I saw it when I stepped out this morning. As usual it hovered right above me. I estimate the altitude at around one hundred meters.
The first time I saw it I thought it was a U.F.O. I’m not kidding. Imagine seeing a dark object with a shiny bottom hovering in the air. Every time I moved, it went with me.
Every month it appears. Today I have more breathing space than usual.
I’ve gotten used to it .
Imagine a writer who continues to use an antiquated laptop with a keyboard that doesn’t work. He never knows if the key he hits will actually place a character on the screen. An inevitable result of this idiocy is typos galore.
Today I say goodbye to my dusty keyboard. I agonized over the parting but now it is done.
Fickle me, how I love these new springy keys that always do their job.
To my future editors and readers, you can rest easier at night knowing that my manuscripts will no longer be riddled with as many typos.
It happened again. Some people never learn.
I watched the woman as she loaded groceries into her car. She appears to be in good health and physically fit.
Here it comes. She looks both ways with a tight smile on her face.
She pushes the shopping cart into an empty parking space and leaves it there. Of course she doesn’t care that it is a spot for handicapped persons.
The woman hops into the car without a backward glance. I can see the smile of triumph on her face.
This is where I come in.
I lift a slim silver device and point it at her vehicle. A tight beam of electromagnetic radiation washes over the integrated circuits in the car’s electronics. The engine dies and the car coasts to the side of the road.
The woman gets out of the car and curses.
Break time is over.
I go back inside and get ready to bag some groceries.
I couldn’t believe it.
The grey haired lady in the park had rhythm. She had a grin on her face as she moved from foot to foot. Behind her the grouchy skinny guy laughed. He lurched along the path and pumped his arms into the air.
I walked downtown to the village and encountered the same thing. At one end of the crosswalk five people waited for the light to change. My jaw dropped. It looked like a dance party. I swear that guy is dancing to a Donna Summer song.
Has everyone gone mad? I went into the drugstore. Yes, they are doing it too. The young female cashier is shimmying and the pharmacist, is well, I don’t know how to describe it.
What the hell is going on?
I walk home past writhing, jiggling and dancing people of all ages. I am bewildered.
Why am I not dancing?
It crashed onto the surface. Clouds of rock and ice powder billowed into the sky. A giant scar remained.
Others noticed. What right do they have to do that? What if we sent an object crashing onto their planet?
Perhaps they need a lesson.
The path is blocked by a long cardboard box. The man wrestles with a plastic boat while a boy watches. “Damn it, if the motor stops when it is out on the water we’re screwed,” the man said. The boy looks at the playground in the distance. He sees boys and girls on the swings.
“Just wait,” the man said. “This will be so cool.” Beads of sweat run down the man’s forehead. His face is starting to get red. “Goddamn it, I can’t get this part to fit,” he said. The boy moves out of the way so walkers can get by.
“Finally,” the man said. He puts the plastic boat in the water. “Watch this,” he said. The boy doesn’t say anything. He tries to pay attention but he keeps hearing the laughter and shouts from the playground.
The man revs the engine of the boat and it shoots through the water. He turns the boat and sends it roaring towards a swan. The swan comes up from its dive for seaweed and it encounters the strange object that races toward it. The swan lifts off just in time. It flies to where its mate is nesting and takes up guard in front of the female.
“Hah, did you see that?” the man said. At that moment a thin woman wearing a beret stops next to the man.
“Excuse me,” she said. “The swan is sitting on its nest. You should not disturb it with your boat.”
The boy looks up at his Dad. The man turns and stands in front of the woman. He starts to speak. Out of the corner of his eye he sees his son looking down at the ground and shifting from foot to foot. “Well,” the woman said. She didn’t flinch. He looks at his son and takes a deep breath.
“You’re right,” the man said. He turns the boat and it returns to the shore in a wide arc. The boy smiles and his dad grins back. “I’ll pack this up in no time. Then we can try out the remote control car,” he said. The boy smiles and sighs. He looks once more at the playground and turns back to his dad.
“Sure Dad, that will be great,” the son said.
I smile as I watch the man take everything apart and then put all the plastic pieces back in the box. As he wheels the suitcase along the path his son reaches out and takes his Dad’s hand.
I paddle and paddle. I like the warmth of the water. Ah, there it is. I see green shoots and leaves at the edge of the water. I reach the shore and bite off a bunch of juicy stems.
“Hey,” a boy said. “A giant rat.” I grab more green stuff and shove it in my mouth. I see monsters moving on the land. Their shadows darken the plants. I better get the hell out of here.
I swim and swim until I reach home. I enter the dark hole between the rocks. My babies are hungry. I drop the leaves and shoots. Squeals of delight fill the air. I smile and watch them eat.
Finally there is enough light. Today the temperature is just right. I think I’ll go for it.
At the crack of dawn I push. I push straight up through the soil and decaying leaves. I keep pushing. Finally I burst into the light. I unfold and stretch and bathe in the sun’s warmth.
All day long I marvel at the beauty around me. Night falls and I close up. I need to conserve heat while I slumber. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
Dawn breaks and I try to open. What’s this? I can’t move. I am covered in ice and snow. I have to hang on. This winter can’t last forever. Or can it?
I open my eyes. I am surrounded by mud. I hear muffled sounds above me. I move my legs.
Hungry.
I thrash all four limbs and push until I am out of the mud. A wall of water is above me. The water is cold but at least it isn’t frozen. I shove off the mud and paddle upwards. I see light.
My beak breaks the surface of the water. I turn my head in both directions. The coast is clear.
I swim to the shore and crawl onto a flat rock.
The heat of the sun warms me.
I am back.
In a rubble-riddled room, doors ripped from their hinges, glass busted out of the window, and paintings and glass from the windows scattered throughout the room as long stiletto heels ground down onto the pieces of rubble. Long athletic legs wrapped into leather pants that hug and revealed every fiber that flexed, as though it was painted on, running into a magically perfect shaped rear-end that tempted John as he stood in the doorframe watching Adela bending over, trying to salvage anything she could in what was Victally’s room. The sight of Adela, in what is normally Gala’s type of clothing, was making the temptation more and more unbearable to resist.
Damn! If my bond is with Gala, then why am I so drawn to Adela?
While still doubled over, picking up a book, Adela stated with a sultry voice, “One of these days, I am going to make you deliver on all of those promised ideas, running through your head when you watch me.” She had a playful sound to her voice with her smile, telling that fulfilling his dreams was not out of the question.
“Adela, I am sorry, I was just…”
“John, you and I know what is going through your head.”
Oh God, can she read my mind?
“Johnny Boy, am I reading your mind or the situation?”
Author Bio:
J.L McFadden was born in Pennsylvania and spent his life bouncing around the States until beginning to travel the world. Starting out he was a well-known musician in upstate New York that had a heavy playing schedule. Later he went back to his home state to work in the Lumber mills of the mountains. In California working in sales, management and even directed a small moving company until deciding to see the world. His travels around the world have allotted him to not only join an International Aikikai Aikido Federation, but have trained with Sanseis from Belgium, Ukraine, Russia and other European countries. He accounts his journeys and meeting of new people to his broad character types in his books.
Book Blurb:
While still doubled over, picking up a book, Adela stated with a sultry voice, “One of these days, I am going to make you deliver on all of those promised ideas, running through your head when you watch me.” She had a playful sound to her voice with her smile, telling that fulfilling his dreams was not out of the question.
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