor
and then on into bone. In great droves the orcs fell, this one too
slow, that one not strong enough, the next in the wrong place with
his parry. The sight was magnificent and horrific. In decades and
centuries to come, any bard who told the tale would begin by saying
the traditional lines “Though story teller I be, I have but a few
of the words that do justice to the heroism of those who stayed
behind. And for your sake, I dare not speak the words that accurately
explain the violence unleashed by the Lord Marshall.”</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Balthasar saw the battering
ram collapse and drew his own blade. “Time to die with a hero!”
He called, leaping from the gatehouse ramparts. A cheer went up
amongst the Aldothiir elite, who leapt after him into the fray, great
peals of thunders followed upon their heels.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">7</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Zarana, her handmaidens and
the queen’s entourage, were among the first Aldothiir to actually
pass through the gate. The sensation was sickening, painful even. As
the world resolved itself once again and time took up its normal
march, Zarana found herself dismounted, one of her Handmaidens was
gathering the horses, another trying to awaken those who had fallen
unconscious. The sky was a brilliant azure stippled with daisy-seed
clouds. Beneath her was a soft earth with grasses and foliage growing
up between her fingers. A dense forest spread out around them, its
canopy thick and the wind smelled sweet and stick, like fresh sap. As
Zarana took in her new world, more and more Aldothiir began to
materialize. It looked as if their spirits were materializing first,
then their bodies. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">We’ve made it,” she
whispered aloud.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">8</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Balthasar was killed when
an orc crushed his knee with a heavy iron mace, and then on the
return swing, stove in the young warriors face. Taken over completely
by his bloodlust, the orc swung twice more, pulping the young
Aldothiir’s skull. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Next to Balthasar was Tutra
A’lis, another of the Lord Marshal’s students. He died when a
heavy black blade landed on his shoulder and sunk deep into his body.
The orc swinging the blade put his foot on Tutra’s chest and pushed
off in order to free his broadsword from his victim’s corpse. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Pareth of House Narh, one of
the few nobles to stay behind, was bleeding from a hundred minor
cuts, nicks, and wounds when finally a combination of blows knocked
his helmet free and sunk a blade into his face, across the ridge of
his nose and bursting his eyes. He died a moment later as he was
decapitated. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">And so it went, as the
elite of the Great Aldothiir nation fought desperately to buy time
for their beloved queen and their friends and families. The enemy
paid sorely for every foot of ground they advanced, the butcher’s
bill counting well into the thousands of limbs, hundreds of heads,
hundreds of thousands of buckets of blood. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Two hundred heroes fell
that day, as the sky turned vile and the earth melted away around the
Great Aldothiir city.</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">As for Lord Marshall Marcus
Tenibrass, it was the last time he was seen on that world, chasing
after the Orc Chieftain Askevar himself…</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">9</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">It took two years to build
a settlement with a high enough wall to consider it safe. The Queen
of the Aldothiir, who had known Zarana from a very young age, bade
asked her to marry her last remaining son, Reenoran. Tired, and
heartsick for the home she knew she’d never see again, for the
friends she’d lost on that tragic day, Zarana quietly agreed, and
retired from her life as Handmaiden and Protector of the Queen. She
was became a princess, and simply existed. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">It was difficult for her,
watching the younger Reenoran try to rebuild the Aldothiir nation.
The Queen seemed to have aged greatly since that day, since the
Battle of the Gate, and she quietly withdrew from public life. The
Aldothiir people, barely twenty thousand of them, could get on
without her, she said. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Often she called Zarana to
her to share honeyed drinks or wine. The Queen would ask stories of
Zarana’s adventures in her service, and sit quietly listening to
the tales. This always made Zarana sad, though she tried to hide it
from the Queen. Each story included Marcus, the lost Lord Marshall.
The Queen noticed this and one day spoke of it. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">I know, Zarana, that you
do not love my son as you might have loved others.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Shocked, Zarana shook her
head in denial, and stammered an explanation. Had she been unsubtle?
Had she been cold or callous towards the prince in some way? During
some official function? </span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Shh. Child. Mightiest of
the Handmaidens you may be, but I am three hundred years older than
you. I see, still. I know.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Your Highness-“ </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Shush. Bear him a strong
son, and get you a headache. We’ve lost so much. You and I,
Zarana, our lives were never our own. Yours was mine, and mine was
theirs.” The Queen gestured to the growing city their balcony
overlooked. Zarana turned her head and saw the chimneys of forges,
signs of industry, the market was bustling and hawkers could be heard
over the laughter of children in the streets. A town had grown up
around their refugee camp, and commerce had begun and the young were
once again being trained in the disciplines of the arts,
craftsmanship, war and even magic. The Aldothiir people would live. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
“<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">My queen.” Zarana
bowed her head. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The Queen stood and left,
her skirts rustling as she did so. As she moved past Zarana, she
touched her shoulder and squeezed it. </span>
</div>
<pre class="western" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">The End</span></pre>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Eric Staggs is a graduate of
the Creative Writing program of Columbia College Chicago. Eric
received his MFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University in
2011. Eric has been published in the Aviator Online Literary
Magazine, Tales of the Talisman and Volume One. <a href="http://www.ericstaggs.com/">www.ericstaggs.com</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for reading this
issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. I hope you enjoyed our journeys into
dream-scapes. Make sure to come back next week for more great indie
fiction or see our emagazine edition on <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/249884">Smashwords.com</a></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-65640856655191717362012-11-26T23:04:00.002-06:002012-11-27T00:01:57.648-06:00Issue Twenty-Three, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Hello
and welcome to Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we study the
fantastic realistically and the realistic fantastically. Today we
study life through literature of every day life.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Slowly
but surely we are thinning out our back log. We hope to reply to
everyone soon but don't be afraid to inquire.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">In
big news we have finished editing Quentin Pongratz's book “Del City
Nights” and will be publishing it as soon as the cover art is
finished. We are pretty excited for our very first novel publication
and hope to have copies for sale soon!</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">While
you wait for Quentin's book check out our other great buys on
<a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/160144">Smashwords.com</a>!</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Yours,</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">LFM
Editor</span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">Defining
Things</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Mercedes Lucero</span></span></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>beginnings</b></span></span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[bih-</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>gin</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-ingz]</span></span></span>
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>noun</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. the part of us that
couldn't last.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">mid-June; Our bodies were
like magnets drawn to each other, to the way we moved, to the way our
chests rose and fell, to the way our eyes met for brief moments
before they lost each other, to the way our bodies looked when we
were awake , wilting away in the naked summer sun, and to the way our
bodies looked when we slept quietly, like we were dead. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. fascinations</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>words
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[wurds]</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>noun</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
the things we never used.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">late-June;
We never spoke about our lives. I never asked you about your mother.
You never asked me about my favorite type of day. We learned to speak
to each other in shades of dark blues and burnt oranges. Alone in our
rooms we would feel the way our bodies felt in the darkness speaking
to each other in a kind of sexual hypnosis, pretending our own skin
was the others. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
rules</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>electricity
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[ih-lek-</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>tris</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-i-tee</span></span></span>
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">]</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>noun</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
what we created.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">early
July; Perhaps it was the way we moved together like waves in the
ocean. We were tides rising to the shore and falling back gently.
Perhaps it was the way we were travelers swimming across each others
skin like we were whales searching for the surface.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
phenomena</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>constellations</b></span></span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[kon-st</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">uh</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>ley</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-sh</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">uh</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">ns]
</span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>noun</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
things we found on each others skin.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">nights
in July; We became astronomers when we dragged our fingers across the
soft parts of each others spines. We found moles and connected them
together like they were stars. I collected the stars from your body
and spread them across my eyelids thinking perhaps it wouldn't be so
bad to see what the world looked like without darkness.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
reflections</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>delirium</b></span></span><span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[dih-</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>leer</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-ee-</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">uh</span></i></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">m]
</span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>noun</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
what we fell into.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">mornings
in July; It was after the intoxication from each others saliva that
we noticed our bodies turning into phantoms haunting the the caves
beneath our tissues. We dreamed in silence, built houses out of empty
shadows that stretched across us like blankets but didn't keep us
warm.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
quicksand</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>toxic
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>tok</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-sik]</span></span></span><span style="color: black;">
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>adjective</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
what we became to each other.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">late
July; It's because we were afraid, because we sensed the fear on the
other like a perfume. It's because we only lived in darkness to each
other, because we were afraid the light could expose us. Because we
weren't sure we wanted to hear the others heartbeat. Because we
disguised affection for attention. Ours was a connection of pure
mechanics. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
necessary</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>sailed
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[seyld]</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>verb</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
how we finally left each other.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin:</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">September;
It was how the pieces of us we'd left on each others skin began to
flake off like snowflakes. You watched as I tried to gather them from
the floor before they dissolved into nothing. It was long days that
turned to nights </span></span></span>turning to days rolling over
and over again into the things we never said. It was feeling the way
you left the smooth parts of my thighs<span style="color: black;">
</span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">possessed,
gripping the flowered hallways of my body. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
abandoned</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>blinded
</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">[</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b>blahynd</b></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">-ed]</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>adjective</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
the permanent state we are now in.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Origin</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">forever;
It's the way we will remain constant to each other, a tragic
metronome in each others minds. It wasn't that we didn't want more
from each other, we did. But there were too many gaps we couldn't
fill. There are days when I am in the process of forgetting the way
you slid your hands over me </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">like
you were feeling wallpaper for bubbles, but then the breath you left
in pores on my skin </span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">whispers
something I cannot hear <span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and
blows them away. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;"><i>Synonyms</i></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black;">1.
lost</span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">#</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Mercedes
Lucero blurs the boundaries of form with experimental storytelling.
She have previously been published in North Central Review, Whitefish
Review, and Burner Mag. She is currently a first-year MFA student at
Northwestern University. She lives, loves and writes in Evanston, IL.
</span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Water Cycle</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Melanie Cordova</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
liked the way Charlie smacked his gum. As she waited by her cubby
after recess, she watched him pull a warm crumpled stick of Wrigley
from his back pocket and peel the wrapper off with dirty fingers. She
even liked the way he bit off just a small chunk of the stick at a
time until only a few centimeters were left, then added the rest to
the wad in his mouth. The gum was juicy and a stream of saliva
dripped from the corner of his lips.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Miss
Wells, pay attention, please.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
flushed and turned back to Mr. Wurthers, her fourth grade science
teacher. Her partner Chrissy, who sat next to her, giggled and poked
Megan with her elbow.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
am paying attention,” said Megan, her face growing hotter. She
wanted to push Chrissy away from her and run out the door. Instead
she straightened her back and pinched her thumb, trying not to look
at Charlie.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mr.
Wurthers raised his very white, very thin eyebrows. “Oh? Then
perhaps you can repeat what I just explained?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
frowned into her lap and brushed a lock of her brown hair behind her
right ear. “Pre—um—precipitation.” She heard a muffled giggle
from behind her and out of the corner of her eye saw classmates
turning to look at her red face.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
paused. Mr. Wurthers put his pointer beneath his armpit and crossed
his arms.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And—uh—collection—”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">And
evaporation.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
water cycle,” said Mr. Wurthers, turning back to the board, “is
the way the Earth recycles its water. Plant life like trees and
vegetables play their part. We—”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
felt her ears turn pink and didn’t hear the rest of his lecture.
She tore her eyes from her lap to steal a glance at Charlie. He
smiled and she could see the pink wad of gum between the gap in his
front teeth. Last week he stepped on her untied shoelace and tripped
her. The week before that he threw an eraser at her head. And at the
beginning of the school year Charlie brought two miniature cars to
play with during recess, which is when Megan realized she liked him,
even after he stuck his chewed gum in the convertible car and
pretended it was a person. She quickly looked away and settled on
Chrissy’s notes. On her paper was a diagram of the water cycle in
sparkly green ink. She’d also drawn a rainbow with her gel pens but
accidentally smeared it over the word </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">evaporation</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">.
It just said </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">ration</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
now.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">#</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Liberty
Elementary sat tall on a hill in the center of town. At three-o-clock
children burst from its wide glass doors like liquid from a popped
water balloon. Steps wound down the hill alongside the street and
Megan played with the yellow fringe on her scarf with one hand and
held on to the railing with the other. She hummed to herself.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
she made her way down step by step, she heard a familiar smacking
sound. She turned around and saw Charlie walking behind her. He waved
hi.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
thought about the big storage bin filled to bursting with miniature
cars in her attic. Her palms dampened and she rubbed the moisture on
her scarf. Her heart raced as she said the line she’d been
practicing for weeks:</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
wanta come play cars with me?” </span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
stopped a few steps above hers. His red hair stuck out beneath his
hat over the ears. He sniffled. “Yeah okay. Gotta be home by five
though. Mom said I have to pick up the dog poop.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
reached the bottom of the hill and went off together down the cold
bright streets. Megan lived just two blocks away from Liberty in tall
row houses. The one where she lived with her father and pet lizard
Lizzy was the second one down the line. In between the sidewalk and
the avenue at least a dozen trees lined the street, each reaching for
the gray sky like stretching gymnasts. Their branches waved in the
chilly breeze and the leaves chattered as they walked by.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You’re
gonna love them,” said Megan, pulling Charlie up the walkway to her
porch. “I’ve got tons. Dad let me pick some new ones out for my
birthday, too.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
pushed open the door and left Charlie on the landing while she ran
into the living room, shouting out the back window. “Dad? I got a
friend over! We’re going up to the attic to play!” When a muffled
voice answered her from the backyard she went over to her terrarium
and plucked Lizzy off a rock, knocking the lizard’s newly-shed skin
to the side. She cradled her in her hands as she ran up four stories
of stairs with Charlie to the top room, the row house’s attic and
Megan’s playroom.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
handed Lizzy to Charlie. “Be careful, ‘kay? And don’t pull her
tail.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Charlie
sniffed the lizard as she crawled over his hands. Megan rushed to a
shelf, grabbed her big box of miniature cars, and dumped its contents
over the floor by the window. The plastic cars spilled over one
another in a mountain up to her waist.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whoa.
That’s a lot of cars,” said Charlie. He grabbed a red racecar
with a yellow stripe along its side and met her at the window, where
she set up a street along the sill.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Three
car pile up,” she said, knocking a tow truck and a mini Toyota into
the windowpane. The plastic clicked against the glass.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
rescue was going peacefully until Lizard Kong showed up.” Charlie
put Lizzy on the sill. She took one slow step backwards, away from
the racecar.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
giggled and reached for more cars. Charlie smacked his gum. Outside
dark clouds gathered far above the tips of the trees. Their attic
window was level with the treetops, which swayed silently behind the
pane as the wind picked up. One heavy raindrop struck the glass as
Lizard Kong wreaked havoc.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Together
they created a road of old jackets and bandanas so that they could
race their mini vehicles. Megan chose a tow truck and Charlie grabbed
a Jeep.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
your mark,” said Charlie. “Get set. Go!”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
raced on hands and knees along the arm of the jacket and over the
zipper at the collar. Their limbs pounded on the rough carpet of the
attic like unsteady horses. Near the end of the race by the bandana
on the shelf Charlie said, “And he goes up a ramp!” and lifted
his car to the finish line.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hey,
there’s no ramp there,” said Megan, out of breath.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
nodded. “Yeah there is—it’s this pencil on the carpet, see?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
didn’t put that in the rules.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
frowned. “You don’t need rules to play with cars, do you?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
pursed her lips. This isn’t how she imagined this day would go. If
he always cheated it wouldn’t be as fun. “I guess not,” she
said.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
spun the wheels of his Jeep with his pinky as she sat back and tucked
her legs beneath her. “Okay, we can have a do-over.” He looked up
at her. “Do-over?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
grinned and they clambered over to the starting line again. Charlie
finished first once more but this time Megan didn’t mind. She
crawled to the mountain of cars and scooped a handful as if she were
drinking from her palms. Then she dumped the cluster in front of her
and picked through them. A truck. Another Jeep, blue this time. An
ambulance. Two race cars with flames. A big-rig.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
gave a good answer in Science today,” said Charlie as he put
another car in front of Lizzy on the windowsill.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
grinned. “Yeah well I know a lot about that stuff.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
nodded. “Doesn’t Mr. Wurthers have a big head? Me and Peter are
always talkin’ about it.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan’s
heart pumped faster. When she wasn’t playing or talking cars it was
hard not to suck air nervously through her teeth around Charlie.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Huh-huh-huh
yeah.” She pushed her ambulance into the carpet. “Like a hot air
balloon head.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Charlie
giggled at this and his cheeks flushed. Megan </span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">hur-hurred</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
again. Lizzy rocked forward and backward on the sill. Three raindrops
on the window pane came together and sped toward the bottom. The sky
darkened.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">#</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks
for letting me play,” said Charlie.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
smiled. “It was fun. You’re good at cars.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
stood beneath a tree just across from her row house. Thunder grumbled
in the distance. The white houses washed out against the sky.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lizzy
probably shouldn’t be outside,” Megan said. She held out her
hands and Charlie put the lizard in them. She tucked her in her
yellow scarf.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
going to school tomorrow?” Charlie said. Now that he wasn’t
holding the lizard he shoved his hands in his pockets against the
cold.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
nodded and felt her cheeks flush.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We
could be partners if Mr. Wurthers lets you change seats.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yeah
okay. Chrissy just draws all over our homework.” She thought of the
</span></span><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">ration</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
glitter pen on their paper and got an idea to spell out the word with
her cars, which they’d left splayed across the attic carpet,
waiting like little landmines for Megan’s dad’s feet.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Charlie
started walking home but after a few steps he turned around. “You
want some gum?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Megan
smiled. “You have some extra?”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
shook his head no and walked back over to her. He reached into his
mouth and pulled out an enormous wad of gum. He bit it in half but
some of it got stuck between the gap in his front teeth. He handed
her the half in his dirty fingers. “You can have half of mine.”</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
tilted her head and looked at the bulbous pink mass. She wondered how
much flavor was left in it.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yeah
okay.” She took it from him and popped the gum in her mouth. It
felt waxy on her tongue.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thunder
rolled. They looked up at the sky. High and far above the treetops
dark clouds dropped snow over the city. Before the snow reached the
top of the tall houses it melted into rain. And before the rain
reached the branches of the tall trees it faded into mist. Before the
mist reached Megan and Charlie it dissipated in the cold wind.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">#</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Melanie
Cordova is currently a PhD student in English at Binghamton
University studying creative writing fiction. She received her MA
from New Mexico Highlands University with a creative thesis, a
magical realist novella set in early twentieth century southwestern
Russia.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The
Headless Girl</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">by
Beth J. Whiting</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
was a headless girl. She wore a dress made of purple yarn. She went
to a school for misplaced people. The school was way out in the
middle of nowhere. A bunch of people went there. For example, people
who had toes for ears or people who had two mouths. They secluded
themselves in the school.. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
was nine years old. She knew everyone from the boy named Emerson who
had a hand in his face to Lindsey, the girl who had three feet. She
liked them and all. But she was getting restless. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
school didn’t know it. But Kimberly had taken the hobby of long
distance running. She would sneak out when people were asleep and the
coast was clear. . She then would run for at least an hour.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
had been doing it for a while. She never thought that something would
go wrong as she always quietly entered back through the glass and
back in one of the hundreds of bunk beds.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Yet
one night as she was running, she ran into something. Kimberly then
heard the thing crying. Then it screamed.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It
was a little boy.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You’re
Sleepy Hollow!”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Do
I have a horse?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
boy’s voice loosened. He was still shaky but less frightened.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
are a girl without a head.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That
is obvious.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How
do you speak?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
don’t know. No one knows why.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
thought it was strange. She thought it was odd herself. Seeing a
human boy around her age with just one nose, two eyes, no problems.
It was unsettling to her. He was a redhead with freckles. He was in
his pajamas in the moment.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Why
are you up anyway? It’s late.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
have a problem getting to sleep. I usually just sit out here and
watch the stars.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
what’s your name?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Happy.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
don’t look very happy.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Not
really. I haven’t been for years.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Happy
what an odd name she thought. His parents must not have been
thinking. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What’s
yours?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My
name is Kimberly.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How
did you lose your head?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
was just born this way.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How
did they know you were alive?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
had a heartbeat. My parents didn’t know what to do with me. It
wasn’t like they could show me off.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But
they love you right?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No.
That’s why they shipped me off to a boarding school as soon as I
was old enough. It’s a boarding school for freaks. I’m friends
with a boy who has a hand in his face. Things like that are ordinary.
So seeing you is kind of strange.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How’s
it like being in a boarding school for freaks?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Interesting.
You meet a number of peculiar characters. The leaders of the boarding
school are a bit scary though. How is a normal school like?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
don’t know. It’s pretty much just bullies and snobs..”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
took a break and decided to ask something risky.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">How
would you like to be friends with a headless girl?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
paused.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I’d
like it actually.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
was excited about being friends with a normal boy. It made her feel
like maybe she wasn’t so unusual after all. Besides it gave her a
place to run to every night.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
asked the boy what he learned in school.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
said that he learned English, science, history, and math.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
asked about the history part.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
don’t teach you history?” he asked.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
guess they don’t think it is necessary. I mean it’s the history
of your people. Since we don’t go outside the walls maybe they
don’t think it’s important to us.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
really don’t go outside the walls.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">No.
I’m the only one who does. I think they do it so we think that
there isn’t a world we’re missing out on. We do have a recess
though. Since it’s the middle of nowhere it’s not likely that
anyone would be gawking at us.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
smiled to himself, “I’ll teach you history.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
took his history book and started to read her stories that she’d
never heard of.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
he taught her the Boston Tea Party, he had two cups of tea ready for
them.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
thought we would celebrate.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
thought it was corny but she liked it at the same time. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
liked the tales of the traitors like Benedict Arnold and the duel of
Aaron Burr. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Happy
liked seeing her enthusiasm. He didn’t have that spunk. Maybe
having at your fingertips had something to do with it.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
also heard that Kimberly didn’t have much access to literature. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
said that all they had in her school were Babysitter’s Club books.
So he brought her The Secret Garden and A Little Princess. He stole
them from his sister.. He didn’t much care for them but they were
imaginative girly books. Kimberly adored them. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
told her once, “You know I’m beginning to forget you’re
headless.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thanks,”
she said blushing. How could you do that?</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Happy
wanted Kimberly to try new things. That’s why he put his money
aside for her to get chocolates or stuff like that.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Every
time she tried a new candy bar it was like a new experience. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
first time Kimberly tasted chocolate she was in heaven. It wasn’t
like that at the boarding school where she was fed only fruit and
vegetables.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Happy
was starting to have a crush on Kimberly when it happened.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Emerson,
the boy who had a hand on his left cheek was on the top bunk one
night. He woke up in the middle of the night. The room was surrounded
by bunk beds full of children. It was dark. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Emerson
tried to get back to bed but then he saw Kimberly get up from her
bed. He saw her look around for caution and then climb out a window. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
decided to follow her immediately.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Now
it was against rules to leave the school premises but Emerson had to
know what Kimberly was doing. What would make Kimberly break the big
rule? The rule that was repeated a hundred times a day: Do not go
into the outside world.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
he followed her. It was hard. Kimberly was in shape and he was not.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Emerson
ran through grass and mud. He had a hard time breathing. He was far
away enough from Kimberly for her to not hear him breathing. Yet he
was near enough not to lose her. Sweat dripped all over his body.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
wasn’t insulted by any of this. He could understand the need to
want to be outside, not cooped in the school. That was why recess was
his favorite part of the day. However, when he saw her with the human
boy it was something different. She was laughing. She was practically
flirting with him. It just wasn’t right.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
next morning Emerson went to the principal’s office to tell her
off.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Emerson
ended up getting detention because he admitted to being outside after
hours. But from the expression on the principal’s face he could
tell that Kimberly’s punishment was going to be far worse.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When
Kimberly was called to the principal’s office, she really had no
idea what it was about.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
look on the principal’s face told her though that it was going to
be bad.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
room was dark. There was a desk and two chairs, one by her table and
one for the student. There was a computer, a phone and white walls. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The
principal wore a black suit and had black hair wrapped in a bun. She
was scary. With her angry expression she looked like a villain. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
sat down and asked innocently, “What is this about?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
were seen outside at night with a normal last night.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
was taken back. Who followed her? </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Do
you know what the punishment for that here is?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Lots
of detentions.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
should wish. I don’t know if you realize Kimberly but we are in
desperate need of parts here. People have an eyeball missing. Give me
the heart of the boy and we should be on good terms.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
was shocked. </span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">But
that’s cruel.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It’s
the way things work around here.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
sneaked off that night. She ran to Happy to tell him the problem.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
was crying, “Someone snitched on me.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">They
found out I’ve been sneaking out and they want me to do something
unreal.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What
do they want you to do?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Take
your heart.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
was horrified by this. He immediately became scared of her and
stepped back.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
aren’t going to do that?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Of
course not.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
was relieved.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I’ve
just got to find a way out of this.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Kimberly
spent the week thinking up things to do. If she gave her the heart of
a toad would she notice?</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
the end the principal became impatient and sent for Kimberly at once.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Show
me the heart,” she asked Kimberly.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On
an impulse Kimberly ripped it out of her own chest.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
can’t have his. But you can have mine.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">She
ran out to meet Happy.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">He
was surprised to see her.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So
what happened?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
gave her my heart.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">What?”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I
figured that if I could live without a head I could live without a
heart.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That
was a risky decision.”</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">“<span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That’s
what friendships are for,” she said and smiled at Happy.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The End</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Beth J. Whiting was born
in 1983 to a large family of brainy eccentrics. At eight years old
she developed a love of books through the works of Roald Dahl and
C.S. Lewis.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her short stories revolve
around underdogs in suburban settings, such as the one in which she
was raised. She currently lives with her artistic twin sister in a
tiny apartment in Mesa, Arizona.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0.5in; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for reading! We
hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to come back next week for more great
indie literature.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-63967774361810548722012-11-20T00:08:00.001-06:002012-11-20T00:09:24.971-06:00Issue Twenty-Two, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello
and welcome to another out of this world edition of Larks Fiction
Magazine! In this issue we examine the bounds of imagination in
science fiction and fantasy.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Remember
that the holiday season is ever encroaching on us—but never fear!
Larks has done all of your shopping for you this year. Don't believe
us?! Well just check out these deals from past authors<span style="font-weight: normal;">
<a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/04/issue-fourteen-volume-three.html">Jerry
Guarino</a> and <a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/10/issue-nine-volume-two.html">Eric
Dulin</a> with their pieces 40 Slices of Pizza and Deus Ex Machina:
Condemned.</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">See
these and other indie instant classics soon on our Holiday Indie Book
List. Till then see more about these titles at:
<a href="http://cafestories.net/Cafe_Stories/home.html">http://cafestories.net/Cafe_Stories/home.html</a></span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and</span></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://deusexcondemned.weebly.com/"><span style="font-weight: normal;">http://deusexcondemned.weebly.com/</span></a></span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM
Editor</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Angel
of the Earth</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Allan Rounsley</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
wet naked giant suddenly appeared in the early morning light, steam
rose from his body. Standing in a forest on a rocky trail his tender
feet hurt from the cold stone. “Damn! Damn! Damn!” he thundered
from his throat; the sky shook. Coffee and clothing were the first
action of this new day, not necessarily in that order; then maybe
revenge for this current situation, someone needed to pay. The sun
was showing its early morning light far off in the east. The east; it
was coming up in the wrong direction.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh
No not again!” he anguished making the earth move under his feet.
The mountain blocked much of the early morning light on the path.
Towering trees covered in moss disappeared into the canopy of the
forest. A grass clearing appeared before him; he could see a statue
dimly in the mist. Raising itself into the heavens was a statue of
the son; he knew it in a heartbeat before seeing the face. Not
again! The giant was tired of saving worlds; couldn’t they leave
him alone.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
gray extremely large metal chair sat in front of the statue, a small
plastic table was set with steaming coffee complete with a short fat
man for company. He walked up took the offered robe and donned it.
Then squeezed his massive body into the chair and took a sip of the
rich dark coffee. The overweight little man was Thee Deity and he
started to speak; the giant put up his hand and the little man
stopped. He may have been the boss but he deserved a little respect.
</span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
drank deeply of the coffee feeling the caffeine warm his soul. “OK
my Lord what’s up?” before he could answer he pushed forward
unabated, “Couldn’t you at least ask me here before you summoned
me, I was in the shower. I thought I was done dripping blood from the
heavens, you know retired and at rest and I could use a towel,” it
appeared.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Atlas
my friend this is a temporary assignment; you have been recalled for
one small job; the little monsters are astir.” He sat in a plastic
chair, devoid of ornaments and stature due his status. He drank
deeply of his coffee and waited patiently.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“My
Lord I did you a big favor while you made this mess you call a planet
and populated it with these evil little monsters while I held it up
and in place for eons.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
stroked his white beard thoughtfully and replied, “Well they just
need a little direction,” his voice drifted off not finishing the
sentence. We drank coffee in silence he already knew my answer.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
tried to weasel out of this job with; “You and your son could do
this yourself, you both are all powerful; you don’t need me!” It
was a lame excuse I had tried before, it always wound up with; I
created them and just don’t have the heart. You couldn’t expect a
Deity of his stature to get his hands dirty or his son for that
matter. Not when you had old blue collar me with lots of muscle and
thick skin to do it. I raised my hand stopping the inevitable
argument.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
will say again, I’m sorry; I had a long night and didn’t mean to
set that planet so close to the sun. You could have restored them
instead chucking the whole planet and its population.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well
I wasn’t happy with the whole venture, three legged creatures and
all; not really my style, maybe it was better destroyed and left
alone. “</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
have a good life, nice planet, good woman, grand kids, NO VIOLENCE,
now I’m going to have blood on my hands.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
can wash up after words it’s not like you haven’t done this kind
of work before.” A pipe appeared in his hand and he puffed it
contentedly. He offered it to me I just nodded my head in refusal and
said, “Maybe later I have work to do, this is the LAST time my
Lord; where do I start?”</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Atlas
stood amidst the horror of war. Bullets flew, shells exploded, the
black fog of death floated over the battle field. Standing barefoot
in the wet earth, his massive body barely covered by the white terry
cloth robe he yelled, “Stop it you uncivilized monsters!” He was
answered by a bullet grazing his ear, he wiped his ear with his hand
it came away red. “That’s enough!” he screamed to no one in
particular.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
gathered strength, assumed his attribute, power flowed and he grew.
His presence manifested itself in the war torn field. He grew to the
heavens all weapons were now trained on him, they fired. He spread
his hands and said stop! They didn’t. Blue flame flowed from his
hands, “Surrender to peace and love, put down your weapons or die,”
most didn’t. His first step covered a thousand miles, his second
ten.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
died by the thousands then millions, a few of the wiser ones tossed
aside their weapons and knelt in prayer; they lived. He finished his
first pass on the world, his hands returned to his side. He strolled
on his second pass of this war torn world seeing only the innocent
and repentant the rest had died.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Bury
your dead and live your lives in peace,” he thundered and was gone.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
stood at the kitchen sink washing blood off his hands, his wife
handed him a towel. “Where have you been, you’ve been gone most
of the day?” she asked having already surmised his answer. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
sat down at the kitchen table and she brought him a cold beer. The
roughhewn table he had made himself; stout and durable. She wiped her
hands on her apron and took his hand in hers and said, “The Lord
again?” Her gray hair and warm smile were a great comfort to him.
“Atlas what happened to your ear?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“A
little creature creased it with a bullet, same old story different
day.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
were on earth again? Full of nasty little things, crude uncivilized
and violent, why does he bother. There are some things you just
can’t fix.” She pulled up a chair gentle pushing the cat off and
sat down. “Did you drown them this time?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“No
I saw some good, pacifists were there, innocent children, some hard
working men and woman. I just flattened anyone carrying a weapon with
violent intent, smashed their technology and sent them back to a
simple life; like ours,” he paused and said sadly, “I hope it
works this time.” He lifted his leg and nudged the old dog lying on
the wooden floor with his foot, it lifted its head.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
asked, “Dinner?” </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Maybe
later, let’s just sit awhile and watch the sun go down,” and they
did. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">***</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Amidst
the golden light they sat on golden thrones, “Father that was a
real nifty idea bringing in Atlas; strongest Deity you ever created.”
</span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sitting
cloaked in an elegant white robe he added, “Yes wasn’t it son,
didn’t even get my hands dirty, sometimes I think my little hobby
is more work than I bargained for.” He took the offered glass.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Still
you need a hobby and they do seem to be getting a tad bit better over
time. To the continued improvement of your little creatures; sorry
father, I meant the human race;” they toasted and drank rich red
wine.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
End</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Allan
Rounsley is a retired blue collar male with at least one screw
partially loose. He likes fantasy and sci-fiction. has had minor
success with two stories published in four years of writing. The
first book he remembers reading was Robert Heinlein's “Have
Spacesuit, Will Travel,” and it was one of the first that got him
hooked on reading.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Prou<span style="font-size: large;">d Hunter</span></span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">By Jessica Rowse</span></span></span></b></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFzPr8stGZDMNsxu3gtcW_XJi2fqvd-gl95kZU_3LXNvuJG2c7TtYXvYqlZ6xzLlG8PslBjsX33EIpIAag7MvGxsKi9f4qg2F58tFXWqvJsT8IDtrAwRpph9CZzbk9dP9b_v0DoWOfmk/s1600/photo(16).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMFzPr8stGZDMNsxu3gtcW_XJi2fqvd-gl95kZU_3LXNvuJG2c7TtYXvYqlZ6xzLlG8PslBjsX33EIpIAag7MvGxsKi9f4qg2F58tFXWqvJsT8IDtrAwRpph9CZzbk9dP9b_v0DoWOfmk/s400/photo(16).JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Just
Another Day</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Lance J. Mushung</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
I - A Patrol Begins</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
gray blur in sight for only seconds on a camera monitor caught
Jarius’s eye. “What the hell,” he mumbled with a quizzical
expression on his face. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
was at the remote piloting station for his plane, an unmanned vehicle
based several hundred miles away. The mission was patrolling the
border low and slow for illegals, drug dealers, or any other kind of
bad guys. His plane was a marvel of modern engineering. It contained
surveillance and spy systems galore, but those millions of dollars of
systems had shown him nothing interesting for a couple of weeks. It
had been just SOS, the same old shit, every day until each day became
another day just like the last.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
replayed the recording made automatically, starting two minutes
before the sighting. The recording showed a beautiful morning. The
sun was climbing into the sky and peeking through breaks in the
fluffy white clouds. Then the gray blur burst from the clouds and
went straight down into the distant hills to the north. Replaying the
recording once more at slow speed did nothing to help identify the
blur. He inquired, and the radar operators told him they’d seen
nothing on their scopes. The odds said it was some sort of glitch and
wasn’t worth checking out. He noted the GPS coordinates for his
plane anyway. If nothing else, looking around the area would break
the tedium by giving him different terrain to fly over when bringing
the plane home.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
II - A Desert Morning</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron,
Kyle, and Shawn had started another day of their desert vacation.
Kyle liked coffee in the morning and had fired up the propane stove
to heat water. A grin came to Aaron’s face as he looked at the Star
Trek coffee mug Kyle used. It never failed to amuse him. Two
captioned pictures on opposite sides of the mug depicted ‘The Two
Sides of Mr. Spock.’ The first was Spock saying ‘live long and
prosper’ while giving the Vulcan hand gesture that went with that
salutation. Aaron always wondered how people spread their fingers to
make that gesture. He couldn’t. The other was Spock saying ‘eat
shit and die’ while displaying a middle finger. At least Aaron
could make that useful sign.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Hey
guys,” Kyle called out as he pointed to a spot low in the sky.
“Look at that.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Whatever
it was vanished in seconds. Aaron concentrated on what he’d just
seen. It was some sort of silver-gray object that had fallen straight
out of a low bank of white clouds and then disappeared behind the
hills not far away. It hadn’t been moving all that fast, he
thought. No flames or smoke trailed behind it, and there’d been no
indication of an explosion, although it must have hit the ground.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
go find out what the hell it is,” Shawn said. “It can’t be
far.”</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
III - A Falling Ship</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Engineering
Officer Scrail was in the piloting compartment of her ship, Abnith.
What the display screen on the console was showing horrified her. The
surface of the planet, seen as brown splotches through white clouds,
appeared to be approaching Abnith at a tremendous velocity. In truth,
Abnith was plunging straight down through the planet’s atmosphere.
Nothing she had tried so far to arrest the ship’s descent had made
a bit of difference. She began cursing her clan mother under her
breath. The clan mother called herself parsimonious because it
sounded better than the more direct words cheap and stingy. Sending
this inadequate ship into deep space was a crime, and the consequence
would be Scrail’s completion.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
was close to screaming when Abnith provided a surprise. The ship
rotated 180 degrees. Her display screen showed the sky above Abnith’s
nose, and she felt the ship decelerate even through the compensation
provided by the artificial gravity generator.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Fortune
favored someone in the engine compartment,” she told the commander
and pilot next to her. They didn’t take the time to answer. She
changed her screen view to display the ground again. The ship was
indeed decelerating. Perhaps they could yet avert disaster she told
herself in the form of a prayer. A short time later Abnith’s stern
hit the ground before she had shed all her speed. Abnith reacted as a
ship pitching and rolling in a violent ocean storm. Deafening
crashing and ripping sounds accompanied the motion. Scrail was flung
back and forth in the straps holding her on her stool. She blacked
out.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
regained consciousness hanging in her stool’s straps. Her left-rear
lower limb was throbbing. Her brain felt scrambled, but she
concentrated and began assessing the situation. The emergency lights
were on. She felt lighter than normal and realized the artificial
gravity generator was not working. From her position, she knew Abnith
was resting on her side. The deck had become a bulkhead. One of the
true bulkheads was below Scrail and had become the floor she would
stand on. She turned her eyestalks and saw the commander and pilot
above her. They were not moving. The commander was without question
completed. A girder from the central lift’s structure had passed
through her side. She looked like a piece of meat grilling on a spit
with her six limbs dangling. The pilot’s two upper limbs were still
on the controls, but his four lower limbs hung lifeless. Magenta
blood stains covered his eyestalks and surrounding skin because the
top of his cranium had been smashed into paste. There could be little
doubt that he was also completed.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Maker
of All, please conduct my clan mates into your blissful realm.”
With her quick prayer chanted, she scanned her console. Nothing on it
was working. In fact, nothing at all in the piloting compartment was
functioning other than the emergency lights. Releasing the straps
holding her to the stool, she lowered herself to the floor using the
console as a ladder. Her injured limb was throbbing even more than
earlier but seemed fine otherwise. She took a moment to rest on the
floor and thought through what had happened.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
were on a survey assignment and had found this planet. Unlike most
planets, this one held a sentient species. After a short study the
crew had determined that the natives were primitive savages, as were
the few other known sentient aliens. It was true, however, that this
large and bipedal species was more technologically advanced than the
others. They had a nice planet, although it was not ideal for
Scrail’s people.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
air was a touch thin, and the average temperature was a bit cool. It
did not matter in any case. Nice planets were uncommon, but not so
uncommon that her people needed to take one from another sentient
species. After four cycles the commander had decided that they had
amassed enough information. The institutes back home could mount a
proper expedition to study the planet in detail if they wished to do
so. Abnith was leaving orbit when some failure in the gravity drive
caused her to head straight toward the planet instead of away from
it.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That
covered how she had gotten into her current situation Scrail told
herself, and it was of no help. What was next? Her priorities should
be looking for other survivors and determining the precise status of
the ship. The place to start was the engineering compartment. Using
the central lift to get there was out of the question. The lift could
not be functional. She would have to use one of the two tubes of
ladders located along the outer perimeter of the ship. One of them
ran along what was now the floor, and she saw the entry hatch nearby.
She thanked the Maker of All for that bit of good fortune. After
pulling some debris out of the way, she entered the tube. The
emergency lights were working, and the ladder rungs were up above her
and out of the way. That was a bit more good fortune.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
traveled toward the stern of the ship with no trouble on the tube’s
smooth surface. Her injured limb no longer bothered her. It had
benefited from the lighter-than-normal gravity and from being used.
Her mind wandered while she walked, and she recalled how she had
laughed when some of native languages were first translated. The
natives called their planet Dirt. It seemed all races named their
planets Dirt or Mud.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There
was probably some cosmic significance to that, but she did not know
what. Well, it looked as if she too was an inhabitant of Dirt for the
moment. Then, a sudden and alarming thought came to her. “What
about the true inhabitants?” Why had she not considered their
savage nature right away? The natives would want to complete and eat
her. The memory of one of their video transmissions popped into her
mind.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
had dropped a living creature into boiling water, cooked it, and
eaten it. She would have empathized with any creature in such a
predicament but did so even more in this case. The unfortunate
creature looked much like a small version of herself.She almost
wailed out loud at the thought of being boiled and consumed by
primitive savages, but a few moments of less emotional thinking
subdued her fear. The natives would have considerable trouble getting
to her. Almost anything their technology had capable of cutting
through the hull would destroy the ship. She would be safe for a
time.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
passed by nine decks. The temperature dropped as she went, and she
began catching whiffs of an usual scent. At the entry hatch for the
next deck a few spots of a bright yellowish-white light appeared on
the wall. She stopped to take a look. A collection of cargo
containers blocked the way into the compartment. She hoped they were
empty, and they were.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
pushed them away from the hatch with no trouble and saw a large
breach through both the inner and outer skins of the ship. “Natives
can enter the ship.” She came close to panic but willed herself to
remain rational. Plugging this breach had to be another of her top
priorities. She needed one of the hull repair kits from the
engineering compartment.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
continued her journey to the engineering compartment at her best
speed. A nasty thought came to her along the way. What if there were
other breaches? She pushed the thought from her mind. Why conjure up
yet more troubles? There was only the one breach until she had reason
to believe there were others. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
the engineering compartment she found the three other members of the
crew. They were completed. Two had been thrown about the compartment
and resembled bloody pulp. The other was hanging from a stool before
an instrument console and appeared burned. He must have been
electrocuted. She was alone. She chanted a brief prayer for her clan
mates and turned her attention to finding a hull repair kit. Locker
doors were flung open, and equipment was scattered all about the
floor along with all manner of debris. While rummaging through the
piles on the floor she found the repair kit, and more. To her total
amazement one of the consoles near the floor was working. Against all
odds the artificial brain was still functioning. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“If
I get out of this I am giving the manufacturer a testimonial,” she
said out loud. She wondered how the clan mother had gotten a piece of
good equipment instead of the rubbish most of the ship contained. It
was an accident was the most plausible answer she decided.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
studied Abnith’s status using the console. There appeared to be
only the one hull breach, and she thanked the Maker of All for that.
She needed very little time to conclude the ship would never fly
again. The gravity drive was junk. The interstellar skip drive still
retained its charge but was useless. The skip drive worked only
outside the gravity well of a solar system, and the ship could not
get outside the well.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There
was, however, some good news. The shuttle bays were clear of the
ground, and one of the shuttles appeared to be operational. So there
was a way to get into space and to the edge of the system. Once
there, she could launch a courier drone and be rescued. She had a
plan. She’d fix the breach, load the shuttle with as many supplies
as possible, and leave for the edge of the system.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Before
she left the console, she took the brief time needed to write a
subroutine that ordered the artificial brain to monitor her life
signs implant. The brain would overload and discharge the skip drive
if she became completed. That energy released within the gravity well
of the system would dissociate the molecules of the ship and anything
within 33 standard short units. No natives would be eating her.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Carrying
the hull repair kit to the tube, it occurred to her that she should
have a weapon. She hoped she would not need one, but there was an old
maxim in the Survey Corps. It was better to have a weapon and not
need one than to need one and not have it. She had seen the container
she wanted earlier and went straight to it. After opening the
survival kit, she pulled out a cylindrical microwave pulse pistol.
The energy gauge indicated 17 shots, about two-thirds of a full
charge. Energy must have bled out over time, so the prudent course
was to test it.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
took a flask of water out of the survival kit. After drinking most of
the water she set the flask on a pile of debris at the back of the
compartment. There was nothing vital in that direction. She backed
away and took careful aim. The pistol discharged with a brief
low-pitched hum when she squeezed both the safety and trigger studs.
The burst of microwaves shattered the flask as the remaining water
became steam and disappeared in an instant. The energy gauge showed
16 shots left. She put the pistol on her belt, picked up the hull
repair kit, and headed to the hull breach.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
IV - Exploring the Sighting</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron,
Kyle, and Shawn were bouncing over the rough terrain into the hills
in their Jeep. It had been 30 minutes since they’d packed and
started off.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Time
for my morning vitamin S,” Kyle said, breaking the quiet.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Vitamin
S, Aaron thought, laughing to himself. It was no vitamin. It was
sugar. And one of Kyle’s favorite ways to get it was chocolate,
which was nature’s perfect food according to him.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
worked for Interjack in Houston and had been friends for years.
Interjack had hired them within months of each other, and they’d
met playing in the company’s softball league. Some thought it odd
that they got along so well. They were a disparate trio. Shawn was an
off-the-wall software engineer. He looked like the stereotypical
surfer with his long blonde hair.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kyle,
on the other hand, was a conservative engineer. His dark skin and
lean shape made most people think of a football cornerback. What
people thought when they saw Aaron wasn’t as exciting as surfer or
football player. He looked like a history professor to most, which he
had to admit fit his career as financial analyst.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
had a number of common activities, including short vacations to the
Arizona, New Mexico, or west Texas deserts. This time they’d come
to New Mexico. It was a wonderful change from the city to hike and
motor off-road around the desert. Best of all, at least to Aaron, was
the break from modern entertainment. He believed they spent enough
time on games and watching the revered pantheon of what makes life
good to guys: nudity, sex, violence, and bad language.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The
forecast last night said it would be cloudy and a touch cool today
with storms probable in the afternoon,” Aaron said, watching Kyle
gobble down a chocolate bar.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Sounds
perfect before we head back to town,” Shawn answered.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It’s
great here, isn’t it? Look at that horizon. Based on Houston, you’d
think it was always dingy brown.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Don’t
forget about the humidity. Even mushrooms often find Houston too
damp.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kyle
didn’t take the verbal bait. He was a native Houstonian and didn’t
enjoy Houston-bashing the way Aaron and Shawn did.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What
do you think we saw?” Shawn said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Not
sure,” Aaron answered. “I’m thinking a bomb. It must have been
a dud though.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m
betting on a piece of an airplane,” Kyle said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It
was too big to be either of those,” Shawn said. He held up his
right hand to stop the objections he knew would be coming from his
friends and continued. “I realize it’s hard to judge size out
here. You’re going to say it could have been something small and
close.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That’s
right,” Kyle answered. “So what do you think?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well,
I think it’s alien technology out of Area 51.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Not
that again,” Kyle replied, in a tone that implied he was rolling
his eyes.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
knew Kyle’s tone was only mock irritation and almost groaned about
what was coming next. He did close his eyes and grit his teeth. The
never-ending debate between the pro-conspiracy and anti-conspiracy
factions was starting up again. He’d heard it all before, and
didn’t want to join in. His opinion, which he’d expressed often,
was the Feds didn’t have hidden alien technology in Area 51,
although he didn’t doubt they had and liked their secrets.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
tuned out the good-natured discussion and thought of something
unpleasant, work. Outsourcing jobs had become almost a fetish to
Interjack, and the employee’s version of the corporate motto was
‘if you want to get jacked, work for Interjack.’ He’d miss
seeing his friends daily if job changes scattered them to the four
winds, but who knew if and when it would happen. And why was he
spoiling the moment by thinking about it? He let his mind go blank as
he gazed at the horizon, appreciating the beauty of the jagged desert
landscape meeting the sky.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shawn
and Kyle had just gotten rolling on their discussion when the Jeep
crested a hill and they all saw it. Shawn hit the brakes. The vehicle
skidded to a stop and they piled out. Shawn had a wide-eyed
expression on his face. Kyle was stroking his chin with a similar
expression. Aaron stood slack-jawed with his hands behind his neck.
Only the wind and the Jeep’s idling engine made any sounds as they
simply stared. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
was in a ravine between the hills. It looked like a tapered
rectangular box lying on its side lengthwise along the ground. The
left end of the box seemed to be the base because it was the fatter
end. That end was crumpled and smashed. Its color was silver-gray,
similar to an old stainless steel kitchen sink. Overall the box was
something like 150 feet long, and its side soared up about 30 feet at
the base. There were no noticeable windows, doors, or panels. The
skin appeared smooth except for the damage around the base.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
prided himself on his knowledge of aircraft and was certain this was
no aircraft. In fact, it didn’t look human-made at all. He was
forced to conclude they were looking at a UFO, an alien spacecraft.
Would his friends think he was crazy if he said out loud that they’d
found an alien ship?</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
three friends shifted their gazes to each other. Their expressions
were the disbelieving ones they’d have worn if they’d just walked
away unscathed from a horrendous plane crash.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
know, Roswell isn’t far from here,” Aaron said in a matter of
fact tone to break the silence. He was rewarded with brief chuckles.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well,
gentlemen,” Shawn said, speaking in a soft voice. “I believe
we’ve found ourselves a real live UFO.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
agree it looks like an alien ship,” Kyle said. “But it could turn
out to be some sort of secret experimental aircraft.” </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Shit,”
Shawn answered, drawing out the curse. “If you really believe that,
I have some land in Florida and a bridge in New York that I’ll let
you have cheap.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Do
you think we should go get some help?” Kyle said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m
thinking once the Feds get here it will all disappear,” Aaron
replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Do
you guys have any idea how much money we’ll get because we were
lucky enough to find this thing first?” Shawn said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
and Kyle looked as if they’d just received a revelation. Magazines,
newspapers, radio, and television would pay well for their stories.
Worries about money and working at Interjack would be things of the
past. The three of them looked at each other and began laughing.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Get
your phones,” Shawn said when the laughter died down. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What
the hell for?” Aaron responded. “You know there’s no service
out here.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“So
we can use the cameras, of course,” Shawn answered in the tone he
used for telling people things they should already know. “We’ll
want to get pictures of everything.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
felt stupid for not thinking of it himself. They got their smart
phones out of the Jeep and took pictures.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
walk down for a closer look,” Aaron said. “We can get pictures
along the way.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Okay,”
Kyle answered. “I think --”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
want to be armed if we go down there,” Shawn interrupted.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
think there might be some live aliens?” Kyle said in a surprised
tone.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
never know,” Shawn answered.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
pulled out the handguns they kept in the Jeep. Plinking at rocks and
cans in the desert was the stated reason, but as Kyle had said on
many occasions, you never knew what you might run into. The lesson
taught by Deliverance had stayed with Kyle, even if they were in the
desert rather than Appalachia. Shawn put on his shoulder holster and
shoved his Dirty Harry revolver into it. Kyle’s cowboy six-shooter
went into his belt. Aaron took his holstered .45 Automatic out of its
soft case and clipped it on his belt.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thoughts
raced through Aaron’s mind. Was there a crew? If so, were they dead
or alive? If alive, would they be hostile? He could imagine the three
of them being gunned down by some advanced weapon. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
walked down the hill to the ship, snapping pictures as they went. As
they closed in they noticed dark green symbols scattered here and
there over the hull. It was writing of some kind but was unlike
anything they’d ever seen before. The symbols looked more like a
musical score than human writing.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No
death rays leapt out to burn their lives away, and they reached the
hull unmolested. It appeared the ship had compressed the earth
underneath it, but they couldn’t tell how much. They walked to the
crumpled end, which they’d all agreed was the tail, intending to
circle the ship. On the tail they found a set of projections. Most
were squashed, but two were more or less intact. Those two resembled
cones or funnels. The ground just beyond the tail reminded Aaron of
the shallow depression that formed if you pushed a broad rod into
sand.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It
looks like its tail hit the ground and then it fell on its side,”
Shawn said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Sounds
right,” Aaron replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
three continued around the ship and headed to the nose. As he walked,
Kyle tapped on the hull off and on, as if to confirm it was real.
They saw their next surprise at the same time and stopped as if
they’d walked into a brick wall. There was a large crack in the
hull, and it was more than large enough for a human to pass through.
They peered into it, but nothing inside of the ship was visible. The
crack was as pitch black as the entrance to any cave. Aaron thought
he saw a faint blue glow but wasn’t certain.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
go in and look around some,” Shawn said, the excitement clear in
his voice. “Our stories will be worth a lot more that way.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well,
okay,” Kyle answered, sounding less than enthusiastic about the
idea.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What
if the atmosphere in this thing is poisonous?” Aaron asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Hell,
Aaron,” Shawn replied. “With a hole like that in the hull, our
air will be all through it. How about it? Are you afraid to do some
exploring? Remember, no guts means no glory.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
nodded okay even though he would have preferred going into Count
Dracula’s castle at midnight. Earlier he’d wanted to get closer
to the ship but had not even considered going in.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We’ll
need flashlights,” Kyle said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’ll
go get them,” volunteered Shawn. “Even better, I’ll bring the
Jeep down here.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While
Shawn ran back to the Jeep, Kyle and Aaron did nothing but stand next
to the hull and stare into the blackness of the crack. Aaron had
visions of aliens ambushing the three of them as soon as they entered
the dark hole, of being attacked the way wolves fall on rabbits. He
imagined blood-sucking snakes curled about them and squeezing the
life and blood out of them. The Jeep passed him and then slid to a
stop just feet ahead, breaking his train of thought. It was no loss
he told himself. All he’d been doing was imagining ridiculous
things. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shawn
handed out the flashlights, and the three of them stood before the
crack in the hull. Aaron’s heart rate increased, his lips were dry,
and his hands were sweaty. He thought that both Shawn and Kyle also
seemed excited and nervous. They shined their lights into the
fissure. The beams of the flashlights seemed feeble and lost in the
intense darkness. It was almost as if the ship absorbed the light.
Even so, they could see the hull had inner and outer skins, both
torn. And they could see there was a room or cabin on the other side
of the hull.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
go,” was all Shawn said to get them moving.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shawn
led with his flashlight stabbing ahead into the darkness. He became a
dot of light within the hull. Kyle was next and then Aaron. Aaron
wondered if lemmings felt this way following their leader off the
cliff. Passing through the tortured metal of the hull, he found
himself in a room with Shawn and Kyle. The flashlights they carried
did little to illuminate the room. Aaron blinked, trying to help his
eyes adjust from the desert’s brightness to the darkness around
him. Soon he saw glowing blue-colored panels that became brighter as
the pupils of his eyes dilated.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
think those things are lights,” Aaron said, pointing at one of the
blue panels. “Turn off your flashlights.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
did. The blue panels were lighting. The illumination was dim, and
more than a bit eerie, but it was enough to allow the three friends
to see that the room was long and narrow. Some small green boxes were
strewn about the floor, and Aaron prodded a couple of them with his
foot. They seemed empty. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Check
it out,” Kyle said pointing. “Those look like a desk and
barstool. But they’re bolted onto that wall.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This
thing is on its side,” Shawn said with certainty, emphasizing the
word is. “That’s the floor. We’re standing on a wall.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
took several pictures by concentrating their flashlight beams to
light up the subjects. The floor and walls were a dark green color
that didn’t seem to reflect light. The pictures turned out
adequate. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
noticed an opening in the floor and went to get a closer look. It was
a bit small for a human but was big enough to pass through. He poked
his head in and found a corridor that ran both left and right. It was
lit by more of the blue panels at regular intervals. On the side next
to his head he saw ladder rungs marching off in both directions.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What
have you got there?” Kyle called out to Aaron.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Looks
like a shaft that runs fore and aft.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
see if it will take us to the front of this thing,” Shawn said.
“That’s where the bridge should be.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We
don’t know that these aliens think the way we do,” Aaron
responded. “The bridge could be anywhere.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Then
my idea is as good as any.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We’ll
need to crawl.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“So
what. Let’s go.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
crawled into the shaft and headed for what they hoped was the bridge.
All they heard was their breathing and the shuffling noises from
their movement. They passed openings that led to rooms, decks Aaron
figured. Musical note symbols marked each opening. Deck numbers,
perhaps? Some openings were clogged with boxes and debris. Others
were clear. Each of them stopped in turn at the clear ones to take a
picture or two as best he could with the light of a single
flashlight. The narrow shaft and semi-dark rooms, along with the
creepy blue lights and the quiet, were having an effect. Their
breathing became labored and their sweating more profuse. It didn’t
help that the temperature kept rising as they moved forward. Although
they’d been in the shaft for only a minute or two, they’d become
jumpy, and their eyes darted around as if they were hunting green
tree snakes in a jungle. Aaron was again imagining all manner of
monsters jumping at them from the shadows, while his two friends were
picturing their own personal bogeymen. A strange sound or an odd
shadow would have caused cardiac arrests or gun battles with
phantoms.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After
passing six openings they could see that the blue lighting panels
were ending ahead. They reached the end of the shaft and crawled into
a room that was well lit by blue lights. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I’m
betting this is the bridge,” Shawn stated in a satisfied tone.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
looked up and saw two aliens strapped into barstools. Neither took
any notice of the three human intruders.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Holy
Jeez,” Kyle exclaimed. “What happened to the little green men?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Or
the little grays?” Aaron said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“They
sort of look like crabs, don’t they?” Shawn commented. “Like
long-legged crabs minus a few legs.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
aliens were about the size of an average dog. Each had four legs and
two arms that were more like tentacles than human appendages. Each
arm was tipped by four long and thin fingers while their legs ended
in something like clawed hooves. Their skin was hairless, scaly, and
colored a golden hue. They had eye stalks, and that did more than
anything else to make them look like crabs. Gray belts made from a
shiny material circled their bodies. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
closest alien had been skewered by a beam. Its arms and legs hung as
if it were a child’s stuffed animal. The other had two arms on what
seemed to be a control panel, while its four legs hung limp. Purplish
splotches covered it near its eyestalks, and Aaron assumed the
splotches were blood stains. Both aliens appeared to be very dead. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let’s
get some pictures and get the hell out of Dodge,” Kyle said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Right,”
Shawn answered. “Grab anything interesting that we can carry out
too.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Getting
out of the confined space of the shaft and finding the aliens dead
improved the friends’ emotional states at once. They became much
more relaxed, although none of them felt so comfortable that anyone
wished to linger.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Make
sure you don’t touch anything that looks like a control,” Aaron
cautioned. He felt like a 18th century man in the cockpit of a jet
fighter.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
was even warmer in the room than in the shaft, and they took off
their jackets. After that they got to business. Kyle took as many
pictures as possible while Shawn and Aaron shined their flashlights
to help. He snapped shots of the aliens, consoles, shelves, and
cabinets. While they moved around they picked over small items that
littered the floor. Shawn almost tripped on a net made of some sort
of plastic and decided to use it. As they found interesting things
they put them into the net. One item Shawn snagged looked just like a
tablet computer. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I
think it’s time to go get the Air Force or somebody,” Kyle said
after he felt he’d gotten enough money shots.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah,”
Aaron said in a strong voice. He also nodded his head with raised
eyebrows. There could be no question that he agreed wholeheartedly
with Kyle.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Okay,”
Shawn answered. “But I want to get our pictures to the media first.
Nobody is going to screw us out of our money.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They
crawled back to the crack in the hull through the shaft. Kyle led
with Aaron behind him. Shawn brought up the rear dragging the net
containing their prizes. Looking out at the desert through the crack,
they stretched, put their jackets back on, and divvied up the items
from the net for easy carrying out of the ship.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
V - The Aliens Meet</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
neared the compartment containing the breach and heard low sounds.
She dropped the hull repair kit, entered the compartment, and froze
in place. Three natives were in her ship. They were even larger and
more dangerous looking than she had expected. The natives also froze
when they saw her. In a different situation it might have been
comical to see all of them doing nothing but gawking at each other.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
looked at the items spread around them on the floor and recognized
her writing slate. They had been looting the piloting compartment.
She heard sounds again. Were they talking to each other or to her?
Her non-engineering work was geology, not animal behavior. She wished
she had access to a translator. She was startled and fearful when one
of the natives approached her with its two upper limbs outstretched.
“The savage is coming to grab me.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
pulled the pistol from her belt, aimed, and fired. The torso of the
native coming toward her was cooked in an instant. With the middle of
its body charred, the native fell in a heap. She shifted her aim to
the next native and fired again.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
her haste, she was a little careless and aimed low. Her shot hit the
native’s lower left limb. The limb burned near where it met the
torso and the bone broke with a crack. The limb fell forward while
the native fell backward.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
voiced a terrifying howl while falling. She winced and felt a pang of
regret about causing such pain and about failing to get a clean
completion. “It must be in agony. I will complete it in a moment.”
She aimed at the last native. “What is that blocky instrument with
the large maw? A weapon? I --”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
felt incredible pain and heard a loud booming sound. The pain was
what she would have expected if one of her limbs had been ripped off.
She screamed and dropped the pistol. Then she felt additional pain
and heard a second boom. She lost consciousness and fell to the
floor.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Jesus
Christ!” Aaron shouted. His gun hand shook and his heart thumped so
hard that if he’d been paying attention to it, he might have feared
it would leap from his chest. He almost didn’t believe what had
just happened, and his expression reflected that. He’d fired two
rounds into a giant crab. Shawn’s chest was gone, burnt to a crisp.
Kyle had lost his left leg, which was lying in front of him. Aaron
had heard shrieks that he’d never forget as long as he lived.
Kyle’s had been heart-rending enough, but the high-pitched
screeches the crab made were causing chills to run up and down his
spine.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
smell of burnt meat was filling the room and almost turning Aaron’s
stomach. Then his heart rate began slowing and his hand stopped
shaking. A thought flashed into his mind. He hadn’t been paying any
attention to the alien. He went over to the crab to take a closer
look with his .45 at the ready. There was purplish blood splattered
all over it and the floor. It was through. And there didn’t seem to
be any more of them, thank God. He picked up the alien gun.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
regained consciousness. She tried to move, but could not. At least
her pain was more bearable than earlier. She sensed a presence nearby
and opened her eyes. The native with the weapon was towering over
her. Would it complete her with what she now knew was some type of
projectile weapon? That seemed likely. She cringed, expecting the
worst, but nothing happened. It took her pistol and moved away. She
was astonished. “It left me alone. Have I misjudged them?”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Even
with his right ear ringing from the gunshots, Aaron heard a soft
rustle and saw an arm move. Kyle was still alive. As Aaron kneeled
over his friend, he saw the stump of Kyle’s leg was cauterized and
not bleeding. Kyle could be saved with some help. “I’ll get you
out of here buddy,” Aaron said to his semi-conscious friend. He
holstered his .45 and put the alien gun into his jacket’s pocket.
He continued talking as he pulled Kyle out of the ship. “Who the
hell said aliens would be more intelligent, and therefore superior,
and therefore peaceful? The damned crab just started blasting. I’m
shooting first from now on.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
watched the native lug one of its companions out through the breach.
She was alone with her thoughts and a completed native. She had
misjudged these bipeds and felt remorse about the error. If she could
have done so she would have thanked the one native for its mercy. It
had granted her the gift of time. She could chant her prayers and
prepare herself to face the Maker of All.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aaron
belted Kyle into the front passenger seat of the Jeep. Aaron was
breathing hard and sweating from exertion and used a forefinger to
wipe a drop of sweat about to roll into his eye. That had been a bit
of a job he told himself. One deep breath and a slow exhalation,
sounding like a low-pitched whistle, was all the rest he allowed
himself. He plopped into the driver’s seat. “God damn it,”
reverberated through the desert hills.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
keys were not in the ignition. He searched for a few seconds like a
madman before the obvious dawned on him. Shawn must have the keys. Of
course, it had been automatic for him to take them when he left the
Jeep. “I thought shit like this only happened in the movies,”
Aaron grumbled through gritted teeth. He headed back into the ship.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scrail
finished her prayers. Her pain was gone along with most of her blood.
She spent her little remaining time looking out the breach admiring
the view. It was bright sunlight, a blue sky full of white clouds,
and a rugged brown hill. There was great beauty in the stark
landscape, and she could imagine far worse completions. She felt
content and drew her last breath. The artificial brain saw her life
signs end and discharged the skip drive. Abnith and everything within
33 standard short units of her disappeared into atoms in less than
three seconds. Only a trench in the desert remained.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Part
VI - A Patrol Ends</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jarius’s
shift was over. He flew his plane on a detour toward the odd sighting
from the morning. He was finding nothing and wasn’t surprised.
Maybe a bug or some debris had flown by the camera lens. He was about
to end what he figured was a fool’s errand when the plane passed
over an arroyo. In it he saw a trench tinted a faint and unusual
metallic hue. He scrutinized the images on the camera monitors while
piloting the plane in a circle. It looked like someone had been
digging. “Looking for what?” he muttered. “Billy the Kid’s
gold?” He snickered at his little joke. Who knew why the crazy old
desert bastards out there did anything? The coming wind and rain
would scour the area, so it didn’t matter what they’d been doing.
He put his plane on a course home and hoped something interesting
would happen on his next shift.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">End</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lance
J. Mushung is an aerospace engineer who worked on space shuttle and
payload structures for 30 years in Houston. He has a great deal
experience in technical writing. Now retired, he has the time to
write fiction.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank
you for joining us. I hope to see you back here next week with our
magical realism and urban fantasy edition! Or was it fantastical
urban realism...</span></span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-16166266400465673052012-11-12T22:59:00.001-06:002012-11-12T23:01:25.743-06:00Issue Twenty-One, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello and welcome to
another exciting issue of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we
life, honor, and suffering. This is life through dark days and darker
nights. This is Larks.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">In
news we are proud to offer a link to <a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/04/issue-fourteen-volume-three.html">Jerry Guarino</a>'s new book 40
Slices of Pizza. It is presented as fiction for people too busy to
read a novel. Coming from Jerry it should be an enlightening and
fantastical literary romp. Check it out on his website at Cafe
Stories: <a href="http://cafestories.net/Cafe_Stories/home.html">http://cafestories.net/Cafe_Stories/home.html</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Also
coming out November 30th from <a href="http://larksfictionmagazine.blogspot.com/2011/10/issue-nine-volume-two.html">Eric Dulin</a> is Deus Ex Machina:
Condemned. Eric was the mind behind Segmentus Invictus from October
2011 and is now releasing his full science fiction novel about a
hardened killing machine. Check it out here:
<a href="http://deusexcondemned.weebly.com/">http://deusexcondemned.weebly.com/</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you and make sure
to see our library of indie literature right here on Larks!</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM
Editor</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dark
Days</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Charles Bernard</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Echoes,
darkness, screams and loud noise</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Put
on the demonic allured poise</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ear
drum cracking</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Heart
beats clacking.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Evil
has unleashed it rage on human race</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
plague has been cast in thousands we perish</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another
day of bloody existence we deeply cherish</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Moments
before death passing through a furnace</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Great
anarchy has risen to prominence</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Perfected
arson bestowed on the populace</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
dark clouds agony befell the world</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Silence
followed as ghosts pass to the great beyond</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now
put off the black garments</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Roast
your flesh, sear by the night sun</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
is the dark days; thrill the torments</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jaws
bones on the floor, too late to run!</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hasten
and listen to soulless songs</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Forget
the light, the clock clicks backward </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eat
your rotten mind, and remember the mark</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dance
to the entrance of evil's throng.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Aroma
of rotten flesh and fresh blood arouses</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dews
of blown brain settling on roses</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sudden
darkness has befallen the minds of men</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Threading
on hot thorns to Hell’s Gate</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yeah,
receive on your fore-head</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Open
your heart with pleasure, the code!!</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hack
it not, flee with it to the next episode</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For
the sun is never coming out again</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Spilt
blood on the rail tracks</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stained
walls, soaked in deep black</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Step
upon skulls, float on mortals' blood</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Scold
the light from your eyes in the cold</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You
hack it and you die</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Said
the voice "it is dark days!"</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
sand you stood upon shall fly</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fright
is a fight, stab and slay.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thunder,
red lighting and black hailstones</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Fire
like wild fire, hell fire</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">You
shall live and die so frail</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It
is a sweet nightmare, indulge the fire</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Walk
bloody like the roaming cloud</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Burn
to ash, beat the satanic gongs</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And
the weak souls be strong</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This
time the ugly voice is loud.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
night shall come to past </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Evil
shall be lead to rest</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A
new dawn shall erupt </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scares
would litter men’s thoughts</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For more about Charles follow him <a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619">@</a><span class="screen-name"><a href="https://twitter.com/chalzz619">chalzz619</a> and see his blog at <a href="http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/">http://greendiarynotes.wordpress.com/</a></span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hand painted folk art</span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">By Unknown </span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAbIEuYSzCgl_hkC68B7J-M-XNh2XFyZrk9V3IiVP1hqwTT_WdqbrLqfMYyxfgDJ4znZBNP3-GdnTchHksCFRbBpYxye61wmCr01jejCHG8lf7ea9hXZvy7G-MYV3a4Xv2KeEu9Z6uHU/s1600/IMG_0848.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvAbIEuYSzCgl_hkC68B7J-M-XNh2XFyZrk9V3IiVP1hqwTT_WdqbrLqfMYyxfgDJ4znZBNP3-GdnTchHksCFRbBpYxye61wmCr01jejCHG8lf7ea9hXZvy7G-MYV3a4Xv2KeEu9Z6uHU/s400/IMG_0848.JPG" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Photo by Jessica Rowse</span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sextus Pompeius Filius
Neptuni</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Eric Rexroat </span></span></b>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My earliest memories are
of my father. He was often away when I was a boy, but when he was
around I was always ecstatic. All of Rome would cheer his
return—Gnaeus Pomepeius Magnus, the greatest general the Romans
have ever known. My brothers and I would work so hard to impress him,
to appear worthy of the name Pompeius. His countless military
victories and his control of all the seas were just some of the
exploits for which he was respected. My father was the man I tried to
be, the man I knew I would someday become.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When my stepmother
Cornelia and I arrived in Cyprus, my father was a broken man. His
dreams had been shattered, his detailed plans had become worthless,
and his fleet, once the largest ever assembled by the Roman people,
was scattered and missing somewhere in the Mediterranean. All that
remained were a handful of ships swaying just off the shore. Though
the civil war was not yet over, one look in his eyes said that it
was. He no longer walked with such dignity and pride.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“So Caesar has won
then?” I asked Cornelia, the woman who had cared for me for nearly
five years, my mother having died when I was very young. Because of
my youth, I could not help my father prosecute this war—I was stuck
in Italy while he and my brothers were fighting for the freedom of
our country, for the rights of the Senate and the people. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Hush my child,” she
whispered softly as she approached my father. As she began to embrace
him, he threw her away and approached me.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Sextus,” he began,
“Caesar’s men…they are animals. For weeks they sustained
themselves on wild roots, plants not fit even for horses; I could not
starve them out. Somehow that drunkard Antonius evaded my fleet in
the Adriatic and brought fresh reinforcements. And then, by the will
of Mars and at the whim of Fortune, all was lost at Pharsalus.” He
began to weep, something I had thought my father incapable of. “Many
good men have fallen, among them Marcus Cato.” This was a shock;
while I had no love for that staunch traditionalist, he and his
family were staples of the republic. <i>Cato the Younger, slain by
Caesar’s men? </i>“We sail for Egypt tomorrow, and Ptolemy will
be awaiting us at Pelusium.” Nothing more was said as we dined, and
after a short sleep, we set sail.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I had always been nervous
on the sea as a boy. Tales of monsters and the wicked fury of Neptune
left me paralyzed every time I boarded a ship. This trip was no
exception, but the port city of Pelusium appeared sooner than I had
expected. It was a magnificent city in a wealthy country, and it
seemed to be the perfect base from which to prepare our
counter-attacks against the Caesarians.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Cornelia,” my father
said as he embraced her, “I shall return briefly. And Sextus,” he
turned to me, “straighten up. Walk with pride. Your name is still
Pompeius, and that means something, even in these terrible times.”
It was almost as if he knew what was about to happen, though we had
no warning.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“I shall come with you
father. I have waited long enough to serve my country.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked at the horizon,
where the sun was beginning to set, and spoke, “Remain with my
wife. I wish to speak with the king alone.” His voice was low and
coarse; he was a man unaccustomed to defeat. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A small boat was detached
from our ship, and he and one of his remaining loyal soldiers, a man
called Varrus, slowly rowed to the shore. I couldn’t see much, but
there was an extravagant procession of men, led by a boy younger than
me adorned in so much gold that the sun blinded me with its
reflection. He waved and began yelling something in Greek, and my
father shouted back. Two of Ptolemy’s armed escorts sat in a boat
and began rowing toward my father—when they met just off the shore,
my father stepped into their boat.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Stay here until we
have finished negotiating,” my father called to Varrus. As the men
began to drift away, just out of Varrus’s reach, the blade struck.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cornelia screamed, “What
have you done? Varrus!” There was nothing he could have done
anyway.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was too stunned to say
or do anything. The other Egyptian struck next, and this blow severed
my father’s head completely. Now I was yelling, using every bit of
Greek I knew, “Animals! You don’t know what you have done. The
full fury of the Roman Republic will tear your kingdom to the
ground.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">These villains had just
murdered the greatest Roman alive while he was unarmed and seeking
refuge. Varrus now began rowing quickly toward our ship; Cornelia was
hysterical, and the rest of the men on the ship who had been awaiting
Ptolemy’s decision to allow us refuge began to shout at the oarsmen
under deck.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Make haste, make
haste!” they screamed. I fell to my knees, still confused but
mostly angry. Disbelief flooded my mind, and I quickly realized that
this was no temporary setback—my father was never coming back. I
considered jumping into the ocean to my death but quickly regained my
senses. Our ship turned westward and our destination was Africa,
where there were still loyal forces fighting Caesar, including my
eldest brother. It was time for me to prove my worth on the
battlefield; I wanted to avenge my father.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">However, Caesar would
take that away from me too. He arrived two months later in Egypt;
when the Egyptians presented him with my father’s head, he fell
into a rage and deposed the young king, eventually having him
executed in Rome. The message was clear: only a Roman has the right
to kill a Roman.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Lay down your sword,”
Cornelia told me after my brother was killed in vicious fighting. She
was departing to return to Rome, “Caesar has offered clemency to
all of your father’s veterans of Pharsalus. He will do the same for
you, in spite of your name.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I replied, “Have you no
respect for your husband or the virtues he fought for?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“You lose no honor by
clinging to life. Come with me, and take your place in Rome as a
patrician and a Senator. Will you fight Caesar forever? Look what
became of your brother.” </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I snapped at her rudely,
“Leave my sight woman; you disgrace my father’s memory.” She
sighed and boarded a ship bound for Cumae. I never spoke to her
again.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Her idea was laughable;
my father would never have bowed to such a snaky man as Caesar. He
riled up the plebeians as if they constituted the Roman people, and
his army was little more than a band of vicious thugs with no respect
for tradition, honor, or Roman virtue.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After briefly continuing
resistance in Spain, I returned to the seas, where I no longer felt
uncomfortable. I now felt at home on the ocean, and the rocking of
the waves and the stench of salt were my only escapes from the
reality of my situation. I could never return to Rome—that much was
certain. Caesar was named perpetual dictator, and his puppet
Antonius, a drunkard who excelled at military command but little
else, was his fellow consul.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Together, they completed
the painful murder of liberty and began our country’s slow descent
into despotism. I found haven in Sicily, and I remained there for
some time. Letters arrived almost weekly to express condolences for
my father, promises that his former allies and clients would seek my
re-enfranchisement; all of father’s property had been confiscated,
and the rumor was that Antonius was actually living at my father’s
villa in Rome. I yearned for the day I would regain my family’s
dignity, but I doubted it would ever come.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Everything changed one
bright spring morning. A letter arrived for me, carried by a wealthy
trader who had been a client of my father’s, Titus.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Sextus,” he shouted
as he approached me, “I bring news from Rome.” He could barely
contain his excitement.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“I care little for the
gossip of my former country,” I said with contempt. Too often the
letters that reached me contained just that.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He sat on ground beside
to catch his breath, “No, you don’t understand. The tyrant is
dead, slain in the Senate house. Liberty is once again to grace our
lands.” </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“What sort of jest is
this?” I asked, not allowing myself to believe this could be
possible.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He explained that a group
of men, led by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius, had carried out a
plot to dispose of the dictator, though it was unfortunate that they
had stopped with Caesar. Antonius deserved a similar fate.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“But the conspirators
had only wanted to act legally—tyrannicide is quite legal, indeed
just, while the simple murder of a presiding consul is heinous. Don’t
you see? They’ve saved our state,” he said.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was exalted, happy for
the first time in nearly four years. Free men can only tolerate a
tyrant for so long before they must rise up, as our ancestors did
against Tarquinius, the last king of Rome, so many centuries ago.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Antonius and the
Senate have ordered your immediate recall to Rome. You may return
with me tomorrow if you desire, or I can take with me word of your
intentions. Apparently a commission for your services has been
requested.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was puzzled, “What
sort of commission?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He smiled and said, “As
commander of the entire Roman fleet, just as your father was. The
pirates of Silicia and Illyria have returned during the confusion of
our civil wars, and they prey once again on our shipping.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tears fell from my eyes,
and I immediately began packing up my things and making the necessary
arrangements to return to Rome.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No longer fearing the
seas, my short crossing of the Tyrrhenian was quite relaxing. Neptune
was especially quiet this day, an omen of good fortunes. When I
arrived in Rome there were certainly men exalted at the prospect of
my return, though the atmosphere was different than I had hoped. No
statutes of Marcus Brutus or Gaius Cassius were being built to stand
proudly in the forum.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I asked some citizens
about the fate of the liberators, “Where are they? Surely they
shall receive their gratitude from all of Rome?” Nearly all of the
people I spoke to seemed to think I was joking.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“I’ll be grateful
when they’re floating in the Tiber,” one woman told me.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Antonius had riled up the
mob (just as Caesar would have done) into a riotous state. The late
dictator was now deified, and a cult of his worship was rapidly
spreading throughout Italy. Even so, I was no longer outlawed and
could resume my life as a patrician in Rome, something which had
stolen from me in my teenage years.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I took my place as
admiral of the fleet and began to make preparations to prosecute my
war against the pirates. I felt deeply honored to carry out the same
task as my father—he would have been proud of his youngest son. I
was never given the opportunity, as the political climate of Rome
changed abruptly the following year.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Titus arrived one day
while my fleet was docked in the city of Brundisium, on the eastern
coast of Italy. He informed me of my recall, and warned me not to
return to Rome.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked disturbed as he
spoke, “Antonius and Caesar’s son, Octavius, have seized control
of the state through force. The people have proclaimed them to be the
legitimate rulers of the republic, and they have drafted a
proscription list of hundreds, perhaps thousands. Any man on the list
has forfeited his life and his property.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“How could this have
happened?” I asked, though I knew the answer. I had already seen
Caesar seize the state years earlier. He chose to slaughter his
opponents on the battlefield however, not through a legal decree.
“You mean to say that I am on this list, do you not?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He looked at the ground.
“As am I.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We stood silent for
awhile before I spoke. “Join me my friend, and together we shall
avoid the certain death that awaits us in Italy,” I said to him.
“We shall take to the seas and resist this tyranny until our last
breaths. Control of this fleet is still mine, whether Antonius or the
young Caesar will it or not.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For my part, I took the
fleet, still legally under my command until I agreed to relinquish
it, and began to recruit men that would stand with me against the
Caesarians. Making no distinction between criminals and outlaws, free
men and slaves, or the rich and the poor, our numbers quickly
swelled. Plenty of highly-esteemed Romans from ancient families had
been proscribed by the Caesarians, and they were eager to escape
death and to fight back against this second wave of tyranny. Instead
of hunting down the pirates, I welcomed them into my service with
promises of pay and glory. Many of them accepted, and the rest were
free to carry on their business so long as they wreaked havoc on
Antonius and Octavius.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">During a brief visit to
the Greek islands, I met a group of men who were vocally opposed to
my fleet. After rejecting my offer to join us against Antonius, one
of these men beat his slave mercilessly for something trivial, right
in our presence. My men, many of whom had been slaves themselves,
intervened, and two Greeks were killed in the struggle. I offered the
man, called Menas, a place on my ship. He eagerly accepted, and we
quickly became acquainted with one another. He had been a slave since
his childhood but was educated before that. We would play games of
strategy, and he quickly showed himself to be a brilliant tactician.
He also understood the ocean and was familiar with ships and sailing
after living on the island for over two decades.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Menas,” I said to
him one evening while enjoying some expensive wine we had seized from
a merchant ship. We were now in complete control of the western seas,
and few ships escaped our clutches. “Shall we give thanks to
Neptune for bestowing his favor upon us?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He laughed at my
suggestion and poured some wine on the floor of my cabin, which was
hot and cramped. “Indeed, your patron god loves us much. We have
been very fortunate these last months.” We both wore lavish
clothing confiscated from one of Octavius’s convoys; I had given
Menas three shares of gold from this take, and he no longer had the
air of a freedman. He was now my friend and my second-in-command.
“You are certainly blessed, Sextus Pompeius, Son of Neptune.
Fortune has a way of finding the truly deserving, though sometimes
she gets lost and takes her time.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We had been looking for a
title the men could call me. I needed something simple that still
reflected my growing power and privileged lineage. “Excellent!
Sextus Pomepeius, Son of Neptune? That is a title I can feel
comfortable with.” The name soon appeared on all of my coins.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We had both been through
unthinkable years and seen terrible things, but now Menas and I lived
like rulers of the world. Sicily was again my base of support,
especially the city of Messana, and we controlled the seas for seven
long years. No grain left the island without my command, and little
trade reached Italian shores without being intercepted by my ships.
Neptune and I became even closer, and Sicily flourished under my
rule. Meanwhile, Rome began to wither without such a vital source of
grain.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Starving my own people
was not enjoyable for me, but it was the only way I could strike back
at Octavius. In the spirit of deference, I agreed to meet him and
Antonius off the shore of Misenum to discuss our grievances. Menas
and I boarded a small platform and were greeted by the two men and
one of their partners. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Antonius. Octavius.
Lepidus,” I said as we exchanged polite greetings. I sat at the
only table in the small room beside Menas and across from my enemies.
“Where do we begin?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Characteristically
drinking, Antonius murmured, “The young Octavius would like to open
this discussion.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Octavius no longer kept
the facade of civility. “Pirate,” he said in a bitter voice,
clearly trying to infuriate me, “you have kept up your brigandage
for far too long; the people do not support you, and your army of
slaves and criminals does not intimidate us.” I wanted to dispute
that claim, but I bit my tongue. “Now, what would you like in
exchange for renewed trade and grain shipments?” The man was
seething. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Several things,” I
said while glancing at Menas who sat silently, studying the faces of
our adversaries. “The proscribed men in my company are to be
reinstated; likewise, all the slaves in my army are to be freed, and
I want my position as governor of Sicily and Sardinia legalized. I
shall also be named consul within five years as I would have been
without your proscriptions.” Nothing I asked for was unreasonable,
but Octavius would surely not concede so easily. “And I want my
father’s property returned to me—with interest.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Antonius smiled at the
last remark before he began, “These are all reasonable demands.
Surely we can agree on this and end the hostilities. We are all
Romans here, after all.” It was a shot at Menas, who was visibly
not a Roman.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“It would serve you for
me to concede all his demands in my half of the republic, would it
not Antonius?” Octavius asked. “That cannot be done. You can have
Sicily and your other demands, but in place of Sardinia you will be
granted something from Antonius’s provinces.” The two men began
to argue before Lepidus intervened. They asked for privacy, and Menas
and I stepped outside.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Gentle waves rocked the
large wooden platform, erected hastily for this meeting. It was
connected to the shore by a series of cables, and hundreds of
soldiers were watching us from the land. My ships completely
surrounded the platform, and it was an awe-inspiring sight: nearly a
thousand men on shore staring down a hundred ships anchored only a
few hundred feet away </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Would you like me to
cut the cables and make you master of the whole world, not simply one
third of it?” Menas asked. I was astonished.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“It would have been a
great idea if you hadn’t mentioned it to me. Now, honor will allow
no such thing.” I said proudly. It sounded like a vile act of
murder that Octavius would have had no problem committing. A plot
like that was too similar to the way my father was murdered for me to
participate in it. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Surely you are not
serious Sextus,” he said looking puzzled. He was putting on a show;
he must have known that I had more pride than that. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“We shall reach an
agreement like civilized men. Barbarians stab one another in the
back.” I didn’t know it then, but he may have taken that remark
as an attack on him.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It was less than a year
before Octavius and Antonius violated our agreement. All of the
slaves and proscribed men who tried to return home that day were
captured en route, and many were slaughtered; some were even
crucified. Furthermore, they never intended to make me consul or
grant me any eastern provinces—we went back to war and began to
starve out the peninsula. Menas and I were successful for about six
months until Octavius launched a massive attack from three directions
involving hundreds of newly constructed ships he was able to build in
an inland harbor.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Titus, still faithful to
me after all this time, was ordered to defend the southern waters,
where an invasion fleet was attempting to land on the island. “Fight
with spirit men,” he had yelled while departing, “tonight we
complete this endless conflict.” I had faith in him, but there were
tens of thousands of men heading towards Sicily, and only a few
thousand could overrun the few land troops I possessed. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“We must repel this
invasion, or all is lost. We cannot afford defeat here, and there are
more men depending on us than those in fleet,” I said to Menas,
referring to the inhabitant of Sicily, just minuted before we boarded
our ships. “Octavius will react ruthlessly to the cities that have
supported us, especially Messana. He will crush it completely.”
Menas was commanding the western waters as I sailed around the
straits of Naulochus. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Perhaps you and I
should consider an alternative in case we are unsuccessful. I will
not be enslaved again.” I didn’t have the heart to tell him that
Octavius would never be satisfied with simply enslaving him. He was
out for blood and vengeance since we had humiliated him for years. “A
retreat plan, perhaps?”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“No,” I countered,
“we win or lose here today. Pray Neptune grants us his favor once
more.” I should have noticed his disapproval as he walked away, but
I was preoccupied with the preparations for war.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The sun was just rising
when the battle began. Cold winds were blowing as the winter
approached. My ships were aging, while Octavius’s were newer and
faster, but I held far more experience on the ocean; being the Son of
Neptune didn’t hamper my chances either. Trying to draw his ships
out into the open waters where they might become separated was
unsuccessful; his captains were too clever for that. They held
tightly together in formation for nearly an hour as mine banged
together by the wind. I lost sight of Menas’s and his ships as
they sailed into the thick morning fog. Panicked commands were being
leveled from ship to ship, and flags were raised and lowered
frantically.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Finally, a handful of
ships approached and were set upon by my men—two were captured and
one was sunk. The other three retreated, and I gave the order not to
follow. Neptune would take care of me if only I was patient.
Occasionally, I could hear the agonizing shouts of the oarsmen
beneath the deck. When the time felt right and the winds had shifted,
I screamed at my men to move onward as we raced toward the enemy.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thunderous crashes began
and the painful screams of drowning men were clearly audible. Falling
to my feet, I turned to see one of my ships smashing violently into
mine, but luckily the damage to my vessel was minimal. Water splashed
onto deck as wood splinters flew through the air. The other ship
began to collapse.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Pull back and defend
Messana,” I screamed; the advantage was nearly lost. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Several of Octavius’s
ships were falling into the abyss, but there were still dozens
afloat. Neptune still supported me, and I began to regain my
composure as I suddenly noticed something very peculiar. I could not
initially comprehend it, but once the denial faded rage set in and
then despair. Several distant ships had fallen into place behind the
enemy’s; they weren’t attacking, but they bore my banner.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Menas, what have you
done? </i></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I never did understand
why Menas had betrayed me, but I assume he was afraid of defeat and
sought the easy way out. Or perhaps it was my unwillingness to
ruthlessly slaughter my opponents at Misenum. Either way, seeing
those ships was the most painful thing that could have happened. He
had been my comrade, my second in command, and, most of all, my dear
friend.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Let us sail away with
you,” pleaded one of the prominent men of Messana who had long been
my ally. “The Caesarians have already begun their atrocities, and
Messana will be razed, burned to the ground. We have children; we
have families—please.”</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There was nothing I could
do. “I’m sorry—all is lost. The battles are over, and I lack
the ability to defend the island. I scarcely have room for myself and
my men on this ship, and we may yet be sunk on the voyage east. Even
when we arrive there, Antonius will not offer us safe passage. I
shall perish within a year,” I said prophetically. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I loaded the last of my
things onto the only ship remaining—some spoils, written records,
and food for a week or so. A crowd of men and women were surrounding
the harbor, desperately seeking a place on the boat. Pushing and
shouting began.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“Keep them off the
ship,” I yelled. “Push them back.” Ten of my men began heaving
people backward. One man was trampled and did not stand up as the
oarsmen began to row. “Surrender at once to Octavius and beg for
forgiveness. I captured these cities through force. No one
collaborated with me!” I screamed advice as long as I could, until
the harbor of my favorite city was only a memory.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sailing away was one of
the most difficult things I had ever done in my life, knowing many of
these men would be enslaved or worse.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Looking back at Sicily
while sailing away, I realized that Roman Republic was dead; in its
place was a military state where one was more likely to be stabbed in
the back than treated fairly as a citizen of his country.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The End</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.14in; text-indent: 0.51in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eric Rexroat is a student
of creative writing in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. He enjoys novels,
short fiction, and poultry.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Join us next week for more great independent literature right here at Larks Fiction Magazine!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-78443007168912340742012-11-05T20:36:00.001-06:002012-11-05T20:36:25.923-06:00Issue Twenty, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello
and welcome to another installment of Larks Fiction Magazine. In this
issue we are uncovering the what it means to be apart of this modern
world. In these three contemporary pieces about life in the
post-post-modern world we have to stop and wonder, “What does
meaning even matter if we transcend rational objectivity without
faith?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
news we are joining forces with a small town upstart coffee shop to
sell copies of our magazine and forth coming merchandise. See our
YouTube partner Filozophy for updates and videos as it develops.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We
sincerely hope you enjoy this issue of Larks. If you like what you
see remember to see our past editions as well as our emagazines
available on Smashwords.com.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel
J. Pool</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM
Editor</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
Meant to Do Something Today</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By:
Arjan Ahluwalia</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
meant to do my work today –</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My
iPhone keeps on screaming</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Facebook,
buzzing constantly</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Twitter
all around me, tweet, tweet</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Email
updates all day long</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Pop-ups
bouncing, Xbox tempting me</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">iTunes
music on constant mode</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Songs
streaming endlessly</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
feel so overloaded</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blogging,
chatting, buying</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Googling
this, searching things</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Instant
conversation</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Bytes
and bytes I see</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Too
much technology, all on overload</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Texting
her, writing on walls: lol, nvm, g2g</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Face
time, online, offline</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blogs
clouding the mind</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
T.V. roaring, radio blasting</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Ear
buds tangled</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thoughts
crossed</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
meant to do my work today</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But
my mind is always spinning</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Churning
with so much technology</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh
how I wasted my day</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Arjan
Ahluwalia is an aspiring pre-medical student at Virginia Tech
University.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
Story of Summer and Winter</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Sheila Johnson</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A
group of local tribe members were at the pond, searching; Eddie could
see them from the lot. Some of them were knee-deep in the water,
flicking long-handled nets over the thick green froth on the surface.
Other parted the reeds and the tall grasses near the shore as if they
were trawling for milk-crate treasure at a flea market. Their tattoos
screamed warnings at Eddie, the same way graffiti did whenever he
passed certain blown-out scraps of buildings downtown. Something had
told him that today would be a lousy day to go to the park.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But
he couldn't think of anything else to do to wait away the last few
hours until Violet's mother picked her up. Thinner now, quickly
abandoning her baby fat, his little girl had to be collected from a
place that went deeper into shadow every weekend he had custody of
her. Ten years old, and she was already wearing all black. “We can
get hot dogs and milkshakes and have a picnic in the park,” Eddie
had suggested, to which Violet replied, “Die,” though she did
accept a frozen banana.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Now,
using her teeth to tear splinters from the frozen banana's stick, she
stood with Eddie next to his car, and they both watched as the tribe
members worked the nearby shore, where, once the city board
discovered that the tribespeople made use of animal carcasses, it was
more than happy to let the tribe assert jurisdiction and clean the
park for free.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From
among the reeds, a young man with ink creeping up his forearms in
erratic zigzags hoisted what used to be a goose into the air and
cheered. Except for some feathers and a few glistening bits of
connective fiber, the carcass had been picked clean. Eddie had heard
that there were coyotes in the area. The way that the man dangled the
carcass for the rest of his group to see, grasping one wingtip in
each hand, made Eddie think of an Olympic gymnast stalled in the
middle of a fumbled routine on the rings. The man tossed the carcass
into a bag held open by another pair of tattooed arms. Eddie saw a
few smaller bones snap off and fall into the marsh grasses along the
way. Sloppy dismount, he thought.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Nice,”
murmured Violet, nodding.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Let's
go sit by the trail head,” said Eddie, shaking his head free of
intrigue and closing his arm around Violet's shoulders while he
stared at the tribespeople. “There are some picnic tables over
there.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Okay,”
Violet said. She stepped away from his protective circle and headed
for the monkey bars.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eddie
sighed as Violet skipped ahead of him. It was a sigh that gave voice
to the question of <i>What else can go wrong here?</i> that cycled
through his head. His phone rang; it was Julia, Violet's mother. His
ex. He hit his phone against his forehead a few times. It continued
to ring despite this. Turning away from Violet, he snapped open his
phone and lurched over to an old bench that groaned when he sat on
it, resigned to accepting all the weight that Eddie bore on his
sagging frame.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Hello,
Julia,” he said. Once he sat down, he was again facing the monkey
bars. Violet, however, was no longer anywhere in sight.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We're
fine,” he said into the phone, his voice tight as it escaped his
throat, “everything's fine. Wait, what do you mean, 'early'? How
early? That wasn't part of the arrangement, Julia.” Eddie gritted
and grimaced his way through their negotiations; all the while, he
sat perched at the edge of the bench, his glance shifting as he tried
to determine where his daughter had decided to hide. Suddenly, he
thought of the tribespeople, with their tattoos that clawed their way
across skin. Eddie had heard that there were coyotes in the area.
“Fine, Julia, four-thirty,” he said abruptly as he rocketed off
the bench. “We'll see you then,” he added, though he had already
shut his phone halfway through the sentence.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
park was a smaller one, even considering the pond and the playground
and the path that wound around them like a figure eight. But the
trees seemed taller than ever, maybe because Eddie couldn't find what
he was looking for among them. Off the path, with the playground
behind him, he darted from trunk to trunk like an anxious squirrel.
The group of tribe members lingered at the shore, examining their
haul in the distance to Eddie's left. He was about to approach them
and ask if their search had netted them a dour ten-year-old girl
when, from somewhere deep in the thicket to his right, he caught the
<i>plinks</i> and <i>tinks</i> of an unusual song. He walked toward
its source, the notes landing at his feet to form a path.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once
Eddie entered the thin golden light of the grove, the space between
the trees opened like the pages of a fairy tale. A second group of
tribe members had gathered here and settled in the clearing. Most of
them were sitting on logs or leaf piles, though a few had claimed
spots on quilts spread over the ground and were tapping their toes on
the quilts' patches. The tribespeople who were sitting, and there
were perhaps fifteen of them, were all playing instruments. Those who
weren't sitting were dancing. In pairs, by themselves, though even
the ones who danced alone seemed to move according to what the others
were doing—all of them gave life to the strange music-box melody.
Among the solo dancers, Violet was easily the youngest.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eddie
watched as his daughter shuffled in circles a few paces behind a
middle-aged woman, who moved in her jeans and her oversized sweater
as if she were crossing a ballroom floor in satin. Violet spun and
swirled in the woman's footsteps; when the woman bent her arms,
Violet did the same. In her black shirt and black leggings, she
reminded Eddie of a shadow, except that she was smiling. And
laughing. He couldn't recall hearing his daughter laugh as a
ten-year-old before. To him, the sound was both bright and distant, a
church bell in summer.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">So
astonished was Eddie by the sight of the smiling Violet and the
bell-song of her delight ringing through the clearing that minutes
passed before he gave more thought to the music that had called him
there. His gaze eventually slid over to a cluster of musicians camped
on a blanket, none of whom seemed to pay him any mind. They,
depending on which one Eddie studied, were focused either on the
dancers or on something beyond the dancers, something snaking between
the fibers of the atmosphere like a message hidden in a pattern.
Eddie couldn't see it, whatever it was; he imagined it written in the
language that scrolled across their arms in ink. He could, however,
see the instruments they used to coax it out, and those were
familiar. Some were white, while others were ivory or yellow or
nicked with brown; some resembled flutes in the way they were played,
while others stirred Eddie's memories of the thumb piano his
grandmother gave him when he was six. All of the instruments were
long and cylindrical, or had long, cylindrical parts. With that
observation, Eddie understood the instruments' familiarity.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
imagined one of the tribespeople holding an instrument between his
outstretched arms, shaking it free of feathers. While he conjured
that image, Violet twirled and giggled.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
wanted to snatch her wrist and pull her away from that horrible
enclave then, away from those people who stripped carcasses of their
flesh and played music on what remained. He in fact took the first
twitchy steps toward doing so. But he hesitated after every one,
because he could still see Violet, spinning like a winged maple seed.
It was as if she were spinning time backwards, dancing now with the
same giddiness that had animated her when she was five. Instead of
approaching her, Eddie waited until one of the musicians on a nearby
quilt rested the tiny rack of bone he had been playing on his knees
and stretched his arms overhead. Eddie crept toward him.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Excuse
me,” Eddie whispered to the musician, who raised an eyebrow. “How
much would you charge for one of those?”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Even
the musicians who were still playing chuckled. “Our instruments?
They're not for sale,” said the one on break.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Please,”
Eddie said. He cast a glance at Violet, who remained merrily unaware
of his presence, and thrust a twenty from his wallet into the
musician's face. “You have no idea what it would mean to her. See,
I don't get to see her too much, only every few weekends, and—”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“<i>Dad?</i>”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Violet's
feet skidded into a tangle, and the music came crashing down behind
her. There was a moment in which the silence was as tight as a
string. Then, “God!” she huffed as she blew out of the clearing
on a sudden gust.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No
recriminations crossed the tribes people's faces, no looks of disgust
or even an eyeroll, but Eddie still felt ashamed. A flicker of
movement from below tugged at his vision: the musician to whom Eddie
had spoken was reaching for the twenty-dollar bill with one hand and
passing his instrument into Eddie's possession with the other. The
man nodded, and Eddie relinquished the money so that he could better
cradle the awful treasure. It looked like a series of open ribs
connected to a spine that had been set in a curve; it disgusted him.
The musician smiled and lifted his chin, indicating an opening
between the trees, which Eddie ran to in search of his daughter.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
caught up to Violet at another old, creaky park bench next to the
trail, where she stood leaning over the bench's back, her face rubbed
raw and red like the skin around a scraped knee. She withered as
Eddie approached but blossomed when, from behind his back, he
produced the musical instrument. She looked from his face to the
bundle of bones but made no move to take it. Eddie reached to touch
the tip of one of the open rib bones. As carefully as if he were six
years old, trying his thumb piano for the first time, he plucked it—</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">—and
the instrument began to curl and writhe until it dropped from Eddie's
hand. It twisted in the air as it fell, as if it were a living cat
and not the remnants of a dead bird, but by the time it landed on the
grass, it had sprouted what looked like the beginnings of wing and
leg bones, as well as feathers along the ribs and spine. A few more
shakes and shivers of its frame, and the skeletal instrument had
transformed itself completely into an adult male mallard, webbed
feet, proud green crest, and all.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
mallard squawked once at Eddie before opening its wings and taking
off for the air above the pond.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Figures,”
muttered Violet, who crossed her arms and stomped off along the path.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“That...
wasn't....” Eddie was still holding his hands apart, his fingers
gently bent. Still expecting to cradle something. “Wait,” he
called to Violet. “Wait right there. I'm going to go back and talk
to them.”</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">She
whipped around, held one hand out and open, and knotted the other one
into a fist that she jabbed into her hip. “Give me the car keys,”
she said. The look Eddie gave her was weak and wary. “I'm going to
wait inside and listen to the radio,” she hissed, exasperated.
Eddie ground his teeth, then tossed her his keys and turned for the
clearing.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
tribespeople were packing their instruments and quilts, and some had
already left by the time Eddie returned, but the young man who had
Eddie's money was still there, folding a blanket into a knapsack.
Eddie shouted at him wildly. He told him everything that happened,
told him that Violet still hated him. “That wasn't what I paid you
for,” he said. The musician responded by patting Eddie's arm twice.
Then, he joined the other musicians and slipped through the trees
toward the west side parking lot. Then, the tribespeople were gone.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As
for Eddie, he climbed into his car, where Violet was waiting, and
didn't turn down her music. They drove back to his apartment in some
of the loudest silence Eddie had ever heard. Julia was waiting
outside when they arrived; she was twenty minutes early, worried, she
said, because of the way he had sounded on the phone. “That wasn't
our arrangement,” he told her for the second time that day. But
Julia ushered Violet into her car and swept her away. The little girl
that Eddie had brought into the world, to dance the way that Violet
had danced in the park, was gone as well. And silhouettes were
crossing the sky.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Eddie
looked up. A flock of mallards in flight covered a stretch of the
blue sky in inky shadow. Southbound already. Winter, he thought, was
starting far too early.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">End</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Most
of Sheila Johnson's published work has actually been digitally
restored comic book art produced for the Marvel Masterworks books,
but she has also worked as a writer and a proofreader and enjoys
collecting her stories in handmade books that she binds and sells
herself. Her website is <a href="http://www.sheilacjohnson.net/">www.sheilacjohnson.net</a>.
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Wits
and Tenure</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By
Leonard Treman</span></b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We
owe all our knowledge to the great philosophers of the past. Is there
anyone in the room that doesn't agree?” Professor Prickley asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
looked around the silent room. Not a single brave hand was up.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Come
on, don't be afraid to tell me what you think,” the professor
continued.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
should have known what I was about to do to be a mistake, but I fell
right into his trap. The air in the room seemed to go from a normal
temperature to ice cold the moment I raised my hand.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
professors gaze narrowed onto me and at that moment I realized my
mistake. He had an evil smirk on his face. It said, “Got you.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“So
what do you think then mr?” he asked pausing as a hint he wanted my
name to make an example of me.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I'm
Tom Stockly, and I think Socrates was a pedophile. I think his
student Plato, was a sell out. I think Aristotle was the personal
tutor to the man who conquered and ended one of the world's greatest
civilizations,” I said in a tone that was both loud and proud. This
was my second mistake. I basically accepted the professor's challenge
by doing this.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
professor's grin grew even wider and it was beginning to look like
that of a psychopath more then that of an academic. “Socrates, was
a product of his time. Young men were often taught to love by their
mentors, it wasn't an odd thing,” the professor said, pausing to
let his authority set in. “Plato was not a sellout; in fact, Plato
advocated against the sophists who were sellouts.” His face was
beginning to turn red in what seemed like anger. “Aristotle had no
control over what his student did,” my professor finished with a
beat red face.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
replied, “With all due respects sir, “Socrates was executed by
the state of Athens for corrupting the youth. He had no defense
except to mock the court. Plato built a lavish school that you might
be familiar with. Schools don't just appear from thin air. As for
Aristotle, to say he had no influence over his students would be like
saying that you have no influence over our idea's it's like-,” and
I stopped. The professor's face was now purple.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
professor stuttered as he spoke. His whole body was shaking, “This
is an example of, a student who thinks he knows everything.” The
professor walked down to my desk and handed me the chalk. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Then
he stood next to me and announced, “We can switch places if you
like. He can do the teaching and I can hand out the grades.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Since
Tom here is so smart, why don't we all listen to him teach,”
professor Prickley mocked extenuating the, “o,” in the word,
“so,” as he spoke.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There
were a few seconds of silence where no one dared to say a word. Then
the professor picked up where he left off, “Just so you all know,
while Mr. Stockly is teaching, I fail thirty percent of my students
regardless of how many questions they get right. Twenty percent of
you will get D's, another twenty five percent will get C's. Fifteen
percent of you will get B's and five percent will get A's, so listen
carefully to what Tom says,” Prickley continued to rant. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
timer on his desk broke his rant. This meant it was time for a break.
I was the first one out the door and I nearly collapsed onto the
floor when I reached the hall. It was only after I slid down onto the
floor with my back against the wall that I saw a friendly face walk
by.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“John!”
I said waving.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
looked over and waved back, “Hey Tom, It's been a long time.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How
are you?” I asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Great,
my philosophy 1010 class has a professor that told us bluntly that
she will give us a 4.0 if we do the work,” Tom said.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Damn,
I wish my professor was like that,” I replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">John
tilted his head kind of like a dog does when it finds something
interesting out, “Which professor?” he asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Prickly,”
I groaned.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Oh,
I've heard of him,” John replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This
had me curious, “Have you now?” I inquired.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“He's
an awful professor. Why don't you come join my class,” John said. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
jumped into a standing position with excitement. I had no real reason
to get to my feet with 5 minutes of break left, but it was just
automatic, “That's a great idea, I'll transfer over after class.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“After
class?” John inquired with a mischievous smile as if to say, “What
are you planning.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
smirked back and said, “It's nothing that bad.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For
the next five minutes we caught up on what the other had been up to
and shortly after I returned to my class.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Prickely
was sitting in my desk and when I entered into the door he motioned
me to the chalk board as the class shuffled in, I picked up the chalk
and walked up to the board.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
wrote, “This isn't the only philosophy 1010. My friend is in one
across the hall in the same time slot. His professor said he'll get a
4.0 if he does the work. You can still class transfer for a few more
days. Or you can stay here with professor Prickley. Good bye.”</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
walked out of the classroom and the professors face was purple again.
Although, as I left I noticed I had a following. The entire class had
followed me into the hall to learn what classes they could transfer
into. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While
I no longer talk back to professors in case they are baiting me into
an argument. I have to say, that last one ended well. </span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">End</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About
the Author;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Leonard
Treman is a run of the mill 23 year old author with a website at
<a href="http://authorleonardtreman.webs.com/" target="_blank">http://authorleonardtreman.webs.com/</a>
</span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank
you for joining us in our eclectic narratives. Please see more of our
issues from previous months or try our emagazines online at
Smashwords.com</span></span></div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-39635961464735469682012-10-29T20:29:00.003-05:002012-10-29T20:29:46.215-05:00Issue Nineteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From the Desk of the
Editor;</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello and welcome to
Larks Fiction Magazine! In today's issue we are traveling into the
world of dreams to discover what thrives in the darkness of the human
mind.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In news the bank is
moving toward closing on our deal! This means soon we will be in our
own space.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for
reading and make sure to check out our online store on <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/136774">Smashwords.com.</a></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM Editor</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Trapped in a dream</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Charles Bernard</span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">September 1999 was a
dream come true month</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A journey to freedom
has been perfected</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Excitement brewed on
my chubby face as</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The dusty wind of
sahara blew against my plumpy cheeks</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Behind me stood my
father ‘the pride of my very being’</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The heights of
academic excellence i climbed</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Far from home in the
land of the unknown</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A peaceful world i
build around me ‘friends and foes’</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">11 years on each
step i quietly climbed with ease</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Through all i dreamt
at the very peak of my dawn</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A snore away from
the cock crow</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Faces of smiles
turned to faces of worry</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The sounds of
playing kids suddenly extinct</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Suspended breakfasts
as anxiety cripped into homes</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hope hang in balance
and faith lay in ruin</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The rain washed the
blood of loved ones down drainages</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Around me scary
scenes played <span lang="en-US">,</span> beautiful dream turned sour</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I am trapped between
living and believing </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My dreams and my
reality </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Caveat Emptor</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">by
</span><span style="text-decoration: none;">D. Robert Grixti</span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He hadn't meant to,
but Jack Livings had found himself browsing the dimly lit shop,
poring over dusty junk that he didn't think he'd consider buying in a
million years.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He really hadn't
counted on stopping by the little store but he'd been driving all day
and, confident that he would get to the interstate in time for the
big conference, he'd pulled over beside it anyway, suddenly taken by
the strange desire to see what was sold within.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The Sanguine
Exchange</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, the faded sign above
the shopfront had read. It was an odd name for a store of any kind,
thought Jack, but somehow it seemed apt for the run down, almost
deserted looking little shop that had seemingly sprung up out of
nowhere on the side of the highway. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It had struck Jack
as weird that such a place existed out in the middle of nowhere, and
it didn't surprise him that his was the only car parked in the
sunbaked car park. He had only intended to stop for a few minutes, to
check out the merchandise on display, but he found the large, dusty
window display completely empty, except for a termite-eaten
mannequin, beckoning him with an outreaching hand. In spite of
himself, he approached, and then he noticed a yellowing sheet of
paper taped to its wooden chest:</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Welcome, friend.
Please feel free to enter.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And so, Jack had
suddenly felt the bizarre, urgent desire to enter, and here he was
now, browsing the meagre selection of ancient, dusty objects and
antique furniture that was scattered about inside. The proprietor, a
pale skinned man who looked like the walking dead, watched him
eagerly as he went.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">I
know just what you're after,” the proprietor said, motioning
towards a small wooden box stuffed haphazardly on a shelf in the
back. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Uh,
I'm not really looking to buy anything today,” Jack said, shaking
his head. “I just wanted to browse.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Please,
Mr Livings, I'm sure you'll want to take a look at this,” the
proprietor said, gripping Jack's arm in a bony hand that felt more
like a talon and leading him across the room. “Nobody has ever left
my store without finding something they absolutely have to own, and I
won't take no for an answer.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It occurred to Jack
that the proprietor somehow knew his name even though he hadn't
mentioned it up to this point, but there was something about the old
man's face that was so entrancing that it didn't seem to matter. Jack
couldn't help staring at his eyes, faded blue ones that had lost
their vibrancy decades ago and before he knew it, the tiny box was
sitting in the palm of his hand, and the proprietor was staring back
at him, giving him a wide, welcoming smile.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Well,
go ahead and open it, Mr Livings,” he prompted, tapping the lid
with a skeletal finger. “I guarantee you'll like it.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, the man
certainly knows how to drive a sale, Jack thought, flicking the brass
catch on the front of the box and opening the lid.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Inside the box was a
shard of glass. It was jagged and cracked and it seemed to Jack to be
a piece of a mirror, even though it was blanketed in a layer of dust
so thick that it only reflected hazy outlines and shadows.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Do
you like it, Mr Livings?” the proprietor asked kindly. “It's
yours for forty dollars.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Forty bucks, Jack
thought, shaking his head. The man was obviously senile - the thing
didn't even reflect anything anymore.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Uh,
I don't really think I-“ Jack stammered, fumbling for the lid,
still unable to look away from the old man's face. “I mean, the
dust…”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">The
dust?” the proprietor said, taking the small box and raising it to
his eye. “What dust? I don't see any dust. Maybe you should take
another look.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">He
handed the box back to Jack and smiled. Jack opened his mouth, to
begin telling the man that the thing was in fact </span><i>covered</i>
<span style="font-style: normal;">with dust, but then he caught sight
of those old, ghostly eyes again, and he somehow felt like he had to
check to make sure first.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He flipped the brass
catch again and opened the lid once more. This time the shard was
clean. The surface of the glass, that (he thought) had been cracked
and covered in dust only seconds ago was now smooth and polished, and
when he picked it up in his fingers and carefully brought it to eye
level for closer inspection, he saw his face reflected in it
perfectly.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Wow,”
he said, astonished. “What did you do? It's- Ouch!”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He felt a piercing
pain shoot through the bridge of his nose, and he dropped the shard
back into the box. He rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger and
felt something wet.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Are
you okay, Mr Livings?” the proprietor asked, frowning in what
appeared to be concern.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">It's
fine,” Jack said, pinching his nostrils together with his fingers.
“It's just a nosebleed, but I don't know how it's-”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Ah,
don't worry. Here, I have a handkerchief you can use,” the old man
interrupted, pressing a handkerchief that looked as if it had not
been unfolded in centuries into his hand, exchanging it for the box
with the shard, which he promptly shut and returned to the shelf.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">All
better now?” he asked when he was facing Jack again.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Yes,
it's stopped now. Thanks,” Jack replied, folding up the bloody
handkerchief and handing it to the proprietor.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The old man smiled
kindly and shook his head.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">You
keep it, Mr Livings. You might need it.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jack nodded in
thanks and made to put the handkerchief into his pocket. As he
turned, he caught a glimpse of the old man's strange eyes once again:
this time, they were a deep, piercing blue, vibrant and youthful once
more.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Obviously
the shard isn't for you,” the old man said, taking Jack's arm in
his talon-like hand once more and escorting him to the front of the
store. “Never mind, though. That wasn't the only trinket I have
tucked away in this old store of mine.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">What
did you do back there?” Jack asked, scratching his nose again,
where he felt the slight tingling sensation of another nosebleed
coming on. “One minute it was all old and dusty, and the next-”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">It
was shiny and new again, wasn't it?” the old man said, chuckling as
if at some sinister inside joke. “Yes, that's what it does.
Everyone who stops in always finds it most </span><i>fascinating</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
you know?”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">But
what </span><i>is </i><span style="font-style: normal;">it?” Jack
asked, his bleeding nose wrapped in the handkerchief again.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">It's
exactly what it seems to be,” the proprietor said. “It is a
mirror. And as for what it does… It does just what mirrors are
meant to do. It </span><i>reflects</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.
In fact, I think it reflects just a bit too well, which, alas, is why
its creator took to smashing it.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He paused
dramatically to let the meaning of his words sink in, and, as he
pondered over what he had just heard, Jack felt for the tiniest
second the slightest hint of foreboding.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jack saw the
proprietor's eyes drift to the small doorway that led to the dusty
storage room. He followed the old man's gaze and, in the shadows, he
could make out the silhouette of a large floor mirror. The sun chose
this convenient moment to emerge for from behind a cloud and a ray of
light illuminated the glass frame just long enough for Jack to get
the vaguest glimpse of what it reflected: Jack's own face, with dead
eyes and the gray, leathery skin of a week old corpse.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">What
is it that seems to be the matter, Mr Livings?” the old man asked
kindly, noticing Jack's stunned expression out of the corner of his
eye. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">It
was- I- the mirror,” Jack spluttered, trying to regain control of
his own mind. An intelligible voice seemed to chatter somewhere
inside his head, urging him to leave the weird little store,
reminding him forcefully that he had places he needed to </span><i>be</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
but no sooner had he tuned into it before he found himself entranced
by those commanding eyes again.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Of
course, I told you nobody leaves my store empty handed, did I not?”
the proprietor said, smiling mischievously. “In fact, I think I
have the very thing for you. I'm assuming by the fact that fate has
brought you past my little den today on the edge of an otherwise
deserted highway, you're away from home on a road trip of some kind,
aren't you Jack?”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He leaned in over
the dirty counter as he said his words, inching his weathered face
closer to Jack's, and suddenly, his tone went cold and sinister.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">You're
all alone and a very long way from home, my friend.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His eyes gleamed
hungrily, like sparkling blue flames. Their terrible gaze lingered on
Jack's stony face, and Jack didn't seem to care that the old man was
edging ever closer to him. He didn't notice that the proprietor's
cracked lips were beginning to part to reveal bloody, bestial teeth
behind, and then-</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Ouch!”
he said, another bout of pain tearing through his nose and forcing
him to look away. When it passed and he looked back again, the
proprietor had pulled away, and was smiling happily from behind the
counter once more.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And now, Jack
remembered suddenly, it really was time to leave. The
incomprehensible voice inside his head was back, yelling at him as
loud as it could.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Get out!</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Go!</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>This place isn't
right!</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Look,
I probably should get back on the road,” Jack said to the
proprietor. He meant it too; the nosebleeds were starting to make him
feel queasy. “I have to be in the city by tomorrow morning, and I
told my daughter I'd be back home in time for her birthday, as well.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Of
course,” said the proprietor kindly. “I was merely going to
suggest you take home a souvenir for your little girl. A birthday
present from the interstate.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He fumbled under the
counter, still not letting Jack out of his sight, and then he reached
out and pressed something cold and sharp into Jack's left hand. He
wasn't going to let his customer leave without making a sale. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jack sighed and
looked down at the object sitting on his palm. It was an uncut ruby,
obviously worth a bit, because it glowed a deep, vibrant red even in
the shadow of the store's interior.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">The
local export,” the proprietor announced. “There used to be a gem
mine around here years ago. Not very far from this shop, if you'll
believe it. I used to make a roaring trade in those stones, at least
until some of the miners died in an unfortunate accident decades ago
and the operation was shut down for good.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">And
this is one of the last gems they mined, right?” Jack asked,
turning the stone around in his fingers absentmindedly. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">The
</span><i>very</i> <span style="font-style: normal;">last,” the
proprietor replied. “In that way, it's a very special stone indeed.
It's also very special because it's impure, cheap, which is why I was
never able to sell it. But it'd make an excellent gift for a young
girl's birthday, don't you think?”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If the ruby was low
quality, it didn't look it to Jack. It was one of the biggest,
realest looking gemstones he'd seen, and if the unnoticeable fact
that it wasn't pure made it cheap…</span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His daughter
certainly wouldn't care, that was for sure.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">How
much?”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">A
bargain. Twenty dollars, and the deal, as they say, is done,” the
old man declared with a flourish.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jack retrieved his
wallet and placed a twenty dollar note down on the counter.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">Thank
you, mister Livings,” the proprietor said, opening the ancient cash
register beside him to put the money away. “The little girl won't
forget </span><i>this </i><span style="font-style: normal;">birthday,
I guarantee it. She'll be having quite the surprise indeed.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He stared into
Jack's face one last time, and laughed. He didn't look like the
walking dead anymore. Now his skin was illuminated in the sunlight
that billowed in through the window at the front of the store, and -
healthy and filled with colour after all - it wasn't pale and ghostly
any longer.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">You're
looking a bit pale, Jack,” he said, pointing towards a looking
glass behind the counter, where Jack's gaunt face languished,
suddenly pasty and dry. “Maybe you should see somebody about those
nosebleeds? In either case, I think you should be on your way now.
You have to be in the city by tomorrow, remember?” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">That's
right,” Jack said in a slur, before clasping the handkerchief to
his nose. </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
“<span style="font-style: normal;">You
really do look like you're getting a bit ill,” the old man
commented softly. “Get yourself out of the dust and into the fresh
air before you faint, my good friend.” </span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He pointed
forcefully to the door and waved goodbye with his right hand. The
carved oak door that served as the entrance swung open of its own
accord and, seemingly on their own, Jack Livings' legs carried him
out of the store and back to his car, which was waiting where he left
it outside. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jack climbed into
his car and wiped the last dregs of blood from his nose. He folded up
the proprietor's handkerchief again (it was now nearly entirely
soaked in crimson) and shoved it into the glove compartment, before
reaching for his keys and inserting them into the ignition.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;">What
a strange store, he thought, taking one last glance at </span><i>The
Sanguine Exchange</i> <span style="font-style: normal;">as he pulled
out of the car park onto the deserted highway. The store still looked
as strange and out of place as it did when he first arrived. Except
now, the sight of it stirred something inside him, and filled him
with some unexplainable feeling that something was very wrong. The
tattered mannequin still stared at him from the window as he drove
away, except now its hand was no longer beckoning and the yellowing
note, if he had still been close enough to read it, now said:</span></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Thank you. DON'T
come again.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Inside the store,
deep within the silent storage room, the strange old man pondered the
reflection of the dead man in the mirror before him, and smiled a wry
smile.</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">* * *</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">MAN FOUND DEAD ON
FREEWAY</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Clement Cove
Courier, December 2</i><sup><i>nd</i></sup> </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The body of an
elderly man was found this afternoon by a family of holiday makers,
on the Western Freeway, 12km from Black River, a close by mining
community.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The deceased,
identified as Mr Jack Livings, was found slumped at the wheel of his
car, which had pulled over at the side of the road. The state coroner
reported that Mr Livings had apparently been dead for just over 48
hours. The cause of death appears to have been a brain haemorrhage.
The deceased's face was covered in blood. Mr Livings was found
clutching a blood soaked pebble. The significance of this remains
unknown.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Police say that
Mr Livings seems to have died of natural causes and have ruled out
foul play. Mr Livings is survived by a wife and two children. </i></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-style: normal;">D.
Robert Grixti</span></span> is a writer and indie video game
developer hailing from Melboure, Australia. His major influences
include John Wyndham, Robert J Sawyer and Lovecraft.</span></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His work has been
published in <i>Imagine Literary Journal </i>(the literary journal of
Deakin University in Australia), <i>Crossfire Magazine</i>, <i>Danse
Macabre, The WiFiles, Linguistic Erosion, Black Petals</i>, <i>Static
Movement</i>, <i>Eunoia Review</i> and more. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">His first novel, <i>Sun
Bleached Winter</i>, is to be released in December of this 2012 from
Damnation Books, in digital and paperback formats, and he has a
novelette entitled <i>Fragments of Sunrise</i> that is to be released
as an e-short by Disposable Fiction. </span></span>
</div>
<div style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You
can follow Grixti on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/DRobertGrixti" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/#!/DRobertGrixti</a>
and on Facebook at
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Gaia-Studios/365139189465" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dark-Gaia-Studios/365139189465</a>
</span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you for
reading and make sure to come back next week for more great fiction.
Also make sure to see our expansive collection of past issues.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-19893544281859870722012-10-22T22:48:00.002-05:002012-10-29T20:09:48.289-05:00Issue Eighteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin: 1ex;">
<div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From an Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome literature
fans to Larks Fiction Magazine! Tonight we bring you the very best in
literature from the rising stars of the language arts world. Join us
for an exploration of the human condition through art.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In news our back log of
ebook publications should be begin to clear out this week. You should
see two more editions to our Smashwords store soon.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Also we have brought on
another editor to help read through our submissions. As of now we are
current on all of our readings. Acceptance and rejection letters will
still take a little while to filter out. We hope to be caught up by
the end of October.</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">All the best,</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Rowse</span></span></div>
<div align="LEFT">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">New Eyes</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Deng Xiang</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since the inception of life, I looked through windows</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Carved from my skull, a cavity lies deep</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Like an abyss, which cannot be supplanted</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">By platinum and stainless steel,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Or priceless diamond and gems.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Nothing comes so natural,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So profound, and the heart learns to evince</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Its emotions aloud through them.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Your voice unravels its meaning too</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As it complements every nuance</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of your biological movements.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Show what you got. Let your eyes</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tell the tenor of your understanding;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Let your eyes augment the flaws you have,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As where you stand
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Is how everything falls
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Into homogeneous places.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Poet;</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deng Xiang speaks, writes articles,
poems and stories while sharing his passion for all things erudite
and salient. Mainly, his subsistence comprises of highbrow literature
from chemistry to pure mathematics. His appetite for knowledge never
ceases, even if he got an accomplishment worth showing off.<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.49in;">
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<div style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.49in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Under a Marble Sky</span></b> </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMwZR-cOw6x5QPDbrftd5dp2H4E8R5pka0Nq4Vep5iyGJWLOKyVfE09zqXdZiK0Brs5JBrmYrlCwdnfDujNednJGFhhRBCLZj9EnJRtEIsmE5nBntyUHWhZEguoWN_-6ar9bOlnYifPM/s1600/IMG_0969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHMwZR-cOw6x5QPDbrftd5dp2H4E8R5pka0Nq4Vep5iyGJWLOKyVfE09zqXdZiK0Brs5JBrmYrlCwdnfDujNednJGFhhRBCLZj9EnJRtEIsmE5nBntyUHWhZEguoWN_-6ar9bOlnYifPM/s400/IMG_0969.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Photo by Daniel J. Pool</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
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<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">First You'll Have to Learn not to Breathe</span></span></b></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by Adam Hoss</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“First, Ms. Burke, you'll have to
learn not to breathe.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro Guerra sat cramped in the plastic
discomfort of the waiting room. All thirty seats were taken.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">An obese Asian man with nacho dust in
his mustache bounced his knee in the opposite chair. Two rows over, a
freckled girl stared at a magazine page she hadn't flipped in hours
and a black-haired child drew crayon spaceships on the wall while his
mother slept. Key rings and checkbooks rattled in shaky hands. The
elderly receptionist forced a smile.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Now, you'll try to breathe,” the
doctor continued. He spoke to a woman in a wheelchair. “This is
natural, Ms. Burke. Absent the physical activity of breathing, the
brain thinks it's dying. Patients have gone as far as dislocating
their jaws. Rest assured, the setbacks are temporary.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The brochure recommended practicing how
not to breathe with eyes closed in an empty, peaceful place. Pedro
had the brochure memorized.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Can you believe some folks get the
operation reversed?” the Asian man asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro stared at the white tiles between
his feet until he realized the man had directed the question at him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Oh,” Pedro muttered. “Yeah. I
don't get that either.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The man grinned.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Scared?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro had mangled the brochure to
shreds in his fist.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Do not attempt to walk unassisted
within the initial twenty-four hours,” the doctor continued.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The doctor's chiseled physique was
evident even through his lab coat. His pale blue eyes, perfect
symmetry and adolescent face could woo royalty and lead the celibate
astray. Despite her mask of bandages, the wheelchair-bound woman also
glistened, an ageless wax angel whose eyes alone could incite
madness, cult followings or world war.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro knew better.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“You'll frequently stumble in the
first week,” the doctor said. “This is natural. The brain needs
time to adjust to its new equipment.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The brochure suggested two weeks of
physical therapy on an outpatient basis. The brochure provided
directions to local facilities. The brochure said that proper
training can condition the brain to believe anything.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“The name's Wei,” the Asian man
said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Hi.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro knew his life would change before
he read the e-mail. The subject line was subtle. Screams of “YOU'VE
WON” are red flags for fraud. But when Pedro saw the clinic's name
in the inbox, he knew.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Had the message arrived before the
accident, Pedro's mother would be here instead. In cases such as Mrs.
Guerra's, the lottery system passes rights to next of kin.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro's father had also won the
procedure. A day later, he promptly fled the country and had not been
in touch.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Don't have a name?” Wei asked.
“Fine. I'll call you Zeppelin, then.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Huh?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Christ, kid. You're a wreck,” he
said. “Zeppelin. As in, the band. It's on your t-shirt.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Oh. Yeah.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Panels of curved glass filtered
sunlight against white walls. The words “PATIENTS AND STAFF ONLY”
flanked double doors beside the reception desk. A sign to its right
read “Reminder: The Patient Has Thirty Days Within Which To Reverse
The Procedure. Changes Made Beyond This Point…”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ms. Burke's wheelchair obscured the
rest.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Now,” the doctor told her, “you'll
have the opportunity to select an approximation of your original
voice. Most patients, however, opt for an enhancement. We want
perfect. We're programmed that way. And here at Marinetti Labs, we
deliver.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro didn't tell Jennifer about the
procedure. Not yet.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“So, Zeppelin, you goin' under the
knife on the company dime?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Huh?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Your insurance.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It's right here,” Pedro mumbled,
fumbling in his pockets.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“For Chris's sake. Do you understand
the English language? Comprende Ingles? Entiende? Te gusta tacos,
hombre? I am asking you if your insurance is covering the operation.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Oh,” Pedro says. “Uh, yeah. It
is.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Lucky dog,” Wei said. “I had to
empty my life savings. Worth it, though.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Hell yeah it's worth it,” snapped
a black man sitting still as stone.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Microscopic disclaimers blanketed the
brochure's backside. Statistical anomalies, the brochure called them.
Still, Pedro had them memorized. Heat sinks can fail. Circuits can
melt the silicone. The brain may reject the wiring, though the
brochure made abundantly clear that, in such cases, Marinetti bears
no responsibility. Rarer still are hospital-borne Trojans, worms,
macros and remote hacks. The brochure is legally required to print
these warnings, and the patient is legally required to accept the
risks.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The disclaimers weren't what Pedro hid
from Jennifer.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ricardo Guerra worked a landing strip
on the USS Kurzweil. Later, he worked a keyboard and mouse in a
skyscraper downtown. When the random lottery selected him, he didn't
tell his family either.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">After the accident, Pedro knew why.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Instead, Ricardo wrote a letter. It
began “I am sorry,” said something about trust, and ended “Love.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“You know that they say the operation
doesn't only prevent broken bones, but broken hearts?” the black
man asked. “Yup. No more emotional bullshit. Zero. I say it's worth
it.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The doctor lectured Ms. Burke on muscle
memory therapy. The brochure abbreviated it MMT. Pedro knew the words
before the doctor spoke them. MMT was experimental due to unsettled
theoretical differences that were currently impeding research. The
patient can risk the therapy now, or opt for a return voucher when
the technology is stable.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ricardo left his return voucher behind.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The brightly-colored ticket sits alone
on an oak table in a four-bedroom cape cod on Fletcher Street, where
Pedro Guerra discovered Playboy, first learned what happened to
Grandma, cried into a dial tone and laughed and loved and fucked and
felt a great evil boiling inside him as he shoved his father against
the wall during an argument over a tenth-grade report card.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A single shred of neon green: the only
evidence Ricardo Guerra existed, that he once wrote a letter that
ended “Love” and that he once learned not to breathe.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Listen, Zeppelin,” Wei said. “I
didn't mean anything by that 'taco' shit I said. I feel like a
jackass. I'm sorry, man.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Pedro watched the doctor stuff a neon
slip into Ms. Burke's purse.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Did she also write a letter? Did it end
with “Love?” And who is this hunched, gray man with a pink tie at
her side? Are they afraid? Aroused? In love? Are they here only after
an accident? Does a great evil boil inside them too?</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The doctor talked as Pink Tie pushed
Ms. Burke aside.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, Pedro decided. They're killers.
Pink Tie held the gun. Ms. Burke forged the note. They made it look
like suicide. Upon approval of insurance, Marinetti Labs made the
investigation disappear.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Think she'll be back?” the black
man asked.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The remainder of the sign Ms. Burke had
been hiding read “Come At Unknown Risks.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“It's insane, right?” the black man
asked. “The people who get it reversed, I mean. It's like, what the
hell? Think about it. Perfect vision. Six pack abs. Orgasms beefed up
beyond belief. An inability to feel fear. Seriously. Look it up. No
more sore throats, no heart attacks, none of that bullshit, man. I
mean, this shit's been scientifically proven and peer reviewed in,
like, thousands of labs, so you know it's true. Look it up.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“They say it changes you,” Pedro
said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What the hell does that mean?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I don't know,” Pedro answered.
“But that's what the people that get it reversed say.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Bullshit.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yes, the setbacks are temporary. The
brochure said that. Pedro had the brochure memorized long before the
accident.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But every year, for reasons unknown to
Marinetti Labs and the black man and the Pink Tie, patients revert to
their imperfect, fragile deformities, their bruised flesh and scars
and hairline fractures, their sexual shortcomings, their petty
longings for love and sleep, their addictions, their arthritis, their
diagnoses and payment plans and lymph nodes and finite fuses burning
bright in their hearts.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Wei Lee?” called an orange-haired
nurse.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Fluorescent lights on the black man's
glasses looked like UFOs, Pedro thought.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Alright, fellas,” Wei said. “I'll
keep the table warm. Oh, and Zeppelin, sorry again about the whole
taco thing. I wasn't thinkin' straight.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wei winked and followed the nurse. The
black man crossed his legs, uninterested in further conversation.
Tensely, Pedro shoved the brochure's remains into his jeans pocket,
checked the time on his cell phone, felt for the reassuring texture
of his insurance card, and closed his eyes.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Last, Ms. Burke,” the doctor said,
“you'll have to learn not to panic when you realize nothing's
beating in your chest.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;
</span></span><br />
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I teach Rhetoric and Composition at
Terra State Community College in Fremont, Ohio, hold a Master's
degree in linguistics, and, in addition to my love of letters, harbor
a borderline obsession with obscure, indigenous languages. I
currently live in Sandsuky, Ohio.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Famous Last Words</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Chad Bolling</span></b></span></div>
<div align="CENTER">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“After I’m finished with this last
bounty, we can be together.” Maahes said as he stroked the purple
hair of a very young girl.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Famous last words.” The purple
haired girl named Rachel said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maahes stood up. He was tall and
scrawny, but his body was completely robotic from his elbows to his
shoulders. Rachel stood up beside Maahes and pulled off his jacket
reveling the robotic body-parts.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I wish you could be more positive.”
Maahes said as he picked up a gun<br />from the ground and attached it
to his shoulder.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I’m sorry Maahes. It’s just...”
Rachel helped Maahes snap the gun into place. “I wish you could get
the procedure done now so my father would let us get married.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maahes brushed his hand across Rachel’s
face. “The procedure can’t be done without money, Rachel. Cloning
and growing body-parts is expensive, not to mention the cost of
surgery, and we have to eat once we are married too.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rachel stood up on her toes and kissed
Maahes on the cheek. “Well just be careful, okay?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maahes nodded in compliance. “I’ll
be fine. Don’t worry.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A month later Rachel heard a knock at
the door. Hoping that it was Maahes, she rushed over to open the
door, and there he stood. Maahes looked unharmed from the recent
bounty, but very tired. Rachel hugged him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Maahes! You’re back!” Rachel
said as she embraced him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“What are you doing here?” A raspy
voice from a dark corner of the room said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I’m sorry sir. I just wanted to
let your daughter know I’m safe,” Maahes replied.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A gray haired man walked out into the
light. He wore a military jacket over his aging but muscular torso
and was puffing away at the last part of a cigar. “I know you’re
sorry cyborg. All of your kind are sorry for what they did to us
humans.” The man turned to the side, reviling his missing right
arm.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Dad stop!” Rachel said.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No Rachel it’s fine, I was just
leaving anyway. I’m going back to Earth for the surgery, and when I
come back I won’t be a cyborg anymore.” Maahes said, then turned
his back to them and walked away.
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No one’s safe with you around
cyborg!” Rachel's father shouted after him.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rachel slammed the door. “Dad! That
war of yours has been over a long time. Don’t you think it’s time
to put the past behind you?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Her father sat down and put his cigar
out. “Dear, it’s not just the war, it’s him. He’s dangerous,
even if he’s not a cyborg. For Pete’s sake Rachel, do you know
what bounty hunters do? They kill people for money!”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Rachel sighed. “No dad he just
delivers people for money. There’s a big difference.”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I don’t care. The man is still
dangerous and too old for you.” He said as Rachel stormed off. “If
not for his cybernetic body-parts I would chase him off with more
than words.” Rachel’s father mumbled.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few months had gone by when Rachel
answered another knock at the door. “Maahes!” Rachel hugged him,
feeling his arms and shoulders.“It’s been done. Hasn’t it?”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Maahes took off his jacket, reveling
the new flesh that replaced his machine parts. “I did it Rachel!
Now we can be together!”</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Not so fast, son.” A raspy voice
said. “Rachel. Step aside!” Rachel’s father said as he ran
toward Maahes dressed in his full military uniform.
</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Dad no!” Rachel screamed as her
father punched Maahes in the face.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Not so tough now are you cyborg?”
Rachel’s father said as he pushed Maahes out of the doorway then
punched him again, this time in the chest. Rachel’s father pushed
his daughter inside as Maahes feel to the ground, holding his chest.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Now stay away from her you
miserable...cyborg!” Rachel’s father said and then slammed the
door.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">End</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Chad lives in Long Beach, California
and loves to read and write fiction when he is not enjoying the
cinema or a fine cheeseburger. He has also been published in <i>Farther
Stars Than These</i>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for
reading and please join us next week with more great independent
literature here on Larks Fiction Magazine! For more great fiction
also our old issues and check us out on Smashwords.com.</span></span></div>
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Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-88594799826863421202012-10-14T21:36:00.001-05:002012-10-14T21:36:17.765-05:00Issue Seventeen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;<br />Hello and welcome to this issue of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we investigate beauty, surrealism, and horror of the human experience.<br /><br />I would like to apologize for last week's issue being late. We thought it was better to wait till we had a full issue. I hope you enjoy and make sure to check out our older issues.<br /><br />yours,<br />Daniel J. Pool<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The god of yellow sun</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Charles Bernard</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The lion eyed god has lost a battle<br />He had fought a thousand before<br />With the monsters of the north<br />For freedom he lived his life<br /><br />Blood flowed beyond shores<br />He could have turned a blind eye<br />He could have grown a pot belly<br />He refused he stood for equality<br /><br />Darkness he chased with a yellow sun<br />In the east our sun rose to freedom<br />Hope was restored through our god<br />Our burden he bore our pain he endured<br /><br />For years he fought demons<br />Victory was the only option<br />In marshes, dark forests, tricky waterfalls<br />He took war to protect our lands<br /><br />Blazing was rays of our yellow sun<br />Treachery arouse to blunt its shine<br />He made a pact with his enemies<br />Under the shade we fought our way<br />Years have gone by<br />Youth energy had fled him<br />Dawn has come to bless him<br />In peace he slept when life light dimmed<br /><br />Follow Charles @<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">View</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Caitlin Hoffman</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /> At the moment Taylor is smoking a pipe (a wooden one, of course), dancing about on the rings of Saturn and wondering where her cat went. She’s (probably) looking down at her watch, wondering when the aftershocks from the apocalypse-to-come will scald off the hair she hates so much. ("Bad dye-job. Long story." she might say.)<br /><br /> She stares back and forth and bathes in the yellowish, orangey clouds. ("What colour is that? Tangerine? Peach? The shade of acid reflux?")<br /><br /> Her eyes burn with an intellectuality that was often the onset of estrangement from her peers and seen as no more than unappealing pride to those she wished would respect her. But for Taylor, that’s all over now.<br /><br /> Somewhere on the fifth ring of Saturn, Taylor is contemplating Life. With the gift of retrospect, she can see that existing as a homosapien wasn’t all bad. Limiting, perhaps, but not the first prize winner of the arsenic-laced hell-juice recipe. Perhaps it hadn’t been a punishment as she had first believed. Perhaps being condemned to a mortal shell was the only way she could fathom her role in the universe.<br /><br /> (As well as her role in the end of it.)<br /><br /> This flesh had been a gift to her.<br /><br /> Taylor stalks about, puffing smoke and ash. In the gaseous swirls, the anti-life of the atmosphere, she sings out,<br /><br /> "Heeere, kitty kitty... Ouch!"<br /><br /> Her toe gets clipped on a passing moon rock. She eyes it in distaste but wastes no words on its passing; nerve endings are now no more than a commodity, one whose expiration is imminent.<br /><br /> (Maybe) she’s starting to regret that little mishap back home. Not that there was much of a home to begin with. Taylor pretended to be beyond the need of external companionship, but like all other humans, she was (to an extent) cursed with the urge to be social and the desire to be loved.<br /><br /> Which is why, all alone in the mist of rolling hydrogen, she hopes to find her cat.<br /><br /> "There you are, Snuffles!" Gladly, she scoops up the white ball of cat called Snuffles, who mews impatiently as if to say: "Took you long enough!"<br /><br /> Taylor rolls her pipe to one side of her mouth, lavishing her feline friend with awkward half-kisses all over his well-combed, long-haired pelt, ashamed and elated. She is ashamed that she needs companionship and elated that she has found it.<br /><br /> Maybe then they will sit on the fifth or fourth or thirteenth planetary ring, pawing at passing puffs of helium, licking up colour and counting stars. They just might share some sort of meditative mind-meld, one in which they can express their gratitude for not being alone at the almost-end of the world.<br /><br /> "I’m the worst supervillain ever." Taylor might say to Snuffles, who will look at her with plaintive, partially suspicious eyes, only to surrender to the warmth in her arms.<br /><br /> (Maybe) they’ll cuddle. (Maybe) they’ll make plans to roast marshmallows on a hot, crisp moon.<br /><br /> Taylor is at a safe distance, ready to watch the fireworks.<br /><br /> She stares outward, a bundle of cat fur mewing unpredictably in her arms, and with one last look behind her leans out into space, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of all those atomic bombs playing leapfrog on a blue-green planet four spaces over, appearing to her as breathless and beautiful as butterflies.<br /> The End<br />About the Author;<br />Writer's Bio: Caitlin writes books nobody reads. You can find one of them here: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/235554<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Watchers</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">by D. Robert Grixti</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The numbers on the digital clock blinked ominously: 3:21 am.<br /><br />A scream cut through the night, waking Desmond with a start. His heart already beating at a manic pace, Desmond sat upright, throwing the heavy quilt covering him effortlessly to the floor.<br /><br />He knew right away that Janine needed him. There were only two other people in the castle: Janine and the priest, Father Oakwood. The priest had been disturbed by their find on the upper floor after dinner and had decided to go back to town and fetch the police, and that had left only Desmond and Janine to stay behind and document what happened during the night.<br /><br />He fumbled across the oak cabinet beside the bed for his glasses and when he found them and put them on, he was greeted with the eerie sight of the guest bedroom, dark grey in the quiet twilight of the early morning. He vaulted off the bed and started to run to the closed door, before he remembered the video camera in the sports bag he'd left on the dresser. For a split second, he pondered taking the few seconds required to dig the camera out and bring it with him - he'd come here to record a haunting, after all, but common sense reminded him that Janine was in danger, and that he had no time to waste.<br /><br />Hope she doesn't mind, he said silently to himself as he nudged the door open and edged over the threshold into the hallway, where the stale air chilled his spine and made him immediately regret going to bed the night before in nothing but an old T-shirt and his underwear.<br /><br />He had to take a moment to orient himself in the darkness but when he finally knew where he was, he leaned forward and sprinted down the hall to the last door at the very end which was Janine's bedroom. Biting down the urge to let out an audible shiver from the almost unnatural coldness, he wrapped his fingers around the brass doorknob and pushed. With a whimpering creak, the heavy door swung open, and he lunged into the bedroom, ready to fight off whatever awaited within.<br /><br />He felt a brief, almost unannounced prickle of fear as he looked around to spot the foe, but the room was completely empty, save for the dust covered dresser in the corner and the double bed that was neatly made, never slept in. Janine's notebook lay open on the pillow, the same place she'd thrown it down after being interrupted by Oakwood's call from the upper floor.<br /><br />'Where the hell did she go?' Desmond asked out loud, bewildered at the sight of the unoccupied room. It was obvious that she'd never returned after dinner, even though he'd walked back with her after the priest decided to head back to town. He'd decided to retire to bed shortly after, and he'd bid Janine goodnight and made her promise not to leave her bedroom. Oakwood hadn't wanted them to stay behind in the castle, but they had a job to do and wanted to see it through to the end. The priest had sensed the danger. He'd had told them both that it was dangerous to leave their rooms in the middle of the night because of the phenomena, and after finding the decomposing body upstairs they'd been unsettled enough to not think twice about heeding the advice, but-<br /><br />What was that?<br /><br />A flicker of movement registered in Desmond's periphery vision, interrupting his frantic thoughts. Acting on impulse, he turned to face it, and caught a faint, almost completely invisible sliver of a shadow, darting across the floor and burying itself in the darkness of the hallway outside the open door.<br /><br />His heart started to beat faster.<br /><br />Relax, relax, it's just a shadow, he assured himself. Probably just something from outside.<br /><br />He turned to the tiny window beside Janine's bed, expecting to see the shadow again, or a dancing tree branch that had cast it, but there was no such thing to be seen; all he saw was the cloudy sky outside, where the pale full moon shined brightly.<br /><br />Then what the Hell did I just see?<br /><br />Desmond shuddered, and a wave of foreboding seemed to overcome the room. At once, he had the unmistakable feeling of being watched by unseen eyes. He spun around on the spot, scanning the dark corners of the room for the source of the disturbance, but he saw nothing but emptiness and the disjointed silhouette of fixtures reduced to abstract shapes. Silently telling himself to get a grip, he shook his head and put the niggling feeling of dread aside. There was still Janine: he had to find her, and get her out of here.<br /><br />The wooden creak of a door slowly opening echoed through the hallway outside from somewhere in the thick blackness, making Desmond jump.<br /><br />He turned on the spot to face the shadowy hallway again and at the very end of it, only just visible in the dark, he saw a heavy, ornate door, ajar only a little at the moment but swaying open wider of its own accord as he watched.<br /><br />From his explorations earlier in the day, he knew that this specific door was the library, but it had been locked tightly when he'd tried it earlier. Now, however, it was open, and even though he didn't recall hearing any footsteps as he crossed from his bedroom to Janine's, someone was in there, and it looked like they'd entered in quite a hurry.<br /><br />'Janine?' Desmond called out as he slowly walked out of the bedroom, edging closer to the beckoning door. 'Are you hiding in there? I'm coming to find you!'<br /><br />He half expected to hear Janine call back, just so he knew she was in there, but he received no answer, save for the chilling scrape of the door opening wider, as if being manipulated by an invisible hand.<br /><br />At last he came to the threshold of the door, where he could just make out the vast library in the darkness. The elaborate, carved edges of the many bookshelves within loomed in the shadow, only just discernible from the blackness that filled the room. By squinting, he could make out narrow alleyways between the massive shelves that twisted and converged into a sprawling maze of paper and wood.<br /><br />Good place to hide, he noted.<br /><br />'Janine?' he called out again, as the hairs on his neck bristled at the notion of losing himself amongst the shelves. He couldn't explain why, but he was trying to avoid having to enter the room, if it was possible. Deep down in his gut, the horrifying awareness that if he crossed the threshold, he'd be lost forever lurked ominously, unexplainably. 'Janine, are you in there?'<br /><br />There was no reply. Total silence hung in the air, the door having finally come to rest against the dirty stone wall. Could she hear him calling? If she was in there, could she have gone so far in that it was impossible for his voice to carry through the darkness? Or was there another reason that she might be remaining silent? Was there something in this place so frightening, so evil, that she wouldn't answer for fear of alerting it, even to him?<br /><br />Don't be stupid, Desmond, he admonished himself. Get in there and find her!<br /><br />He glimpsed a flicker of movement amongst the bookshelves, as if something was receding into the obscuring darkness, trying to remain hidden.<br /><br />'Janine, I'm coming in, stay there!' he called out, stepping through the doorway.<br /><br />A gust of freezing air whooshed in from the corridor behind him, almost knocking him off his feet, and the next thing he heard was the creak of the door moving once again, before it slammed shut with a crash behind him, leaving him in total darkness.<br /><br />'Damn!' he swore, his heart skipping a beat as his ears rung from the cacophony. 'What the Hell's going on?'<br /><br />Did the wind blow it shut? <br /><br />Not even bothering to try and stifle the raw terror that had overcome him, and completely forgetting all notions of looking for Janine, he spun around and lunged for the door, determined to escape from the castle. He fumbled in the darkness until he felt the cold metal of the doorknob and twisted it clockwise, ready to make a run for it. With a congested grunt, he slammed his shoulder into the door to push it open. It collided painfully with the thick wood, creating a loud thump. The door shook, but didn't budge.<br /><br />'Damn it, what is this?' Desmond snarled in anger, rubbing his aching shoulder and trying the door again. It remained steadfastly closed.<br /><br />Locked maybe? he wondered, feeling around for a catch. I didn't hear anything lock when it closed. What could have-<br /><br />Oh, shit. No, no. It can't be.<br /><br />'I can't get out!'<br /><br />Unbidden, his mind ran through a memory from earlier in the evening, when he had tried the door before dinner. It wouldn't open then, even though he had they key but it had opened of its own accord just before. Suddenly, he realised what was happening, and he felt his muscles tighten with fear. The door wasn't locked, after all - someone, something was holding it shut from the other side, something that wanted to trap him in here.<br /><br />Damn it! What do I do now?<br /><br />He swore loudly and kicked at the door with his bare foot. Why did he have to come rushing in here like a damn fool? He turned once more, to face the darkness of the library, wondering if there was another way out, if only he could hope to possibly see it in the blackness.<br /><br />It was his only option.<br /><br />Maybe Oakwood would return to the castle and save him. He doubted it: it was a five hour drive from the castle back to Preston. It was a very small chance, if any, that the priest would be back in time.<br /><br />He began to make his way over cautiously through the first row of shelves, watching carefully for anything he could use as a weapon, poking out between the thick volumes, when once again he was struck with the unshakable feeling that he was being watched by something malevolent.<br /><br />Something moved, barely pronounced, ahead of him.<br /><br />'Janine, where are you?' he called out.<br /><br />The feeling of being watched grew more intense.<br /><br />Oh God, he whispered, following it into the shelves. Please let it be her.<br /><br />Please let it be her.<br /><br />He saw something undefinable edge around a corner into another row of shelves. He broke into a run and chased after it.<br /><br />If it was Janine, she could help him escape. There had to be a way out of here. He wasn't trapped. He refused to believe it.<br /><br />He picked up his speed.<br /><br />Somewhere in the distance, a pinprick of light flickered.<br /><br />Come on! Keep going!<br /><br />He emerged into a reading area at the rear of the library. Along the back wall, a heavy wooden desk was pushed up in front of a blockaded window. A dying oil lantern sat on top of it over an open book, its tiny flame feebly wavering from side to side as it consumed the last drops of fuel. As he approached it, it died with a slight whisper, leaving him alone in the darkness.<br /><br />He turned around, to try and see if he could spot a way out of the room. All he could see were the shelves he had just passed through.<br /><br />There was nowhere else to go.<br /><br />Overcome by hopelessness, Desmond sunk to his knees, screaming as loudly as he could for someone, anyone, to come and help him. As he shouted in desperation, he saw, for the very last time, movement in the shadows in front of him. His screams degenerated quickly into a frantic sobbing, and he shook uncontrollably as he watched the short, slender figure in the darkness coming gradually closer. Soon, the sobs slowed down and he was silent, transfixed upon the shadowy body moving through the bookshelves towards him. Its face was hidden in the darkness and its body, too, was obscured, but it was definitely a human silhouette, and even though it made no sounds, no footsteps as it glided towards him, he thought that it was possible, after all, that all may not be lost. Perhaps it could be-?<br /><br />'Janine?' he whispered, as the figure moved out of the shadows, coming into clear view.<br /><br />It wasn't Janine.<br /><br />#<br /><br />'Did you find anything?' asked the priest, his voice congested with fatigue from a sleepless night. He had tried to call Desmond and Janine when he got back to Preston just after half past three. They hadn't answered. He'd tried again after the police left to investigate, an hour later. There was still no response. It wasn't like them. They were used to late night phone calls. He was worried.<br /><br />The police sergeant sat down at the table in front of him and solemnly sipped his coffee. He sighed forlornly, and shook his head.<br /><br />'Three bodies. One upstairs in the art gallery - we identified him as Colin Croshaw, a cat burglar who's been missing for two weeks; he obviously intended to get hold of some of the old paintings - and two in the library, trapped in a corner up the back. Your friends, I'm afraid.'<br /><br />He swallowed another mouthful of coffee.<br /><br />'Students from the university, weren't they?'<br /><br />Oakwood nodded.<br /><br />'Journalism students, they told me. They wrote for their campus paper, did a column about urban legends and ghost stories. I'd worked with them before a few times, helping them cover the theological aspects of a few bits of local folklore. I went to the castle with them because otherwise they'd have gone alone, but…'<br /><br />The sergeant leaned forward.<br /><br />'Forensics are up there now, but, personally, I doubt they'll find anything. The coroner's already looked at the bodies. No apparent cause of death. Says it's like their hearts just stopped. I don't know what to think…'<br /><br /> 'I don't know what to think either,' said Oakwood standing up and crossing the room to the wine cask opposite. 'All I know is that something about that place just felt wrong, and now I know why people stay away.'<br /><br />He poured himself a glass, and took a sip. Behind him, the police officer stretched and climbed to his feet.<br /><br />'Well, I'd better be off then. Have to let the evening papers know about the investigation. We'll be expected to try and find something, even if we have to conclude that these people were killed by ghosts.'<br /><br />Oakwood walked him to the door and saw him out. He watched the dirty police car recede down the road in front of the church, until it vanished behind a thicket of trees.<br /><br />He sighed softly and sunk into an armchair in front of a fireplace.<br /><br />What a waste, he thought, sipping his wine. Two kids dead, and nobody to blame.<br /><br />Now he was alone.<br /><br />'Should be glad that at least I had the foresight to get out of there while I still could,' he said to nobody in particular, closing his eyes.<br /><br />As he started to drift off to sleep, a strange sense of foreboding prickled in the depths of his mind.<br /><br />Somebody was watching him.<br /><br />###<br /><br />About the Author;<br />D. Robert Grixti is a speculative and horror fiction author and indie video game developer hailing from Melbourne, Australia. He writes because he likes telling stories. His first novel, Sun Bleached Winter is to be released in December, 2012. Follow him at <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/DRobertGrixti">https://twitter.com/#!/DRobertGrixti</a> or at <a href="http://legionwood.wordpress.com/">http://legionwood.wordpress.com</a></span></span><div>
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Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-52494626795145917122012-10-02T22:12:00.002-05:002012-10-02T22:13:37.579-05:00Issue Sixteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to another great issue of Larks Fiction! We hope you enjoy this exploration of the human experience. Today we are offering poetry and short fiction that is sure to please and astound.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In news we are completely out of our Oklahoma City office. We are now however a homeless media company taking shelter in temporary office space till our loan comes through.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But never fear! We will be having more readers and more reading sessions to help clear out our back log.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yours,</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What I Want to Share</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Deng Xiang</span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">People derided you, they said you are obtuse,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">That you are dim-witted, so you sniveled</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">like a child.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">But I couldn’t help, </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">since you have an illness,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And by simply alive, you are meant </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">to be scoffed</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By haughty and patronizing people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">While others have the cravings of wealth and possessions;</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The pull of resources will never satiate them,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I forsake all of them, for you,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">For you to brave the stigma hung above</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And the distance you and I endure</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shall never be eroded through the years</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Like acid rain corroding buildings</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And statues made with love.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Cracks and fissures in your skin and organs</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shall never belong to you</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To torment.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">These fingers, those that remain writers, </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Shall produce everlasting recounts</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Of your experiences</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And to return your dignity</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To you, the one who was forsaken.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Poet; </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Deng Xiang speaks, writes articles, poems and stories while sharing
his passion for all things erudite and salient. Mainly, his subsistence
comprises of highbrow literature from chemistry to pure mathematics.
His appetite for knowledge never ceases, even if he got an
accomplishment worth showing off.</span></span></div>
</div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Mrs. Smith</span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> By L.G.Wyant</span></span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">George Cranston awoke to incessant
pounding on the ceiling above him. It sounded like someone was trying to stake
a tent to the floor above their apartment. Briefly wondering about the time, he
decided he was too tired to turn over and look at the clock behind him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Starring at the ceiling, as if he could divine
the source of the noise, George hadn’t realized his wife was awake until she
spoke. “What
in the world is she doing at this hour”?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">George tore his gaze away from the
ceiling to look at Anessa’s brown eyes. He loved her eyes; it had been the
first thing he noticed about her when they met in college seven years ago. He
loved her brown eyes, but not the dark pads under them. They were tell-tale
signs of the sleep deprivation they’d both had lately. “You know how peculiar old ladies
can be sometimes”, he replied back with a smirk. “Maybe she’s trying to build a
walking cane for one of her hundred cats?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Why does she have to be an old cat
lady, we’ve never seen evidence she has one, not to mention a hundred.” Anessa
laughed.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah, but it makes you smile.
Besides, we’ve never seen her either…but we know she’s there.” George said
pointing to the ceiling. “It’s late though, and you have an early shift
tomorrow. It’s not so bad if I’m tired at work, but you’re a nurse. People
depend on you.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Several moments went by before he
realized the pounding stopped. “Thank you Mrs. Smith”, George
shouted towards the apartment above. As if in reply two more thwacks landed on
the floor above before silence once again descended. George once again starred
at the most important set of brown eyes in his life and said, “I think
tonight’s entertainment is over, you should try going back to sleep.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Anessa sighed as she looked over
her husband’s shoulder, “I can’t … it’s only about ten minutes before I have to
get up anyway. I’ll just make a cup of coffee for after my shower.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As his wife set about her morning
routine, George tried once again to fall asleep. He wouldn’t have to be at work
for five hours yet. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Two more days would pass before
they would hear dear old Mrs. Smith again. This time the Cranston’s were
enjoying a day off together when a weird scraping sound came from over their
living room. Trying to ignore it George turned up the volume on the movie they
were watching, but the sound just grew louder.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What the heck is she up to?”
wondered Anessa. “Did you call the office about the other night honey?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Yeah, but the receptionist was a
bit weird. She was fine until I told her what apartment we were in, and what
Mrs. Smith was up to. Then she started acting like it was a prank call. I tell
you babe, you can’t trust kids with jobs like that these days. Just because an
old lady looks like a grandmother, doesn’t make her a saint.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Laughing at his analogy Anessa got
up from the couch after stopping the movie. “Well, I guess it’s my turn to deal
with them. I’ll show you how it’s done.” Anessa walked over to the phone and
smiled at her husband while dialing the number for the management office. “Hello, yes this is Anessa Cranston
from 316. I’d like you to hear something.” Anessa held the phone to the ongoing
noise above them for a few seconds. “That’s the noise nice old Mrs. Smith is
making. I realize she might seem like a nice old lady, but she’s been driving
me and my husband crazy with all the noise she’s been making.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Taking the phone away for a second
she looked at George and said,” she’s getting the manager. See honey, I told
you I’d take care of it.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The manager must have picked up the
other end because Anessa was listening intently. After a few moments she hung
up the phone and returned to the couch by her husband. “The manager said they’d be by in a
few minutes to check on Mrs. Smith, so just turn it up a bit more so we can
finish this movie”. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">George did as his wife wanted and
sure enough, a few minutes later they saw a golf cart pull up through their
front window. Pausing the movie, they heard two sets of feet climbing the
staircase to the apartment above. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">They didn’t know what was going on,
but George was sure he heard an, “Oh my God” exclamation. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Within five minutes the manager had
evacuated the entire building. George and his wife were standing in the manager’s
office, as the manager talked to a fireman on the other side of the door.
George and Anessa didn’t have long to wonder as the conversation was short.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Well Mr. and Mrs. Cranston,” she said
after rejoining the Cranston’s in her office,” it seems we have a bit of an
enigma on our hands. You see Mrs. Smith was the longest residing tenant at this
complex, and she paid her rent several years in advance. That’s why the owners
never allowed me to rent out her apartment”.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I would hope not,” said Anessa,” I
wouldn’t want to come home from work and find someone else living in my
apartment.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Rest assured Mrs. Cranston; I
would never rent out an occupied apartment. You see, since the owners were so
taken with Mrs. Smith, no one’s even set foot up there for over two years.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This time it was George who
interjected, “why do you keep referring to Mrs. Smith in past tense?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Raising her left eyebrow the
manager looked at him and retorted,” this would go a lot quicker if you’d just
listen for a moment. As I was saying, since no one’s been up there for so long
we were quite surprised to find the whole apartment filled with gas. There must
have been a leak behind the stove. The fire department says it will take
several hours to clear out and it won’t be safe until the leak is fixed. So I’m
sending everyone in the building to the local motel for the weekend. Just show
them your I.D. and we’ll have everything taken care of.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“What about Mrs. Smith,” asked
George,” if the apartment was that full of gas… is she ok”?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The manager gave him a strange look
before replying, “Mrs. Smith hasn’t been with us the last three years. She
died of a major heart attack two years before you moved in… how did you even
know her name?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">George and his wife slowly looked
at each other and then back to the manager. “The day we moved in there was a
knock at the door. When we opened it no one was there, but there was a homemade
apple pie and a note that said <i>welcome to
your new home – your upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Smith</i>”.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The End</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">About the Author; </span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> L.G.Wyant lives in Southern California, but commutes via narwhal to Antarctica where he works as a penguin dance instructor.</span></span><br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-35622828645629498572012-09-24T21:13:00.003-05:002012-09-24T21:14:17.502-05:00Issue Fifteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to another issue of Larks Fiction Magazine. In this issue we are expanding what it means to be human in life, death, and dating. Join us on a quest to learn what it means to exist through these talented wordsmiths!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As an update on the big move--our offices will move this weekend.The bank hasn't cleared our money yet for the new place so we will be homeless for just a little bit. If you do not hear from us do not fear--we will return everyone's email (we will just be a little tardy).</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for your patience--now on with the good stuff!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yours,</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This Morning I Died</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Charles Bernard</span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Alone I fought pain<br />Till I gave up <br />At last free from reason<br />Time and season<br /><br />I turned for a last look<br />At the world I left behind<br />Family and friends <br />Never would we meet again<br /><br />There was no regret<br />In my thoughts<br />Of things I won’t do again<br />Pleasures I won’t enjoy<br /><br />In the earth my flesh rotten<br />My bones like though <br />They had never been strong<br />My memories blown away <br /><br />I am powerless against time<br />It has written my fate<br />Life is just a passing phase<br />This morning I crossed over.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Learn more about the poet on Twitter @<span class="screen-name">chalzz619</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dina, a Warrior</span></span></b></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Lynne C. Handy </span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> My
brother Finn has a tumor with tentacles that is choking his brain.
Death waits in a dark corner of his
room. People speak in low voices; they
walk softly, their bodies sagging with grief. I am Dina, Finn’s
eight-year-old sister. I sit in an alcove trying to read, but can’t
concentrate because my mind is frantic.
Throwing down my book, I stomp from the house making loud growling
noises,
wanting Death to hear and to fear me. I
run past the garden filled with dazzling poppies: purple, orange,
crimson,
peach, and white. It’s the white ones
whose egg-shaped pods contain the milk that helps Finn sleep. Sometimes
he hurts so much that he breaks spindles on the headboard. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When the
poppy leaves
wither, Mommy slits the pods, collects the sap and boils it in water and
lime. It smells musky, like dirty socks. Scum settles on the top and
she lifts it with
a spoon to dry. Then she puts the powder
in Finn’s apple juice and gives it to him. Only Daddy and I know what
Mommy
does with the white poppies. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The tractor is
parked in the barn lot, still hitched to the harrow. Daddy was in the east field when Mommy sent Uncle
Herb to fetch him. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I run past the
machinery and when I reach the meadow, I fling out my arms and shout, “Death, I
won’t let you have my brother!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To defeat Death, I
need a sword. Near the creek, I find a
stick suitable for jousting. I also need armor to cover my chest and head. Pouncing on waves of frazzle-headed dandelions,
I yank the stems from their taproots and weave a breastplate, lift it over my
head and pat it into place. Then I rip
part of the purple-blossomed clematis from the weathered fence and drape it
over my head. I feel invincible. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Where’s my army? A phalanx of cattails grows alongside the
creek. They’ll do. “Forward,
men!” I cry. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Marching to the
house, I stand outside Finn’s window and yell, “Death, you’re a coward to hide
beside a sick boy’s bed! Come out!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grandma comes to
the window. “Shh, Dina,” she says, “You
must be quiet when you play outside Finny’s window.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I am a great warrior!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“That’s nice,
dear,” says Grandma. “Just play quietly.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I fling myself on
the ground behind the tiger lilies and part the sleek leaves to spy on the
window. Death must’ve heard me. Will it show its ghastly face? My troops are restless; they’ve grown bored lying
in the grass and I tell them to hush.
Then as I wait, a slithering sound comes from the tall grass beneath the
window. Something is tunneling toward
the lane surrounding the house. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A blossom falls in
front of my eye and I swat it away. Leaping
to my feet, I shout to the army, “Follow me!”
We run past the swing set, the
forsythia bushes and are about to dash into the lane when Death detours through
the poppies. The blooms sway wildly and I
leap into the poppy patch and beat the Orientals until they’re all down; then I
beat the Shirleys, the Reds, the Celadines and the Plumes. Finally the poppies are all destroyed, even
the white ones; and their once gorgeous heads bleed all over the ground. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Dina!” yells
Grandma, from the back porch. “Look what
you did to your mother’s flowers!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Leaving my army, I
run along the fencerow that parallels the asphalt road. I become aware that a pickup truck is
following me. Grandpa and Uncle Herb are
inside.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> “Dina,” calls out Grandpa, “get in. It’s time to say goodbye to Finny.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I run. Grandpa
stops the truck and Uncle Herb gets out and runs after me. In the middle of the meadow, he grabs me
around the waist. I kick, I punch; I
yell as loud as I can. He tries to be
gentle, even when I knock off his glasses.
He picks them up and carries me to the truck. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grandpa says,
“Dina, why do you want to hit Uncle Herb?
He’s only trying to get you so you can say goodbye to Finny.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I won’t!” I say. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Now is that being
a nice girl?” he asks. “Poor Finny.
He’ll want to carry your words to heaven.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No!” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Uncle Herb holds me
firmly on his lap. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I burst into
tears. “I won’t tell Finn goodbye.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Tell him whatever
is in your heart,” says Uncle Herb.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“That’s right,”
says Grandpa. “Just say what you feel, honey.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">By the time we
reach the house, I’ve settled down. The preacher’s
gray Chevy is parked in the driveway. I’m
sorry I punched and kicked Uncle Herb. I
look guiltily at his glasses which set crookedly on his nose. There’s a ten dollar bill in my piggy bank
and I’ll give it to him. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Grandma shakes her
head. “Look at you. Dead flowers hanging from your hair.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">She starts to
remove them, but Uncle Herb says, “She’s fine, Ma. Leave the flowers alone.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mommy and Daddy
are in Finn’s room. The preacher sits
beside the bed. He gets up and offers the
chair to me. I sit down and look at my
brother’s face. Mommy must have given
him some of her medicine because he lies with closed eyes, unmoving. I find his icy hand and rub it to give him
warmth. I am swollen with feelings of
love, anger, loneliness, sorrow, and don’t know what to say. Then his chest inflates; he exhales and I arch
over him to catch his breath in my mouth. Closing my lips, I hold it there, feel it
seep into my lungs and spread through my body.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“He’s gone,” says
the preacher.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He begins saying
the Twenty-Third Psalm. Mommy cries. My grandparents and uncle run into the
room. I go to the alcove and sit for
several minutes feeling Finn’s breath settle in my bones. Finny’s not gone.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The End</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> For the past two years, Lynne C. Handy has read her short stories and poems in
coffeehouses. This is her first attempt at publishing. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Four bad dates</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Rachel L. Greene</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Sitting
one winter afternoon on my couch, my best friend on the phone broached the
subject of my lack of a romantic relationship.
For the umpteenth time I explained that it wasn’t like the old days, I
don’t go out, I don’t party. I don’t
drink therefore I don’t go to clubs and certainly not bars. So where did he expect me to meet
someone. Sighing and taking the tone of
this is just common knowledge he told me to go online to one of the million
dating websites and create a profile. I
laughed and said I was going to hang up now and go back to my movie. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">An
hour
later my movie over, I was overcome with boredom. I decided to do what
he had suggested. For one thing, he would ask me every time we
talked if I had done it, and at least if I did I could throw it in his
face how
much of a bad idea this whole online dating thing was. I was not overly
astonished at all the sites
that did offer this, I decided to filter out the ones that seemed
strictly for
“hooking up” and the ones that required
a payment. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">I
chuckled and thought about how this could be construed as a form of
prostitution. The questions posed to
new applicants were simple enough, they asked some intuitive questions about
what kind of viewpoints you have, what your personality is like and what you
are looking for and not looking for in a relationship. Finally I chose a picture that wasn’t
horrific of myself and linked it to my profile.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">I
had been brutally honest with my answers to the questions mainly to see what
kind of a response I would get. I
browsed around the website checking out the type of guys that were on but
didn’t initiate any contact. Bored I
logged of and found another movie.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">About
a half hour later I received an email someone had sent me a message on the
site. I logged on and saw there were
actually ten messages. I read each one
and chose to respond to the ones that didn’t seem like potential serial
killers. Over the next couple of weeks I
was in contact with the initial people on an almost continuous basis. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Nick. Nick and I had decided to meet at Starbucks;
I figured this was a safe zone, enough people around in case I needed to scream
for help but not enough people around to be a distraction. Also I wouldn’t be obligated or trapped into
spending several hours with this person if he was creepy.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Nick’s
profile, and in our correspondence he had described himself as outgoing and
ambitious. Ok I can respect and relate
to ambition. I arrived on time to
Starbucks and grabbed myself a seat near a window. I pulled out a book so that no one would
randomly come up and try to strike up a conversation with me. Thankfully for Nick I became engrossed in my
book and didn’t realize that twenty minutes had gone by and there was no
Nick. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Annoyed
I put my book back in my bag and prepared to get up from my seat when in walks
Nick. Tall and way more tanned than he
was in any of his photos. It was that
awkward kind of tan that is so deep that you are not sure if it is real or
sprayed on. He still turned a couple of
heads as he spotted me and walked over.
He introduced himself and said he’d grab us some coffee. As he retreated back to the counter to order
I noted two things. One he hadn’t
apologized or even acknowledged his tardiness.
And two he didn’t ask me what I wanted.
I decided to check my annoyance and see if he said anything about his
lateness when he got back and let the ordering for me go for now.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">He
came back and sat down all smiles, a big bright even white smile that made me
wonder if his teeth were capped. Or was
it the tan that made his teeth seem to almost glow. I smiled and thanked him for the coffee which
once I took a sip instantly wished I hadn’t thanked him. Geesh he ordered the sweetest drink on their
menu and then had them dump sugar in it.
I put the cup down and looked at him.
Only then did I realize that he had been having a full fledge
conversation the whole time I was thinking about that god awful coffee. He seemed oblivious to the fact that I hadn’t
noticed he had been talking which made me kind of look around and see if he was
talking to someone else. Nope he was
talking to me. I smiled and tried to
figure out what he was talking about. Oh
his watch, I looked down and nodded yes it was a very nice watch but why was he
telling me how much it cost. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Abruptly
he
changed topic and started talking about his car and what kind of car do
I
drive. I opened my mouth to tell him but
before the first syllable of my car’s name could reach my lips he was
off and
running at the mouth about his car. Oh
it was 2010 the 2011 model wasn’t released yet but he…. My eyes glazed
over. All of a sudden in mid verbal
vomit he leaned back in his chair and smiled at me. With his mouth
closed he looked very
attractive. He just smiled though so I
figured that this was my opening to say something about myself. I mean
this was a date right? So I said “so you’re in finance? Do you like
it?” His eyes shone with glee as he proceeded to
tell me about the prestigious firm that he worked for out of New York
and how
he was the senior honcho and… I felt my eyes glaze over again.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">After
about ten minutes of him singing his own praises he asked me another question
about myself. My mouth flung open at the
question though. “So you’re a tiny one
huh” wait did he just call me tiny? I mean
yeah I am but… he was of and talking again. “That’s good I like a tiny women” I
didn’t hear the rest because I was still staring at him with astonishment. Finally I said “excuse me I need to use the
restroom” naturally he didn’t hear me
over his own voice so I stood up, he
actually acknowledged that, so I repeated myself and tried not trot in the
direction of the bathroom. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">I
stared at myself in the mirror and contemplated how long it would be before I
could politely extract myself from this situation. Slowly I walked back to the table; he stared
at me as I sat down and said “Damn you are attractive; that’s good I was
slightly worried that you wouldn’t actually look like your picture, I’ve gone
out with some girls that have said that they were petite or had a muscular
build and turned out to be some real heifers.”
I stared at him there was no way I was going to act like this fool had
just complimented me when in reality I felt insulted; and did he really just
say heifer in reference to other women?</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> The way
he was oggiling me made my skin itch.
Again he was oblivious to my reaction and started a whole new
conversation on how he takes good care of himself, and how why should he settle
for a girl that can’t even keep her weight down or actually put some makeup
on. That’s it I’m out of here screw
politeness this guys is an arrogant pompous… I ground my teeth thinking of how
much of a tool bag this guy was. I
grabbed my coat of the back of my chair and my bag and just walked away. He stood up sputtering, I turned and said
“thanks for that god awful coffee and conversation but I need to go home and
take a very long shower and try to wash the memory of you away.” Then I made a fast retreat to the door, my
car, and ultimately the sanctuary of my home. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Okay
so that was horrible, but I decided that if I went back and used one bad date
as an excuse against my best friend’s suggestion, I would get an ear full. Date number two was with Todd.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Starbucks
seemed
to work for a reliable place to be able to make a quick exit from so I
decided
that as the destination of our date.
Todd was on time so that was a small point in his favor. He politely
asked what I would like to drink
which again was a point for him. I
relaxed a bit in my chair thinking okay we are off to a much better
start than
the last one. I studied him as he stood
at the counter. He was dressed nice in
the preppy style, as he walked over I noticed that a small tag, one of
those
little size stickers they randomly stick on clothing at the stores.
Those stickers always annoy me. You know they stuck one on the
clothing, but
you have to actually hunt for it, since they never place it on the same
spot as
other clothing they sell. It becomes a
very agitating game of find the sticker.
Which you inevitably find when you least expect it. Like when you have
worn it twice already, put
it through the wash yet you look down one day and see it sticking
randomly on
your sleeve.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">He
sat down and crossed his legs, which to be honest, I always found this to be a tad
bit effeminate in males; as I looked down at his loafers I noticed that they
were really shiny. Which considering it
is winter, there is salt and that dirt that they fling all over the sidewalks
in front of stores to stave off potential lawsuits, seemed quite inconceivable,
that they could remain that clean. He seemed
jittery; jiggling his shiny loafer. He
asked me if my coffee was okay, and I replied that it was fine, and thank
you. He nodded and rubbed his thumb over
part of his shiny loafer. Well if this
is a habit then that may explain how his shoes are so shiny. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">He
asked me if I liked his shirt. I nodded
and told him yes it was a good color on him, something told me not to mention
the tag. The conversation was spotty,
and I felt awkward with the long gaps of silence. His smile, which seemed plastered on his face,
made me think he was slightly constipated.
When he asked me again if my coffee was okay I realized this guy was nervous
as hell. I tried to ask him questions about himself, he told me that he went to
Brown and said it’s a really good school.
But the tone that he said it seemed like he wasn’t so sure. The more we talked, the more his tone sounded
more like he was posing questions rather than statements. This guy reeked of self doubt and
insecurity. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">As
his eyes darted from here to there, and he tugged nervously at his pant leg, I
decided that I may not be able to abruptly leave. This guy seemed fragile, and if I just cut
the date short, he would definitely be the type to call me repeatedly to find
out what went wrong. No I would have to
suffer through the awkward-ness, and possibly change my number tomorrow. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Two painful hours later one of the barista’s
made the announcement that they would be closing in ten minutes. I put my nicest smile on and told Todd that
this has been memorable but it seemed like we had to leave. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Rick,
back
to Starbucks, the baristas were starting to give me funny looks.
Shrugging it of I gave them my coffee order,
and then took up my usual post and pulled out my book. The door opened
and in walked Rick. He had seemed a bit hesitant about meeting at
Starbucks. He walked right over and sat
down. His hair was jet black and spiked
up in a kind of sotto Mohawk. He looked
me up and down and smiled. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">I
had to admit that conversation with him came easy as we talked; that is until
we started talking about music. As he
started firing questions of about who was the original drummer of this band?
And what year was Rancid’s out comes the wolves cd released I realized that I
knew this guy. Well not him for say, but
his type. He is the ultimate elitist
punk. He is the guy that has built his
entire personality around music and knowing every miniscule detail of bands,
and only respects those that have done the same. This is guy that all the other punks and rude
boy’s want to beat to a pulp in the circle pit.
He bombarded me with question after question and I felt my temper
rising. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">As
I
fiddled with my cup, I watched as his eyes fell on my left hand. He
reached out and took hold of my hand. He flipped it over and looked at
the tattoo
on my middle finger. “Anarchy huh?” I nodded and said “yea
transgressions from a
wasted youth.” I knew that I shouldn’t
have said that, for it would just spur another tirade on some movement
or
other. His eyes lit up and he started in
on what I am sure was a practiced speech in front of a mirror. The hate
crimes committed by the fascist
politicians, blah blah blah. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Now
I am more than fully aware of the things done by our government, some
justifiable, and others not as justifiable, but for a purpose. I don’t have to agree with their actions, but
I also don’t have to jump up on my soap box and draw attention to myself. The more he talked the more I started to
remember why in all my years in the punk and ska scenes I had chosen to date
outside of them. I leaned back in my
chair and started to massage the base of my neck, I was developing a tension
headache. I needed to get out of here
before it turned into a migraine. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> His voice was rising, and though I didn’t care
who noticed, it was starting to grate on my already extremely frazzled
nerves. Finally I smiled at him and said
look, this has been great but I really have to get going. I didn’t wait for his reply and beat a hasty
retreat.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Sunday
night I found myself back at Starbucks sitting across from Alex. Alex had tried to insist at meeting at a
bar. I had explained to him that I don’t
drink, so that really isn’t my kind of environment. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Alex
brought to the table a whole new meaning of the word slob. His pants were ripped and tattered, his boots
splattered with mud. His hair hung in
greasy unkempt locks around his ears. My
nose twitched as I tried to not breathe in deeply. There was a definite funk surrounding this
guy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">His
flannel shirt didn’t cover the slightly tattered Metallica t-shirt he wore
underneath, nor did his t-shirt fully cover the beer belly, that he seemed
oblivious was hanging slightly out. I
tried not to look mortified as he scratched his belly. I couldn’t help but to
be offended that he had very obviously used a picture from about ten years and
a million beers ago. He talked
extensively on his truck, the one parked outside with the KC lights, and
splattered with mud, obviously he had been “mudding” recently. The mud was a
badge of honor. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">His
cell
phone rang, and he had a quick conversation with whoever called. He
hung up and said “hey let’s get out of
here there’s a kegger at my boy’s house.”
I looked at him and said “I don’t drink remember.” He gave me the look I
had become accustomed
to, the one that said he just realized I had two heads. “Ah come on
what’s a beer or two?” Trying to hide my irritation with a smile, I
told him that a beer or two constituted of drinking, which as I said I
don’t
do. He opened his mouth to speak, but
before he was able to, I picked up my bag and said why don’t you go, it
sounds
like fun. I have a paper to write for one
of my classes anyway. And with that I
walked out.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The
second I got home, I kicked of my shoes and shed my coat, tossing it on the
recliner. I pulled out my cell phone and called my best friend. I plunked down on the couch just as I heard
him say “what’s up Ray?” I laughed
“what’s up? What’s up is that I am never taking your dating advice again.” He roared with laughter as I proceeded to tell
him all about my four extremely bad dates. </span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> The End</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for joining us on this whirlwind of emotion. Make sure to join us next week for more great indie literature!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlXr1gsKsfR8UEmcMLOrqwSeLAKiG2x_ohu_tHuP14IQK5CMb3b_CU2Jhorv3ltFEJrN_CpZ4RxpMkzpr37D3j9pz3ipVUe9Nl1ugokHtNkgHkql48lqnCVGzPfdD4_L3fADvGdz861c/s1600/fodog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlXr1gsKsfR8UEmcMLOrqwSeLAKiG2x_ohu_tHuP14IQK5CMb3b_CU2Jhorv3ltFEJrN_CpZ4RxpMkzpr37D3j9pz3ipVUe9Nl1ugokHtNkgHkql48lqnCVGzPfdD4_L3fADvGdz861c/s400/fodog.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-88251407572209126282012-09-17T22:39:00.004-05:002012-10-16T22:10:59.552-05:00Issue Fourteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
<div style="line-height: 22pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of Larks Fiction Magazine. In this issue we are bringing out the big guns with lawmen, aliens, and death--oh my!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">To celebrate the upcoming Ghoul season make sure to look for our upcoming publications coming to Amazon and Smashwords.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The new headquarters are coming along. Luck decided to let me escape the under-croft unscathed except for a few bruises and ten pounds of dust. Check out all the newest updates at <a href="http://thefoxhouse.tumblr.com/">http://thefoxhouse.tumblr.com/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yours,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">LFM Editor</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No Sign Before</span></b></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 22pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>By Deng Xiang</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Abstruse harbingers seep along your bed sheets</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A cordial welcome seems </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">to be in disguise for tears;</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Your diaries, and anything in between</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That you encounter. Nothing seems to point</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">To you </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">wanting to terminate your soul.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Try as I might, I could not infer </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">any premonitions</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of your startling death. You were your usual self,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ebullient and optimistic in everything you do,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">But there are feelings cloaked</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Beneath your facade.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">You wore a ghostly mask, unidentified.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Such a bewildering loss makes this truer-</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That not every cloud has a silver lining,</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And bereavement impales me </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 16pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1079039489465822996" name="0.1__GoBack"></a>deep within.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Poet: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Deng Xiang speaks, writes articles, poems and stories while sharing
his passion for all things erudite and salient. Mainly, his subsistence
comprises of highbrow literature from chemistry to pure mathematics.
His appetite for knowledge never ceases, even if he got an
accomplishment worth showing off.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Fox House Jungle</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuzJ0p00ARWQl5cviq_nj8HfKblP7VGdZ4IVkCP490tzEppzkw7xcN0yL3n5uhjefgvT8Oa4acPl7TJIdtQPacDBPNliopWDIdojuZcAhjO5VlU0z6u_2QVv-DUR6jIZdQ-Rzg3J3pjA/s1600/tumblr_m7c86crKIK1rb8m15o7_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWuzJ0p00ARWQl5cviq_nj8HfKblP7VGdZ4IVkCP490tzEppzkw7xcN0yL3n5uhjefgvT8Oa4acPl7TJIdtQPacDBPNliopWDIdojuZcAhjO5VlU0z6u_2QVv-DUR6jIZdQ-Rzg3J3pjA/s400/tumblr_m7c86crKIK1rb8m15o7_1280.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Photo by Katelin Pool</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">The Stoning of Tityos</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">By Simon Jones </span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Only when my palms were stained with his blood did I <span style="font-size: large;">realize</span> what had happened.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
knife, made for whittling and skinning small game, was plunged deep
into his chest. The body swelled once – a deep, horrible inhale of
oxygen before the slow release. Then it was over.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
didn’t look into his eyes. I didn’t have to see them to know what I’d
done. One short motion – my right arm wrenching the weapon into his
heart – and it was finished.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">It
had been years since I’d killed a man, but even then never like this.
It had always been for the Community. For peace. Good crushing evil.
This was something else. I didn’t even know his name.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I had been attacked, certainly. But I immediately questioned whether such a deadly reaction had been warranted. </span><span style="font-size: large;">
<span style="line-height: 32px;">“</span><span style="line-height: 32px;">Coward,</span><span style="line-height: 32px;">”</span><span style="line-height: 32px;"> he
had spat, the word conjuring a vile rage in the pit of my stomach
before he darted towards me, a sharpened rock gripped tightly in his
right hand.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
sticky crimson was warm on my hands now and I began to feel the ache in
my bones again. The winter chill. How long had I been here? I looked
around, concerned that the sun was just four fingers from the horizon. I
didn’t have much time. The Tree Folk would likely come searching for
their kinsperson. And Tom would be on his way.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
body was heavier than I expected. The fact that he was such a fat
bastard didn’t help matters, but once I reached the water his weight
seemed to evaporate. I was worried that the corpse wouldn’t float, but
the stream did most of the work for me. I kept one hand on his chest,
just below the wound, my eyes scanning the banks for any sign of my
deputy.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
crashing roar of Pillaging Falls greeted my ears first and I let the
stream take my attacker’s body over its edge and into the abyss. It
wouldn’t be long before I joined him there.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Despite
the inevitable, I still felt a pang of guilt for his death. Had I not
snuffed out his life, he would have doubtless ended mine. But that did
not ease my burden. I had sworn to protect him – it was my duty. I
sighed and reminded myself that soon it wouldn’t matter.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
Falls were growing stronger by the time I reached its edge. The current
was powerful, but my heavy boots sank deep into the loose earth below
and kept me firmly planted. The sun would kiss the horizon in less than
an hour. I took it to be a sign, of sorts, counting down my last moments
in this place. I began to think about Emma and Flynn. Then Tom called
out for me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“Sheriff!”
The young man, hardly out of his teens, came bounding out of the forest
and alongside the western bank. His voice held no fear. Why should it?
He had met me here every sunset for the last fortnight.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I sighed, as if I had not expected him to reach me in time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“Tom,”
I replied, repeating the same words I had spoken to my deputy every
night for the past two weeks. “You can’t stop this. Not tonight.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">When he didn’t reply, I turned my head to see a lopsided grin on his face. “I think I can, Sheriff.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I didn’t know why he was smirking like a fool, but whatever the reason I wouldn’t be here to find out.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“This time it’s different, Tom,” I said. “Something happened. Something I can’t—”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“I know. Something did happen. Something you never believed we could do.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The sheer excitement in his voice made me freeze. It couldn’t be. Not now. Not when the end was but a footstep away.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“Don’t lie to me.” There was viciousness in my words. “I swear, if you’re lying to me—”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“If I’m lying,” he said calmly. “I won’t stop you from jumping next time.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Something in the way he said it made me believe him. “Tityos?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Tom
nodded. “We got him, Sheriff. He put up a fight, worked some of your
boys over. But we got him.” The chill night air made my body quiver. I
hadn’t brought a change of clothes.</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">#</span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px; text-indent: 1cm;">“You were really going to do it, weren’t you?” Tom asked once I was out of the stream. “You were going to jump?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
didn’t reply. My hands were shivering as I rubbed them up and down both
sides of my chest, trying desperately to ignite some warmth back into
my bones.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Despite
the pain, there was a burning desire deep inside me – something I had
been waiting months to feel. With each passing step I was getting closer
to the man who had murdered my sister and nephew. Flynn, the youngling,
was forced to watch his own mother torn limb from limb before being put
out of his own misery. Tityos wouldn’t be so fortunate tonight.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">He
came in the darkness. At first we thought it was just a group of
hoodlums, kidnapping villagers in the hope of gleaning some ransom from
their wealthy families. We didn’t have any reason to believe it could be
something more sinister.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
first body was discovered near the back of Frank’s Tavern. Half of it,
at least. The other half was never found. Tom thought it might have been
an animal, but I’d never heard of a beast that could saw a man so
perfectly in two.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">When
children started to go missing, and then entire families, the villagers
lost faith in the law. I was their Sheriff, but I couldn’t even give
them a name, let alone a prisoner. The mumblings from the Tree Folk
began to grow louder in the village. People were starting to believe
those mad tales.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Eventually,
after almost a month of terror, he came in the daylight. Tom and I had
enforced a strict curfew on the Community, and since then no one else
had gone missing. But he wasn’t satisfied with what he had already done.
He came during the day and took Emma and Flynn. He knew who I was and
he took them to lure me out. He knew who I was, I was certain of it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Two
weeks ago I found their bodies – what was left of them. Limbs, organs,
entrails. They’d been strewn about the house deliberately. Little Flynn
and my sister. That night I went to the Falls, and every night since.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“Sheriff!
Don’t you turn away from me!” I looked up and winced at the setting
sun. Soon my eyes settled on a dusty old man with a mop of white hair
and thick beard flowing past his shoulders. Old Reg. One of the Tree
Folk. Trouble.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Tom saw him coming but could do nothing to stop the tirade of abuse he began to spout.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“You
have a black soul, Sheriff,” Old Reg shouted. “The others may turn away
from it but I can see through you.” I continued walking but he followed
beside, close enough that I could smell his rancid breath. “You’re as
much to blame for the murders he commits.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“Easy
there, old timer,” Tom started to say, but I motioned for him that it
was okay. Reg had lost his daughter and three grandchildren to Tityos.
My job meant that I was sworn to protect them, and I had failed. The
least I could do was listen to him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“We
warned you about him,” he continued. “You heard the stories from your
own mother’s mouth. You knew he was still out there. Squatting in the
desert, sucking all the life out of that god-forsaken place. You knew
he’d be thirsty for more before long. But you wouldn’t listen, you
stubborn bastard!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">As
the forest began to thin out, I could see the faint outline of
torchlight in the distance. We were coming up on the village and I knew
most of the Community would be heading for the Old Killing Fields – that
arid field of dust and death, where executions played out like the
times of long ago.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“My
daughter.” Old Reg stopped following and began to sob. “My little girl
and her babies too.” I thought about turning around but didn’t even have
the courage to do that. My conscience berated me but my feet continued
to whisk me away from the scene.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">As
we came upon the last line of oak trees leading into the village, I
heard the old hermit speak one final time. “You knew he was out there.
You knew and you didn’t listen. Now it’s on you, Sheriff. The blood of
my family is on your hands!”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Tom
put a firm hand on my shoulder, squeezed twice. “Don’t let that crazy
old fool get to you. He’s as mad as the rest of the folk living in the
forest.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“He lost his child,” I said quietly. “He has a right to grieve.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Tom
just shook his head as the blue lights of Reston Village fell upon our
faces. “If he wants to grieve, he can do it tonight with the Community.
Put that withered old arm of his to good use.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I simply nodded. The excited hoots and howls of my townsfolk were now ringing loudly in my ears.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">#</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">By
the time we reached the Old Killing Fields, the sun was only half a
finger from the horizon. Muted streaks of burnt orange and blood red
stained the sky as if resigning itself to what was about to occur. By
the size of the crowd, I imagined all of the Community and most of the
Tree Folk had come to see Tityos’s end – and partake in it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">One
of the villagers on the outskirts of the congregation saw me and Tom
and quickly called out for the crowd to disperse so that we could reach
its centre. Some smiled as I walked past, perhaps holding onto the hope
that I was the one responsible for the murderer’s capture – that their
Sheriff did indeed still have a fleck of courage left. Most, however,
either lowered their eyes or mumbled curses of “coward” and “shameful”
under their breath. I didn’t give them any response, but I could sense
Tom bristling.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">As
we came upon the beast the Tree Folk had named Tityos, darkness had
consumed the Old Killing Fields. Only the orange of torchlight now lit
the dusty plain, and I began to feel the familiar ache of fear. I took
one breath, another, before looking upon his face.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I almost didn’t recognise him.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">He
looked far different from the night I had found Emma and Flynn. In the
darkness he had sped through the streets like a leopard, but I would
have staked my life that he was at least nine foot tall that evening,
and a shade of blue, not grey. His six limbs were slumped on the ground,
several clearly broken, and some with bones that had pierced his pallid
skin. His face, contorted by the beatings Tom and his crew had no doubt
inflicted upon him, showed one eye fused entirely shut. The other,
though, stared straight back, and I knew at once that he remembered me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
stood, staring into his face – an alien thing I had only heard in
unbelievable tales before this summer. Tales my father had scared me
with as a child. I now looked upon the truth and was determined to see
inside, to see what sort of callous, vile soul – if any – could linger
within.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">He
denied me. After only a second, he lowered his head and released a cry
so horrible I felt as if my legs would give out. That deep keening
filled with fear and sorrow echoed into the night for far longer than
any human cry could. Unconsciously, I took a step forward. He recoiled
at the motion, his broken limbs sweeping back into themselves as far as
was possible. He let out small gasps of pain as a dull, deep blue liquid
began to flow freely from freshly broken scabs. I stopped, raised my
palms instinctively and retreated.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">This was not what I had expected.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">“It’s
time,” Tom whispered in my ear before nodding to one of his men, Robb.
The teenager was carrying a wide shovel, weathered by decades of use,
its formerly sharp edges now curved and harmless.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Robb
kicked the creature’s side, forced him to stand and thrust the shovel
into his hands. “Dig,” he ordered, then kicked him again and mimicked a
digging motion until he was certain Tityos understood.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
had seen this spectacle a hundred times before, even handed that same
shovel to convicted murderers, rapists and heretics. I had seen men
weep, women scream, young boys cry out in terror as they dug their own
graves. Some weren’t even able to hold the shovel without help. Others
drew out the procedure for as long as they could, hoping against all
sanity that we would show them mercy. I never expected Tityos would be
my last.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">It
took the better part of an hour for the creature to shift enough earth
to hold his body. When he was finished, Robb shoved his boot into
Tityos’s back, forcing him into the pit before ordering him to stand
upright. Tom and his men loaded the dirt back into the hole as quickly
as they could, Tityos’s awkward head now the only thing protruding from
the ground.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">When
they were done, Tom turned to me and smiled. ‘Now the fun part,’ he
chuckled. I didn’t respond. A sickness, the likes of which I had never
felt before, was eating away at me with a rapid pace. I almost couldn’t
contain the bile threatening to explode from behind my lips. Nothing
made sense. This thing – this beast – had mutilated my own flesh and
blood, terrorised our community for weeks, years, decades. He had
feasted on the marrow of children and yet I could barely hold his gaze. I
saw pure fear in that face. Tears rolled freely from his eye as he
stared back, yet he did not curse or spit. In that moment, he was
nothing but a frightened child.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Tom
placed something heavy in my right hand, smiled at me and nodded. It
was my duty as Sheriff to throw the first stone – to be the first to
crack the skull. The rest would join in soon after. Usually there was a
lottery to determine who would be allowed to throw, but Tityos had
affected so many lives that it was decided everyone would have their
chance. One by one they would propel their missiles at the beast that
had murdered their children, their husbands, their wives. He would know
true pain then. And he would die slowly.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">At
that moment, I knew I couldn’t join them. After all that had happened,
after all I had been through, there was nothing I wanted more than leave
that place. When I looked into his eyes I could only see a petrified
child, asking why I was doing this, begging me to stop. There was no
comprehension of why he was here. Why these alien people had captured
him and forced him to dig his own grave. He knew that death was close
but couldn’t understand why. Every single man and woman that had died
here understood they had committed an unforgivable sin. They didn’t want
to die, but they understood the reasons why they must. This creature,
this thing, was simply an animal. He had to die, I knew that. And he
would. But I wouldn’t allow myself to be part of another murder today.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
let the stone fall from my hand and turned to walk away. The chanting
stopped and the crowd parted, either too stunned or horrified to block
my way. One man shrieked ‘Coward!’ but I was immune to that word now.
Soon there would be one less coward in the world. Tom didn’t try to stop
me this time.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">By
the time I reached the village, Tityos was dead. The cheers from the
crowd were sickening but I pressed on, determined to finish what I had
started before sunset.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
stopped at my home for just a few moments, making sure I would be long
gone before any villagers returned from the Old Killing Fields. Despite
everything, I couldn’t leave without telling Tom why. He deserved that,
at the very least.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I left the brief note under the lamp by my bed. He’d know what it meant.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Emma’s
diary and little Flynn’s drawing book were still under the shelf where I
had kept them. There wasn’t much that was salvageable from the night
they had died, but those two items had somehow remained untainted by
their blood. I intended to return them to their owners.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">I
didn’t see Old Reg on my return through the forest and was thankful for
it. Who knew what would have happened had he tried to stop me. I didn’t
allow myself to think about anything other than what I was going to do.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">The
night was deep, but the stars lit my path to Pillaging Falls. I’d seen
this sight a thousand times before, but tonight it seemed more magical
than ever. I was calm, at last. Not even the chill of the water affected
me.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 26px; margin: 0cm 26.05pt 0.0001pt 1cm; text-indent: 1cm;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;">Emma
and Flynn sat inside my pocket, close to my heart. The sound of the
Falls crashing into itself surrounded me and I shut my eyes tight. <i>Don’t turn back</i>. I took one step forward into nothingness, and fell for eternity. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 32px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The End </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> About the Author;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Simon Jones is an Australian journalist
who has covered everything from science to sport for over seven years.
His most recent piece of speculative fiction to be accepted for
publishing is "Tourist Regulator" and will be featured in the October
edition of Antipodean SF.</span></span>
</div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks so much for taking the time to read my work.</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Kind regards,</span></span></div>
<div style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Simon Jones</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 24pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">DUSTY</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Michael Martin </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">All I can taste is dust. I sure could use a shot, but I need to
keep a clear head. I can ill afford
to screw up, I have it all planned out, to the last detail but I need to be able
to react and handle the unexpected.
No matter how much you go over it, there is always something that does
not go according to plan; that is what they say.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I wait.
Wait for just the right moment.
Precise timing is crucial if I am going to succeed with my plan and make
a clean getaway. Then there’s the
girl, the girl I’ve always wanted but could never have. Would there be time for her? If I failed, certainly not. I only have one shot at
this.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Still, it sure is dusty. It is in my clothes, my boots, my
saddle. The street, the walkway,
the buildings; it’s even stubbornly clinging to the window panes of the stores
and shops which line the street, giving them a frosted<span style="color: red;"> </span>look.
It hangs in the air like a ghost, always present and never sought. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
People are lining the street as if they are expecting a show. Eager to bear witness to something they
would never have the courage to do themselves. I don't really mind but I wish there
were not so many. I don't need any
distractions; one false move and I might never recover.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hate sneaking in town the back way but this time it is
necessary. You don't announce
yourself by riding down Main Street when you come to kill a man in his own
town.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I tie my horse to a nearby post and step up on the
walkway to get a better look; my spurs jingle as they make contact with hard
wood. Strange how easily you become
accustomed to that sound, I hardly ever notice it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">More people have come out of the shops; they are spilling
over into the street now. I hear a
soft clicking sound coming from the crowd, like a gun being cocked but not as
loud. I survey the crowd, but no one is even wearing a gun. I see a brief flash of light, like the
sun reflecting off a pair of glasses or a spectacle. Since I don’t recognize anyone in the
crowd, I determine there is little danger.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
A man comes out of the feed store with a bit in his right hand. He does not stop to look around but
quickly mounts his horse and rides away from the crowd. Not everyone is so eager to see a
killing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">His horse kicks up more dust as he heads out of
town. The street is straight and
open, just as I remember it.
Good. No wagons blocking
either end, even better. I may have
to leave in a hurry too.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sound of footsteps breaks the silence. I turn to see an older woman walking
towards me. Her hair is slightly gray and she is tightly clutching her handbag
as she walks. Traces of her once
handsome features still show through the lines on her face but this arid land
has drained most of her former beauty.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I tip my hat and she gives me a nod as she passes by,
though I think she is just a little too nervous. Does she recognize me? If she does, I might have to speed up my
plans.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Out of the corner of my eye, I see a man step into the
street from the other side. He
walks slowly, his eyes fixed on me.
I turn to face him but make no other move. His body shows that he's nervous but I
have to give him credit, he manages to keep moving toward me anyway. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">He stops in the middle of the street. "Rattlesnake Jim," he yells. "They say you're gonna kill my pa." His voice, though somewhat shaky has a
bite to it and his gun hand stands ready to draw.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, this is one of the Shelton boys. I reckon this must be Davey, the next to
youngest. He tries to swallow as I
hold his stare, not moving or answering him, but I know his mouth is too
dry. Finally, I turn my head
slightly and spit into the street, but I keep my eyes locked on him.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">With some difficulty, he manages to swallow the lump in
his throat. "I ain't gonna let ya,"
he says. He shifts his weight
slightly and his gun hand quivers.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I step into the street and walk toward him. Along the street, a young boy stands in
front of his parents, an eager look on his face. He can't be more than five or six. He is obviously here to see someone
killed, as are his parents. And why not? Life is hard in these parts and the
sooner he understands the better.
He smiles as I pass by.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
The crowd is to my right as I approach Davey Shelton, at the edge of my
vision. There's another flash like
the<span style="color: red;"> </span>ignited powder from a rifle shot
followed by that strange clicking sound again. Since there's no bullet, I can't risk
searching the crowd for the cause.
I must keep my attention on Davey.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I stop about twenty‑five feet from Davey Shelton, making
sure my right gun is free to draw; I'm not as fast with my
left.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Standing there, I realize how young he looks, despite the
couple of day’s growth on his chin.
He’s a couple of years younger than Dusty; he can’t really know what he’s
up against. I’ll wait for him to
draw first. I’m a gun fighter, not
a murderer.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hear footsteps coming up behind me on the walkway. Light, hurried footsteps. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Jimmy, don't Jimmy." Sara's sweet voice sings in my
ears. "This won't help. It ain't gonna bring Dusty back," Sara
says. I can see her now, standing
on the walkway to my left. Even
though it has been more than two years since I've seen her, she's as beautiful
as the day we met. Her blonde hair
tied back with a red ribbon and the radiance of her cheeks, illuminating her
dress. Even the dust seems to part
for her, like some dull and wispy phantom Red Sea.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Even though it is warm and dry, she still wears the shawl
her mama made for her and around her neck is the string with the miniature
silver spur I gave her when I asked her to be mine. The day I promised to take her away from
this backwater town and show her the world. Chicago, New Orleans,
Paris.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I tried to make good on that promise but it was no
use. The months of cow pokin’ and
bronco bustin’ and even black smithin’ never led anywhere. All I got was enough to feed and clothe
me and a sore back. There was only
one thing I was ever really good at.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And now Dusty was dead because of it. It was my reputation, Jim Duncan, "Rattlesnake Jim," gunfighter,
outlaw; that's what got him killed.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, the only thing I can do for him now is
revenge. "Somebody has to pay," I
say.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Why? It
won't prove nothin'. More killin'‑"</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Dusty done paid for what he done ta my sister," Davey says,
interrupting Sara. His hand is only
a few inches from his gun. His
fingers begin to twitch and his stance stiffens. There's no turning
back.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"I don't think he did nothin’," I say. "I think your Pa just found them
together and couldn't stand it." I
slide my right foot back a few inches and turn ever so slightly, to get a better
angle to draw.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"He found 'em all right. And we knew what he done. He was your brother weren't<span style="color: red;"> </span>he."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Yep, he was my brother all right, so your Pa killed
him."</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"He deserved it, for takin' advantage of my sister!" The hatred shows in his face and I
forget his youth. He’s beginning to
look like his father.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"What Dusty done or didn't, ain't gonna matter
now," Sara says, moving closer to me. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"Do you think he did it?" I ask her. She doesn't answer, but the look on her
face says it for her. How could she
even consider it? She'd known Dusty
even longer than she'd known me. It
was Dusty who introduced us.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"My Pa caught him red handed," Davey says. "And a Duncan's a Duncan." His hand is almost clenched now and
although his anger is evident, his resolve may be wavering.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I look Davey in the eye. "Maybe your sister was doing somethin'
she shouldn't,” I say. “And if that
weren't bad enough, she was doin' it with a Duncan." I narrow my eyes and get ready to
draw.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Davey goes for his gun, but it's barely out of his
holster when I squeeze the trigger of my colt. The bullet carries him backward as his
gun fires harmlessly toward the ground.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I put my gun back in its holster and walk over to
Sara. She has turned her head and
is staring down at a hitching post but she hasn’t run away. As I step up on the walkway she says,
“How could you? Dusty’s still
dead.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“I know,” I say.
“There ain’t no reasonin’ it.
Jus’ the way it is.” I put
my hand on her arm and she slowly looks up to me. The sadness in her eyes penetrates
deeper than any bullet I’ve ever taken and for a moment, I consider sweeping her
up in my arms and riding out of town with her. Our gazes lock for several seconds
before we are jarred back to reality by a commotion behind us.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">An older woman runs into the street. "Davey!" she screams, and falls on the
motionless body. The sheriff and
several deputies come around the corner of the feed store, Bill Shelton and his
two other sons follow closely behind.
Instinctively, I push Sara into a doorway and turn to face them. There's at least six or seven of
them. I don't like the odds.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">"All right Jim, give it up. Undo your gun belt," says Sheriff Tom
Jessup. “There’s been enough
killin’ for one afternoon.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“Yes Jimmy, give up. If you really do love me, give it up,
please!” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before anyone can say much of anything else, one of the
Sheltons draws. I respond and
barely get my shot off before his.
I hear his bullet whiz by my head.
Everyone else draws almost </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">simultaneously, except Sheriff Tom. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">“No, hold your fire!” he yells at his deputies, but it’s
too late, their guns are ready and cocked.
I fire a second shot, striking a deputy as his bullet rips into my left
leg.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I spin around and fire at another deputy, hitting him in
the side. At the same time, I draw
my other gun and fire at Sam Shelton, the Shelton’s oldest boy. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I don’t have time to aim and my shot sails wide. He ducks for cover as the bullet hits a
post.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The sheriff has finally drawn his gun but he’s
yelling at the Shelton’s, trying to restore order.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The last deputy ducks behind a wagon and we exchange
fire.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Bill Shelton yells back at Sheriff Tom, wildly waving his
gun.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The deputy I shot in the side, fires back from where he
lays in the street. The bullet
grazes my arm.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A second bullet strikes me in the gut and I take a step
back. Pain shoots through my body
but I manage to stay standing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I see one of the Shelton’s, Matt I think, run for a buggy
by the edge of the crowd and I fire, shooting him clean through the
back.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sheriff Tom points his gun at me and screams, “For
Christ’s sake, stop,” while Bill Shelton comes toward me in a
rage.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I level both guns at him. He's aiming at me as well. Our stares meet. Our hatred exchanges in the fury of our
guns. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am hit twice more, but am too angry to fall, as I empty my guns to riddle his
body.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sheriff Tom fires several shots.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">So does the deputy from behind the
wagon.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And the one lying in the street. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My body is rocked and I fall back, hitting a post. A few more bullets fly about and then
silence.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I fall off the walkway and land on a hitching post, my
stomach wraps neatly around it. My
spurs jingle as they begin to spin.
My hat falls to the ground.
I'm staring down at dirt and dust.
My mouth is dry. I can see
the guns still in my hands but I cannot lift them. The jingle slowly fades away as a thick
salty wetness fills my mouth.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I hear the sheriff and deputies mumbling something and
Sara crying in the background, trying to get to me. Poor Sara. She’s the one purely innocent in all
this. Innocent of being a Duncan or
a Shelton. Innocent of reckless defiance or
exploitation. Innocent of
everything, except loving me. She
tried to warn me. Tried to save us
both. Who'll save her now? Save her from this lonesome town? It sure is dusty. Dusty. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As
the life drains from my body, I hear the applause. It lasts for several seconds. A hand on my shoulder tells me I can get
up. It's Sara, or rather, Lisa.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">We take a bow as the announcer comes over the loud
speaker. "That concludes this
afternoon’s show at Old Tucson movie studios. We hope you enjoyed it. There'll be another show this evening at
six."</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I retrieve my hat, and Lisa and I walk down the street
acknowledging the waves from the crowd.
She doesn't say a word, but there's a slight, mischievous sort of smile
on her face and she seems to be walking a little closer to me than usual. As we near the edge of the crowd, she
puts her arm in mine and we continue to
walk.</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Michael Martin has lived in Tucson his entire life,
running his own Tax Accounting Service for over twenty years. </span><span style="font-size: large;">With over a dozen short stories to his credit, Mike is also an avid
poet and his poem, "<i><span style="color: black;">Scorpion Dance</span></i>" won
first prize in Fiction Addiction Poetry contest a few years ago.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you for reading and make sure to come back next week for more great fiction, poetry, and art! </span></span></div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-62124211684174113232012-09-10T21:31:00.000-05:002012-09-10T21:39:10.652-05:00Issue Thirteen, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Hello and welcome to another exciting edition of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we are delving straight into what makes us human (even if the characters aren't). Thank you for joining us and I hope you like what you read.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> For an update on Fox House we are nearly ready to start rebuilding! We dug out most of the ancient sewer lines. On a side note--always know how to get out of any tiny space under a creepy house you crawl into.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Make sure to follow us on Twitter @LarksMedia and me @Filozophy for all the latest news, gossip, and writing tips.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yours,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Monster</span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By L.G. Wyant</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <br /> Karl Skrog awoke to the sound of some infomercial spokesman hawking his wares with the jubilant zeal of the newly converted. <br /> The pounding in the back of his head was explained as his bleary eyes took in the empty beer cans surrounding his recliner. Karl looked around, confused for a moment, before remembering why he had drunk himself to sleep in the living room.<br /> He came home exhausted after work, and having a few at the bar to settle his nerves. Upon arriving home he hadn’t so much as gotten his boots off when he heard a whimpering moan, as if some scared soul was too frightened to even cry out.<br />Cursing softly under his breath Karl walked through the small trailer home to the room that belonged to the boy. Opening the door and flipping the light switch on revealed the boy huddling in his quilt, scrunched against the headboard as if he could crawl behind it.<br />Karl stood in shock for a second at how far the boy was taking the charade. “What in tarnation are ya doin”, he exclaimed at the boy. “If’n I told ya once, I told ya a thousand times, boy”. He then walked over to the closet across from the bed and threw open the closet’s sliding door while shouting at him, “There ain’t no such thing as monsters”!<br />The seven year old boy, enveloped in his quilt, quivered as a small head covered in mouse brown hair emerged, “It was there… I swear it was. Look,” he said as he pointed at the footboard, “it clawed the bed try’n ta get me”. <br />Karl noticed the marks on the wooden footboard, “What did you do boy”? He rubbed at the gashes in the wood that must have been a quarter inch deep. “Forget fer a minute those good people at that church bought’cha brand new bed, but what ya think them social werkers gonna think when they see this? They gonna take away my state fundin’, then what we gonna eat? Ya gonna start a garden or sumpthin”?<br />The boy had covered up again and whimpered under the quilt. Karl almost lost it then, the boy was nothing but trouble. Here he was proving he didn’t have anything to be frightened about, and the little brat wouldn’t shut up.<br />Finally fed up, Karl turned to leave the room. “Simmer down, ya better be in bed soon. You might not have school tomorra, but I gotta work.”<br />Karl turned the light back off and pulled the door closed. That was when he decided to have a few brews while watching the sports recap. A few had turned into many and he never did get back to his room to set the morning alarm.<br /> Staring through bleary eyes at the clock over the television, Karl blinked several times as he tried to bring the led numbers into focus. Upon seeing it did indeed say he was three hours late for work, he took a few moments to decide whether to call in late or just scrap the whole day.<br /> Prudence finally won out, and the fact that he wouldn’t be able to afford his weekly case of Milwaukee’s Best. Karl got up from his stained recliner and stumbled over to the rotary phone hanging from the wall by the kitchen. It only took a few moments to remember the oft called number before he started dialing. <br /> “Hey Chuck”, Karl said when his boss picked up. “I’m gonna be a little late today, the dadgum truck wouldn’t start. Sounds like it might be tha starter.” He paused as he listened to the reply. “ Yeah I know it’s the third time this month, but I ain’t got enough money but to keep riggin’ it together”, and then after another short pause “ I’ll take the next bus in and work a couple hours late to make up for it. Yeah ok, see you then boss.”<br /> Karl hung up the phone and stamped his feet into his work boots, which stood to the left of his recliner. He didn’t need to do much else to get ready; he was still wearing yesterday’s work clothes. He looked at the clock and decided he had enough time for a little “hair of the dog” and made his way to the fridge and his last remaining can of beer. <br /> Standing there in the kitchen, slumped against the counter, Karl thought about the one time in his life he had been happy. He had just turned 21 and was in the local bar celebrating when he met the boy’s mother, Trishia.<br /> What started with a drink turned into a whirlwind romance that ended with them tying the knot in just under a month. Karl had been so happy he had cleaned up his act, sobered up and even got a job at the local saw mill. Then one day after work Tricia told him she was pregnant. It was the happiest seven months of his life. <br /> Then the child was born and Karl knew he wasn’t his son. The tramp had just duped him into marrying her so he’d take care of them both. She didn’t even have the decency to live through the birth so he could tell her off. <br /> Karl wouldn’t have kept the boy, but a nurse had asked him for the infants name so they could finish the financial-aid paperwork. Karl thought of the government money the child would bring, and he almost walked off anyway.<br /> “Trouble”, he told the nurse,” his name is Trouble”. Karl turned and walked to the smoking area outside. He sat on the concrete bench as he pulled out his Bugle cigarette case and selected one he had made earlier that morning. A smile spread across his face as he lit up. His job offered nine weeks paid leave for new parents. “Oh yeah,” Karl said under his breath as he exhaled, “things’r definitely look’n up”.<br /> Karl was brought out of his reverie by a thin line of ants that weaved their way through a crack in the kitchen window’s screen. Forcefully placing the shot-gunned beer on the counter, he felt an intense anger welling up inside. If there was anything on the planet he despised more than the boy, it was ants.<br /> They got into everything. Any food or surface not protected was susceptible to invasion. If he didn’t take care of the situation soon, they’d also be swarming his beer cans and recliner. <br /> Karl followed the ant’s meandering path, already knowing where it would lead, down the trailers little hallway and the last door on the right… Trouble’s room.<br /> Walking through the open doorway Karl was already in a state of rage, and then he saw the plate of cookies. Lying on a plate on the closet floor, they were the object of the ant’s obsession. <br /> “What the hell, Trouble”, Karl hollered at the boy,” first of all them’s MY damn cookies. Second, what in the sam hell are they doin on a plate IN the closet?”<br /> “The’re in thare cause I made a deal with the Monster, he ain’t gonna bother me no more” the boy replied with his head tilted to the side as he looked up at the man who raised him.<br /> Karl couldn’t control himself; the brat had taken it too far this time. In three quick strides Karl was in the closet. “I told you already boy,” his eyes were so red a vessel must have burst in his intense rage. Swooping down he scooped up the plate and flung it across the room. <br /> As the ceramic plate shattered against the wall sending plate fragments, bits of cookies, and ants to shower the floor Karl turned to face the boy. “I told you boy, THERE AIN’T NO SUCH THING’S AS MONSTERS”! <br /> At least that’s what he was trying to say, but just as he was shouting “NO”, a giant fur-covered arm swung down from the closet ceiling. The hand clamped on Karl’s head with terrifying force as the black fingernails pierced his skull. <br /> A small gurgle was all Karl could manage as the purple and black mottled arm pulled him into oblivion. The last thing he saw was Trouble, a small smile pulling at the edge of his mouth as he said, “see Karl, I told you we made a deal”.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The End for Now</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> LG Wyant is a new author with submissions to many publications including Writer's Digest and Writer's of the Future.</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> Currently
living in southern California he works as a milker's assistant at the
cat factory. His childhood dream is to finally open a porcupine petting
zoo. </span></span></div>
<div style="background-color: transparent; font-style: normal;">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWpnW0zAp1n0I5pz_rhdTy2qRiMZz2LSEtQ4OTIbxCbFKLe5JZ4Gz4aDuHulzXxWRAmYw2xi9xwONH5128f1QhL9c_46lXlo9XL6TBpbaTUiBQXakeXDlnjOuLHgW9w6JniN9khesnXE/s1600/IMG_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWpnW0zAp1n0I5pz_rhdTy2qRiMZz2LSEtQ4OTIbxCbFKLe5JZ4Gz4aDuHulzXxWRAmYw2xi9xwONH5128f1QhL9c_46lXlo9XL6TBpbaTUiBQXakeXDlnjOuLHgW9w6JniN9khesnXE/s400/IMG_0727.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span class="screen-name"> <span style="font-size: small;">Photo Credit by Jessica Rowse</span></span></b></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Hard
Time</span></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">by R.
Christophe Ryber</span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Hypocrite.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon shook his head as
he considered the grotesque stone face, his unkempt brown locks slithering like
snakes on his crimson tunic. It was obscene for piety to reside in such a form,
obscene for such a diabolically beautiful creature to submit to this stone
prison. The leering visage, with its protruding tongue and curved horns seemed
more suited for lust than for prayer. A phallic tail snaked over one shoulder,
and taloned hands, which might have once grasped the bare limbs of struggling
virgins, now gripped the edge of the cathedral’s bell tower. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The bells stirred within the
tower, their peals reverberating five times over the slumbering city. When the
last of the bells fell silent, Apollyon furled his dark wings and dropped into
the candlelit sanctuary to claim his prize.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">A group of monks kept watch within
the shadow-filled cathedral as they chanted the Liturgy of the Dead. The rows
of candles flickered in their ruby votives before the altar, their light
gleaming on the polished mahogany coffin. The monk’s coarse brown robes rustled
as they shifted in the pews. Their prayer books hung limp in their gnarled
hands, and their bald heads, ringed with hairy gray halos, nodded in sorrow. Their
portly leader’s voice swelled toward a crescendo, pulling his comrades back to
the task at hand. Their heads snapped up as his words echoed in the predawn
darkness. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The monk’s chanting faltered
at Apollyon’s unseen approach, his black wings unfurling over them like storm
clouds. Apollyon studied their somber faces for a moment, then his smoky brown
eyes blazed to life as he whirled and drew on the white winged intruder walking
toward him between the rows of marble columns. He raised an eyebrow at the
familiar face and lowered his sword. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The golden-haired newcomer
touched a soft hand to the monk’s shoulder. The troubled look left his face and
he repeated the antiphon with a stronger voice.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon followed her over
to the casket. “You can’t have this one, Auriel.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel traced a finger on the polished wood. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“How long has it been,
Apollyon, and that’s all you have to say to me?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon placed his hand next to Auriel’s
on the casket, not so ostentatious compared to others that he had been sent to
collect from. A lot of his clients had nice coffins. He glanced over at Auriel,
his face burning in the red glow of the flickering votives.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “Why are you here?” Apollyon’s voice was sharp
as a brass horn. “This one is ours.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel walked over to a statue of the
Virgin. Sky blue candles burned at the marble feet of the Madonna, bathing
Auriel’s white features in a cool blue light. She turned and extended her long
elegant fingers toward him. Apollyon stretched out his hand, felt the divine
wrath gathering as their fingertips came closer. Finally, he stepped back. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“I miss touching you.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel sighed. Apollyon read the pain in her serene features as
she spoke, her words falling like sad bell-chimes on his ears.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“You chose this, Apollyon, not me.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon crossed his arms. “The
ones that stayed behind made a choice also. I’ve never been able to compete
with your first love.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel’s sapphire eyes lifted
toward the crucifix overshadowing the altar. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“Was that why you left? Because
I loved Him more than you? Your pride rivals that of your Prince.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon pointed an accusing
finger at the twisted, bloody <i>corpus</i>.
“That<i> </i>is exactly why I left. Choice.
He chose that suffering for Himself. We were even given a choice. But what
about them?” Apollyon looked down at the weeping monks. “Did He give them a
choice?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel waved her hand over the balding
heads of the grieving men, and relief passed over their faces. Apollyon smiled
in remembrance. Auriel had always been quick to ease the pain of others, had
always been more compassionate than was required. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“All of our kind are greatly perplexed at their suffering,
Apollyon. Some of us chose to have faith. You and the others left.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon shook his head. “You were never one of the trusting
ones. You were of the highest rank, and one of the first to question the
hierarchy.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel’s celestial eyes narrowed. “Do not compare me to your
Prince. He doesn’t want to cast down the Throne; he wants to occupy it.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon
nodded. “He knows you don’t like him. He even apologized to me after – when he
noticed that you hadn’t come. He said that many of his rank stayed behind
because the loss of the Light was too hard to bear.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel’s face darkened and she turned away
from the crucifix. “It is indeed painful.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon frowned. “How long has it been?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> A tear trickled down Auriel’s cheek. “Since
you left.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon glared up at the crucifix.
“Punishment? For me?” He reached out a hand toward Auriel, then drew back.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel shook her head. “This is <u>my</u>
Fall. I chose to stay away. I walk the earth, alleviate what suffering I can.”
She looked at the monks. “I heard their weeping, came in, and found you.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon looked down at the casket. “Then
you weren’t sent for him.” His eyes lit up. “Come back with me! We could be
together again. Why keep an allegiance that you honor only in name?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel shook her head. “Would your Prince
be so free with my time, allow me to ease the suffering of the mortals he
claims to champion?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “Auriel, we have to prepare. Michael has
grown strong since the Fall.“</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “You will lose.” Auriel’s sapphire eyes
flashed. “And I will never see you again. I don’t think I could bear that.” She
looked up at him. “Has your grand adventure been everything your Prince
promised it would be?”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon dropped his gaze. He stood there,
Auriel’s pain burning within him, burning even hotter than his hatred for the
cold, enigmatic Light. He turned away and slammed his fist into the polished
surface of a marble column. His eyes were twin embers as they followed the
pillar up to the vaulted ceiling, then over to the stained glass windows and
Gothic arches. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">We are the pillars of Creation. We
hold it up, keep it going. We make the sacrifices, not Him. </span></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon looked back at Auriel, the lonely caryatid,
buckling under the weight of untold ages of service, alone, without the comfort
of the Light. Because of him. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “You won’t come?” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “I am of the Light.” Auriel looked up at
the stained glass behind the altar, the reds and blues brightening with the
coming dawn. “I cannot bear the thought of an eternity of fire and darkness.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Apollyon walked back over to Auriel. The
Light inside her shone through her sapphire eyes like the stained glass behind
the altar. He could bear the Light like this, wrapped in the image of one he
loved. Auriel had always done
that for Apollyon, made the piercing Light tolerable, accessible, made it
human. He approached as close as he could before the destructive energy
threatened to envelope them. His lips hovered near hers. He could feel her
breath on his cheek, heady as incense, as she sighed and closed her eyes. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “I would give anything to kiss you again.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> Auriel opened her eyes. “Anything,
Apollyon?” She glanced up toward the bell tower. Apollyon followed her gaze. He
shuddered inside. No, it was unthinkable, but one pleading look from Auriel
cemented his decision.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “Yes, anything.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;"> “Apollyon –“</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> “I can’t bear the thought of
eternity without you.” Apollyon put his wrists together and held out his hands
before him. Auriel slid the silver cord from around her waist.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“Are you sure?” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Apollyon glanced upwards
toward the bell tower, then looked back at Auriel. “Just promise me you’ll go
back to the Light. You’ve saved me. There’s nothing to keep you away now.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel wrapped the cord
around Apollyon’s wrists. She spread her wings and they were standing on the
roof of the bell tower. The golden horizon was afire with the approaching dawn.
Apollyon smiled at her.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“See you at the end of the
world.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The dreaded disc slid over
the rooftops. Apollyon grimaced as the rays struck his ethereal body, twisting
and shaping his features, hardening his astral flesh. A moment later, another
grotesque had joined the ranks of the penitent monsters that perched on the
roof of the cathedral. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel pressed her cheek to
the leering visage, its granite features a mix of hope and despair.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">“Sleep now, my love.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">Auriel brushed her lips
against the stone monster’s before she rose, for the first time in ages, toward
the heavens. She gazed back at the twisted face as she rose, until the clouds
received her.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 200%;">The blank stone eyes looked
heavenward as the bells in the tower rang in the new day.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The End</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">About the Author; </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">R. Christophe Ryber lives in Hardwick
VT, where he writes and studies literature and poetry at a local
college.</span></span><br />
<br /></div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-51685798154522034362012-09-03T22:38:00.002-05:002012-09-03T22:38:29.310-05:00Issue Twelve, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to Issue Twelve, Volume Four of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we examine love, loss, and the macabre.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We hope that our US readers had a safe and relaxing holiday weekend and have a happy Tuesday.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Yours,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Harry Loves Mildred</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">By Gary Clifton</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Mildred was on the ass...again. Harry tried every thing - apologizing for the sins of all mankind, baby talk, finally pleading - but no dice. Mildred
wasn't speaking to him for the umpteenth time, an irritation that had
plagued their relationship for 37 years. She hadn't spoken for days. Harry sat meekly on the den sofa. She'd confiscated the T.V. remote. He couldn't even watch <i>Jeopardy.</i></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> She hadn't yet, but during past snits, she's spent hours on the telephone complaining to her mother in Tulsa about the million faults of her miserable, loser husband Harry. He'd tried to work on that belly. Pork chops were good eatin' and hellfire, he couldn't help the baldness. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> For the past two nights, he'd followed her upstairs and spent sleepless hours on bed's edge while she ignored him. He'd been drowsy all day. Fortunately, today was Sunday and he didn't have to fight commuter traffic. Mildred had gone to church - Harry never attended - but she'd refused the courtesy of a good by when she'd left that morning.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Now, she banged around the kitchen, ignoring him like a panhandler. "For God's sake, Mildred," he stepped into the kitchen, "just gimme a clue what you're upset about. We could run over to the cafeteria on Sunset for late Sunday lunch? Then maybe everything will be okay." </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> She literally looked right through him. The hard look around her eyes seemed strangely to say this time was it. Harry knew he was no Tarzan, but Mildred, standing there in the kitchen, wasn't exactly a sleek young specimen herself. Damn her eyes, treating him like this. She'd regret it.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Suddenly, Mildred, still in church clothes, snatched the SUV keys from a kitchen counter and made for the driveway. Harry, determined to salvage what he could of the marriage, followed. Mildred threw up the rear hatch of the car and tossed in her purse...an odd habit she'd had for years.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Harry, disgusted to the max, climbed in the rear hatch in anger, slumping in the rear seat. She'd, by God go nowhere without him. It was his car, too. She whizzed away, still refusing to communicate.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Harry, dozing, snapped to when she swung under a covered car-port, amidst immaculately manicured shrubs on either side. She popped the rear hatch to grab her purse. Harry, now mad as hell, bailed out he rear door which she nearly slammed on his head.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Harry followed her through double doors. A somber man in a black suit greeted her. Many friends and acquaintances standing around hugged and patted Mildred. Then he saw the sign: "Visitation Service for Harry Callaway in Viewing Room J." Beyond, he could see an open coffin. Harry's body lay, hands folded in the classic over the chest position, in the gilded box.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Great God!" Harry shouted. "Mildred, I'm right here!"</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Mildred turned to the glut of mourners. "My, my, I feel I can almost hear Harry, bitching about some trivial matter. I'll miss him."</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The End </span>
</div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Gary Clifton, forty years a cop, has short fiction pieces
;published or pending on over thirty online sites. He has an M.S. from
Abilene Christian University.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMn-WWNQc1T87d6PykLtpCFQKdg8GAGcqJZ-GJsd0deLLEHHdcLBISGS807DyGL-y5sHVpuh2yq5wOQ7hq6MAhDX2XHDXvE1NQC4ph4FrdnQACkPbGIgG2hyphenhypheni711Di9IFlRrbZ0MNU0Q/s1600/Au_xXAICMAAnYPm.jpg-large" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyMn-WWNQc1T87d6PykLtpCFQKdg8GAGcqJZ-GJsd0deLLEHHdcLBISGS807DyGL-y5sHVpuh2yq5wOQ7hq6MAhDX2XHDXvE1NQC4ph4FrdnQACkPbGIgG2hyphenhypheni711Di9IFlRrbZ0MNU0Q/s400/Au_xXAICMAAnYPm.jpg-large" width="400" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy of Jessica Rowse</span></span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 21pt;">Stay a Spell</span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large; line-height: 21pt;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">By J. Scott Kunkle </span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He loved riding the trains. Even as a little kid, trains had been
things of fascination for him. He
and his father had played with model trains and he loved to ride whenever he had
the time, which was very seldom indeed.
Now, fast approaching fifty, he had little time for anything other than
his work. As for trains, the bus
ride to and from work was now the closest substitute.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam Moore hated his life. Not only his life, but his job, his
family, his neighbors, the couple that sold the burritos on the corner and even
the guy who sold nachos at the local ballpark. In fact, he hated everything and
everybody. Mostly, he hated that
the driver usually missed his stop, even if he rang the buzzer well ahead of
time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The jangling of his cell phone interrupted his
musings. With a sigh, he pulled his
phone from a pocket and answered the call.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Moore,” he said.
The smile vanished. “Yes, sir.
I am, sir. On my way,
sir.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam closed his eyes and counted to ten. He was convinced now that he understood
why postal workers went berserk and killed their employers. The pains in his stomach were back. He wondered if he could hijack the bus
and drive to…anywhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The bus slowed and then stopped with a lurch. The doors opened and several more people
boarded the bus. An older woman
with a huge paper bag filled with yard stopped at Adam’s seat. She stared at him as if he had grown an
extra head. He smiled at her and
waited.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Aren’t you going to offer a lady your seat?” she
asked.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Pardon me?” was all Adam could manage to stammer. He was acutely aware of the fact that
everyone was staring.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Aren’t you going to get up and let me sit down?” she
repeated.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam looked around. “There are a lot of empty
seats.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“But I want this one.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">With a sigh of resignation, Adam stood and allowed the
woman to sit. He moved back a few
rows and sat down in an unoccupied seat, doing his best to ignore the snickers
and comments from the other passengers.
Once seated he closed his eyes once more and willed them all away, the
sounds slowly fading until all he could hear was the running water in the creek
and the occasional sound of a fish jumping.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You gonna try your luck today, sonny?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam opened his eyes and regarded the old man now seated
beside him. “My luck with
what?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Why, catching fish of course,” answered the man with a
laugh. “You think they’re biting today?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“There isn’t a stream within a hundred miles of here,”
said Adam. “So it’s doubtful
anything is biting, except maybe the occasional stray dog.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Always with the jokes,” laughed the old man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam opened his mouth to speak and it was then that he
noticed his surroundings. It
appeared that they were no longer on a bus, but rather on a train. The people appeared to be the same
people, but they were definitely on a train. He started to get to his feet, but the
train lurched and he lost his balance and fell against the window jamb. He stared out the window in
wonder.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Instead of the crowded city streets, there was a
sprawling country scene flashing by outside the window. Adam could see a pasture with horse
running about, and a barn, huge and red.
There were no tall buildings cluttering up the skyline, instead there
were blue skies and white clouds.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Where the hell are we?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Now that is a joke,” said the old man. “Same place as
always, Cedar City. That’s the
Cochise River out there. Fishing is
always good here.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Are you insane?” asked Adam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Not any more than you, Adam,” answered the man with a
chuckle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“How do you know my name? What is going on here? How did I get on this train?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You got a mess of questions, Adam,” said the man. “Does
it really matter after all? I mean,
really?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam closed his eyes tightly, his breathing shallow. This was not possible. He was on a bus, a city bus, not in the
country. The old man was clearly
disturbed. Taking a deep breath,
Adam opened his eyes and turned to the old man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He was back on the bus. The old man was also gone, as were most
of the people on the bus. Adam
looked and saw his stop as the vehicle rolled onward. He stood and pulled the cable and then
sat back down to wait. Shaking his
head, he questioned his own sanity.
Did all that really happen?
More likely, he had fallen asleep and dreamt the whole thing. That was it of course, he had simply
been dreaming. Then why was he
still able to detect the aroma of the old man in the air? The man had smelled of the beach, ocean
spray and sea salt.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">His cell phone rang again as he stood to exit the
bus. The driver stopped quickly and
the jerk nearly threw Adam off his feet.
He answered his ringing phone as he stepped off the bus. “Yes, sir. I know, Sir. At once, sir.”</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">******</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam Moore was having a bad day. Not only was he late for work this
morning, but he had somehow lost his papers for the morning meeting and it had
taken an hour to find them. Then,
as he worked through his lunch hour, one of his co-workers managed to spill a
cup of steaming hot coffee in his lap.
After half an hour in an awkward position under the hand blower, the boss
called him into his office and reduced his hours, but not his
workload.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Seated once more on the bus, this time travelling in the
opposite direction, Adam wondered what could possible happen next. With the cut in hours, and the
corresponding reduction in pay, he would have a hard time paying his monthly
bills. As it had been, he was
existing hand to mouth and this meant less of everything. He slumped in his seat and closed his
eyes, his heart racing with anxiety, wondering if someone could die from
worry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The train whistle sounded very close.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam opened his eyes and stared out the window. He could see a town square, replete with
running children and green grass.
He half expected to see Andy and Opie any second. Laughing softly, Adam tapped his head
against the window. “Boy, if I’m
dreaming, this is a doozy.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“What makes you think you’re dreaming, Adam?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The old man was sitting next to him again, fishing pole
and tackle box in hand.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I got on a bus,” said Adam. “And now I am on a
train. If I’m not dreaming, then
how did I get here?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“People get places by a lot of different ways,” replied
the man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Thanks for the help.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You are quite welcome, Adam,” said the man. “Well, this
is my stop.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The train slowed and came to a halt. Adam stood and started to follow the
other man, but hesitated as he neared the door. The old man looked back as he
exited. “Nothing to be afraid of,
Adam. Come and stay a
spell.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam went through the door and stood between the
cars. The old man had disappeared
into the crowd of people milling about the train, greeting and being
greeted. Taking a deep breath, Adam
went down the steps.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The sun was warm on his skin and the cool wind wafted the
smell of fresh popcorn from the town square. He wandered down the main street, with
shops lining the cobblestone road, until he came to a park. Walking across the grass, he realized
for the first time in forever that he liked the smell of the outdoors. He pulled off his tie and stuffed it
into his jacket pocket, unbuttoning the top two buttons. This was the life!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Two young boys ran by, fishing poles in tow, heading for
the bank of the nearby stream. Adam
watched the boys, so pure in the unbridled enthusiasm of youth. Life was so much simpler as a boy, the
hassles and worries of the real world had been so far in the future. Old age had seemed a million years away,
far from the world where young boys were indestructible and dreams always
attainable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Approaching the stream, Adam saw a familiar face sitting
on the grass, line dipped into the water.
Adam walked over and sat down next to the old man.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Nice little town you got here,” said Adam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Ayup.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“What’s the name of this town?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Well,” said the man. “I don’t rightly know. Nobody ever asked me that
before.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“How can a town not have a name?” asked Adam. “And how
can you live in a town and not know the name?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Well, son,” said the man. “I wake up in the morning
happy, spend the day fishing or whatnot, then eat a wonderful meal and spend the
evening with the woman I love. I
don’t care what the name of the town is, you get my meaning?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I’m beginning to,” said Adam.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You can have whatever you want, son,” said the man. “Why
not stay a spell?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“You know, that sounds pretty good to me.”</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">******</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Night had fallen over the city. The bus sat in a deserted parking lot, a
police cruiser next to it. An
ambulance, lights flashing, pulled into the parking lot and stopped beside the
bus. A police officer and the bus
driver stood aside as the two paramedics carried the stretcher inside the
bus. The cop turned to the
driver.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“So he got on and then what?” asked the cop.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Then nothing,” answered the bus driver. “He gets on
every day, at the same stop, and he gets off every day at the same stop. Except today.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“And he just sat there? Did you talk to him?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Yeah, I talked to him, but it didn’t make a
difference. He never even
noticed.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“I see.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“He isn’t here anymore, officer,” said the driver. “You
know what I mean?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The two men emerged with Adam Moore on their
stretcher. He stared vacantly up at
the sky, a smile on his face as they loaded him into the ambulance. As the driver had said, he was no longer
here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Adam Moore had gone fishing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14pt; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The End</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">J. <span class="il">Scott</span> <span class="il">Kunkle</span> served in the Army for 10 years, before
returning to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. He is a single father of three and
spends most of his free time on the computer writing.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: black; font-size: large;">His short stories have appeared online at sites such as
<cite>Bewildering Stories, Flashes in the Dark, Powder Burn Flash, Static
Movement, Weird Year</cite> and <cite>The Fringe</cite>. He has written four
novels and well over a dozen feature-length movie scripts, several of which he
is actively seeking representation. His short work “Walking With Shadows” won
the Fiction Addiction Short Story Contest several years ago.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for reading this issue of Larks Fiction Magazine! Please join us next week for more great fiction! </span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-38361433062359907572012-08-28T21:22:00.000-05:002012-08-28T21:22:27.328-05:00Issue Eleven, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of <strike>the</strike> an Editor;</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to this late edition of Larks Fiction Magazine! In this issue we bring you two stories of love and loss--fear and trembling--teenage angst... Or just plain people finding their way through life.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We hope you enjoy this issue and make sure to come back next week for more great fiction from independent authors as well as updates on Fox House--our new world headquarters.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">All the best,</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Jessica Rowse</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">LFM Edior</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="EN-IE">What Really Happened</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>By EM Reapy</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">We stood in front of the well. I looked in.
The water lapped. Was it as far down as the village said it was? A mile at
least. It couldn’t be. He dunked the bucket and brought it back. Neither of us
drank. The pail hovered. Water splished. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">The village was a flicker of activity way down
the steep hill. Market day. Farmers trading. Fruit and veg stalls. Fishmongers
with their cold eyed catch on ice. Hippies with knitted ponchos and friendship
bracelets. Baked breads, cupcakes. Pizza. Gypsy fortune tellers and a carousel
spinning, playing carnival music. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">He was rubbing the nape of his neck. He wouldn’t
keep eye contact. There was a hole at the knees of his black denim jeans I
bought him for his twenty second. That was four years ago. His hips were still
so slim. Little wrinkles forming around his eyes were the only way you’d know
he was older. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘Is it true?’ I had to ask. I didn’t want to
hear but I had to ask. The choke in me was suffocating. There were whispers. I
knew it was true. A woman knows. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">He coughed. Wiped his face. Pinched his eyes. He
was silent. I asked again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘Jill, I- She- Look, it meant nothing.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">The choke finally released. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">Electricity sparked in the space underneath.
Fizzed around. Spit furiously. A thunderstorm
rose inside me. I felt the gales pick up. Make me dizzy. Blow me around. A roar
erupted from my belly out my mouth. Lightning flashed in my brain. I was
burning. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘How could you? I trusted you.’ I struck him.
Punched him. Scratched him. Bit him. Kicked him. He let me. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">Blood in his mouth. Scuffs from my runners on
his face. His shirt grass stained. Swells expanding on his skin. Blue and green
outlines of bruises that would purple in the coming days. I roared again and
picked him up. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘I’m sorry, Jill.’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘I loved you so much. Why?’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">We sat on the well. We said nothing for hours.
He went for my hand. I seized it away from him. Every so often I’d sob. Low.
Deep. He wanted to hold me but I couldn’t have his touch on me. No more. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘We should go,’ he said and shuddered. Offered
me his hoodie. I took it and zipped it up to the neck. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">Dusk was stealing blue from the sky. Replacing
it with dark. I couldn’t see Jack anymore. Where he was walking. I called out.
I heard the thud. He moaned. I followed the hurt noise. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘What happened?’ I asked him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘My head. I tripped. I’m after splitting open
my head.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">I couldn’t see. I touched it and felt the hot
sticky gush on my fingers. ‘Shit, Jack.
You’re losing it quick and fast. Shit. Shit. Shit.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">I tried to lift him. He was a dead weight. He
was mumbling words. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘Jack, I need to go and get help. Okay. I’ll
be back soon. I promise. Hold on.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">‘Jill,’ he said. ‘It meant nothing. It was
you. It was always you. Only you.’ </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">I kissed his cheek and ran down the hill towards
the village. I tumbled. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-IE" style="font-size: large;">The End </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;">EM Reapy has an MA in Creative Writing, from Queen's University Belfast. She edits <a href="http://wordlegs.com/" target="_blank">wordlegs.com</a>. Her short fiction has featured in international publications. She's working on a film script and collection of short stories.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Red Ears </b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1q_Fn2atkRN9TON26bqwnJB6Qfjc5PjDP_5ZbA2AnQMA7gA2CdsFQhcFDFrdu0_7frZfhIBch9vQhfuYXNMjTsz7fERXq06AxUjw1hyMvNs-mFFrsK2On05sUfMhKbq6RlLYKfNLxgY4/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1q_Fn2atkRN9TON26bqwnJB6Qfjc5PjDP_5ZbA2AnQMA7gA2CdsFQhcFDFrdu0_7frZfhIBch9vQhfuYXNMjTsz7fERXq06AxUjw1hyMvNs-mFFrsK2On05sUfMhKbq6RlLYKfNLxgY4/s400/IMG_0731.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Photo Credit: Jessica Rowse, 2012</i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span>Standing in a Doorway</span> </span></b><br /><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>By <a href="http://concerningfiction.blogspot.com/">Daniel J. Pool</a></i>
</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
He clutched the handle, turned it, and started to go in. She stopped him
before he even made it in the door; letting herself weep into his
shirt. He stood there for just a moment, hesitating, wondering what to
do.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
He wanted to be happy, but did not know what she wanted.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
She wanted to be strong, but did not know how.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“Don’t be scared. We can do this,” he said.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“But what will my parents say?” she replied.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
A breeze swept the fumes of mowed grass and chlorine through the front
door and around the couple. Something with wings hummed over the flower
bed. The clouds slowed to a crawl. For that minute, the world stopped
for two huddled in the entrance.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“Hey, it’s going to be ok,” he told her, wiping a tear off her cheek.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
She replied with a nod and a choke as more tears burned rings around her eyes.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“I know.”</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“I have to go back to work. Text me after you go to the doctor.”
Squeezing her he kissed her forehead and said, “And tell your dad I’m
not leaving town, not even if he threatens me. I’m here for you. “</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
Silence. The tears slowed, then stopped.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“I’ll see you after work?”</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“Yes dear. “ Turning to walk away, he stopped, “I love you.”</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
“I love you too.”</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
Without every stepping inside, they took their first steps. Edging forward into life, the couple decided theirs.</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />
On a rainy day in November they became a couple. In the back of a sedan
in February they became lovers. And on a sunny day in October they
became parents. </span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The End</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.dailylove.net/2012_03_25_archive.html">Originally published by Daily Love, 03/25/12</a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />About the Author;</span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
Daniel J. Pool is an IT consultant, writer, and part-time funny man
from the Southern Mid-West. His works has appeared in Weird Year, Indigo
Rising, and the Fringe Magazines respectfully. In his spare time he
edits Larks Fiction Magazine.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for joining us and make sure to come back next week! </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1079039489465822996.post-27669862551454066312012-08-20T23:50:00.000-05:002019-08-20T08:24:17.732-05:00Issue Ten, Volume Four<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">From the Desk of the Editor;</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Hello and welcome to a very exciting issue of Larks Fiction Magazine--the science fiction extravaganza issue! In this edition, we explore the intricacies of modern pulp writers.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In news, my wife and I survived a twenty-hour car ride to Colorado to visit family for the weekend. This means no news on our new office.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Make sure to check out <a href="http://www.geekthenews.com/2012/08/19/meet-literati-press/">Geek the News for a story</a> about fellow Oklahoma small indie press Literati.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you and good reading,</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Daniel J. Pool</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">LFM Editor</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Foul Invaders</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">By Gary Clifton </span></b>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Murzak swung her patrol unit to the curb. Much
had changed in the last thirty years, including upgraded police
vehicles - now anti-gravity rigs operated by electromagnetic force
field. The brass said it saved on road repair and equipment costs, like they rarely knew anything about anything.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The two citizens were not actually in a fight...more of a cussing and threat contest. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">The presence of her uniform and a code one ass-chewing broke up the fracas. She had simply placed a hand on her Mark V laser-taser and the argument instantly disappeared. In the old days, police had actually carried much more lethal hand weapons. Murzak hoped she would never have to seriously hurt anyone with her service weapon.</span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> The
debris-strewn streets of the city showed signs of the financial and
industrial decay common around the entire planet those days. A
couple of inopportune and very expensive wars by the government, who
should have known to use the money for medical research and to help the
poor, had caused great decline in the big population centers and the
land in general. Crime was rampant, mostly a result of hunger and fear.</span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Murzak had earlier heard radio chatter of unidentified aircraft circling the city. When
she re-entered her unit, the dispatcher sent her directly to Sector J
to back up officers now in visual contact with those aircraft. "Have you fools called in the military?" she asked, but received no reply by radio. Her superiors would speak to her about rough language on the transmission system, but she didn't really care.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Society was already in danger of collapse and now a foreign enemy was invading. She slid the cruiser among a glut of others and joined several officers who'd taken temporary shelter behind a granite wall. Murzak could feel the danger on the air like a weighted glove. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> In the distance, two sleek, silver-metallic aircraft whizzed to and fro, apparently assessing the situation. The aircraft were alien, of a type and construction she'd never seen nor imagined. The street had been alive with sightings of "flying saucers" for years. Now, they were real.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "We aren't gonna shoot down space men with these little tasers," she said to patrolman Bolev, a long time associate and friend. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Murzak," he peered over the wall, "you know the bleeding hearts who've filtered to the top of government. We need to blow these freaks out the sky. But the honchos say we wait and determine their intentions."</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "Easy to say when you're not out here actually looking down their gun barrels," Murzak said uneasily. "And those appendages bristling on the wings sure look to be weapons." </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> "I
ain't sure those anti-carbon magnetic IV units the army is usin' these
days will actually bring one of them babies down," a grizzled sergeant
said. "Maybe they'll land and not shoot. Man, rather a prisoner than vaporized."</span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Murzak, embarrassed at his show of cowardice, bit her tongue and remained silent.</span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> In minutes both aircraft slithered in closer and landed in a roar, dust flying. A sliding hatch opened on one craft. The other machine remained locked down, probably as fire-cover. "For Heaven's sake, don't anybody take a shot at these guys," the sergeant's voice quivered. "They may be from Jupiter or Heaven knows where. Everyone stand down until the army shows up."</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Three
monsters with shiny silver skins climbed gingerly down a ladder and
turned to face the small crowd of very frightened police officers. One carried a megaphone-device. He removed his head, then Murzak realized it was a helmet and that all three were wearing some form of space-suit.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The alien was horribly ugly - two small, oblong eyes with an ugly protruding nose. The helmet-less one opened his mouth but couldn't talk. He could only make horrible, strident, animal-gibberish sounds which made no sense.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> "One ugly dude," the Sergeant said.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Murzak studied the second aircraft closely. The massed weapons were all trained, so it seemed, directly upon her. "In the name of The Almighty, hold your fire," she shouted to the crouched cops. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The grotesque alien raised the megaphone device and continued making horrible, foreign sounds. Suddenly Muzak realized the machine was intended to translate off-world tongue into something regular citizens could understand. After several failed attempts, the megaphone spat out a variety of strange, distorted words, like screaming in whispers. </span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Suddenly, the alien reached a tone she could understand: "Citizens of Planet Gronk, we are emissaries from Planet Cyritius of the Eighth Galaxy and we come in peace. We will not fire our weapons unless fired upon."</span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> Relieved, Murzak felt like a million Sorussas...a of a lot of money. She'd heard since childhood space invaders hailed from the war-like planet Earth, not a passive tribe like the Cyrithians. God of Gronk was good.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> The End</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">About the Author;</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Gary Clifton, forty years a cop, has over thirty short fiction pieces
published or pending with online sites. He has an M.S. from Abilene
Christian University and is now out to pasture on a dusty north Texas
ranch.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1katvKQcPiXQf3sor9Sm7g6J0xYrlpFRGJ0JraM6w0ufzZJuOw8UuTw-XLr5SgLiDXUOFd4XBYPN4XHVQ8fIVqQMIfTR9W9xA2iP8og4ykLWdQ3f9SxuTxMHsDL2-8iNYKaoXwIVCQA/s1600/Kate's+Iphone+Pictures+456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ1katvKQcPiXQf3sor9Sm7g6J0xYrlpFRGJ0JraM6w0ufzZJuOw8UuTw-XLr5SgLiDXUOFd4XBYPN4XHVQ8fIVqQMIfTR9W9xA2iP8og4ykLWdQ3f9SxuTxMHsDL2-8iNYKaoXwIVCQA/s400/Kate's+Iphone+Pictures+456.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Cloud Kingdoms</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>By Katelin Pool</b></span></div>
<div style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif;">
<b style="font-size: xx-large;"><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">08/20/2019--Star Heart b<span style="text-align: center;">y Andy Lex Bain was removed at the request of the author for an upcoming publication. We wish Andy best of luck. Read about them below.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> <span class="il">Andy</span> <span class="il">Lex</span> <span class="il">Bain</span> is a 29-year-old writer who resides in Tasmania. He enjoys writing, reading, bushwalking and aspires to be a full-time published author. His writing
career began basically whilst watching classic fantasy movies such as
The NeverEnding Story and Labyrinth, and playing old roleplaying games like HeroQuest. He was then inspired to create his own fictional world and write stories to take place within it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Thank you for reading and join us next week for works of existentialism, love, and lost.</span></div>
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Danielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08259193337714687439noreply@blogger.com4