And this came to pass…
The old man with the long white beard, sitting quietly on the top of a high mountain, could be heard mumbling to himself, “There are but a few things in this world that are truly endless.”
A passing stranger, a strange thing in itself, stopped to ask, “Do tell, what are these things?”
The old man replied, “I couldn’t possibly tell you.”
It was a special dress up night at the club and he would go garbed as a cowboy.
He was pleased with his outfit. He felt that it really suited him. The nightclub’s rules dictated that, as well as fancy dress, those attending should all wear masks. Naturally this created a great deal of excitement among the patrons. Soon after the doors were opened, the place was packed completely full. Loud music began to rock the dimly-lit hall, with coloured lights flashing overhead from a large mirror ball. Dancers were dressed in all manner of costumes. There were soldiers, angels, astronauts, pop stars, fairies, policemen, and many of them wore animal costumes. It had all been going for an hour or so, when the cowboy was taken by surprise.
All of a sudden, a black, cloaked and hooded figure was in front of him. “Great costume!” he shouted, over the revelry. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“Sure,” came the reply, and cowboy, began to jostle his way through the crowded dancers towards the bar. When he finally reached it, the other was already there, with the drinks ready.
Smiling, he quickly downed his beer. Unable to see the other’s face properly because of the shadow cast by the large hood, he said, “So, you’re meant to be the Grim Reaper, then?”
“No,” came the reply, looking around, “I suppose it’s understandable that you might think that. No, I’m the real thing, and the poison in your beer should give you about three minutes, if you’re lucky.”
Cowboy frowned.
At that point, the figure drew the scythe out from beneath his cloak and rested it by the handle, over his shoulder.
Then, in a swirl of blue smoke, disappeared.
This writer may sometimes give way to a particularly strange notion… because he can.
Imagine, if you will, that such a notion can be illustrated by listening in to a conversation. OK. It all begins with a simple discussion between two people. Whether they are people or simply beings, needs to be considered. Who, what, why, and how they were, is of no consequence. Unfortunately, if the reader cannot get past this, it is best to stop right there… but, to continue; with their gender, age, creed, nationality and personality, all set aside… an amazingly hard thing to do, but with this done, the following may well make sense. With all these conditions in place, moving forward can happen.
Imagine further, if you can, that in this little understood corner of the universe, on a planet, in a country, in a state, with what is nothing more than, in the entire scheme of things, an issue. It is only taken, here, as an example. It may well be that it is current, and therefor important. However, this too must be set aside. This too, is only used to provide an example that is generic in itself. The notion of this is both complex and simple, at the same time.
It is a simple conversation.
“There are simply not enough houses. How is it that nobody saw this coming?”
“Are we talking about ongoing governments failing to see the housing crisis coming?”
“Yes.”
“Well, you’d have to understand that it was allowed to happen.”
“Allowed?”
“Most definitely, allowed. It’s hard for the regular Joe Blow to accept, but it really is a case of the people in government simply not doing their job. Not looking ahead and planning for the future.”
“If that’s true, I ask myself, how could they let this happen?”
“The answer to that is also both complex and simple, at the same time. Complex, as a result of the multitude of factors involved, and simple, because it may only be self-evident. This caveat of ‘may only be’, can safely remain solely in the mind of the writer. In fact, whether it is fact or fiction is a question that can quite happily hang, forever.”
“Also?”
“Yes, it is really, so terribly obvious. This notion, for that is all it is, can be applied to everything from deciding what would be the best place to build a damn, to how to prevent a war; especially, how to prevent a war. As always, there are these examples, and everything in-between.”
“Why do any of these things happen?”
“It all comes down to those who govern, and the perfectly natural, but complex issues they have with the lure of power, money, and celebrityhood.”
“And you think these things get in the way?”
“I do.”
“So, it’s all about not thinking ahead.”
“That’s the simple version, yes, but you’re spot on!”
The patient sat in a chair, while the attending nurse kept a close eye on him.
They were in a room situated in a private wing of the hospital. The Neurologist in charge of the experiment had been working on the brain enhancement substance for a number of years. It wasn’t until he was convinced that the chemical had been perfected, that he felt it was ready to be trialled on one of his patient’s. After giving the injection himself, he left the patient with the nurse, while he responded to an emergency call in another part of the hospital. The timing wasn’t good from his point of view; he would have liked to sit with the patient to observe any side effects. He returned an hour later, having attended to his other duties, keen to check on the subject.
Entering the room, he asked, “How’s he doing?”
The nurse said, “Fine, I think.” She looked down at her notes. “Earlier, only a couple of minutes after you were called away, he said he could feel his brain lighting up.”
The doctor grinned with satisfaction, saying, “Interesting; and now?”
“Now, he’s just sitting quietly. He hasn’t spoken since. I get the feeling he’s waiting for some sort of input. What is it that you want him to think about?”
For a moment, the Neurologist seemed to be lost for words. “Well, yes,” he began, “erm, something, anything and everything, just about all things considered, I suppose.”
The nurse nodded.
A moment later they both looked on as the patient moved one of his feet slightly. This was followed by the corner of the patient’s mouth twitching. All, the man in the chair thought, all things considered.
It twitched again. Wow! he thought, that’s a big ask. This could take quite some time. No matter, let me see, I’ll get started now…
The two guys were backpacking when it happened.
It was when they joined the guided tour, visiting the region’s magnificent, jewelled cave, that things took a turn. The group, consisting of a couple of dozen tourists, all stood looking around in wonder, as the guide explained how the ancient formations came about. Then, to add just a little extra excitement to their visit, he went on to say that it was thought by locals that the cave was haunted by a very old spirit that protected it. After this, the group moved on, making their way along the platformed walkways, further into the next section. Everybody except the backpackers. They had the idea that it would be good to leave their mark. One of them took a penknife from his pack.
It was a good forty minutes before the crowd returned and passed out through the entrance turnstile, while the guide did a body count as a regular safety check. Finding that he was two short, and after bidding his customers’ goodbye, he went back in.
At first, he could find no trace of anyone left behind. Then, on the third search of going back and forth, using his powerful torch, he came across the two backpacks sitting in shadow. He also discovered a couple of dung beetles, frantically scurrying around. He was surprised, it was fairly rare for these bugs to inhabit caves, although it does happen.
Picking up the bags, he figured that he had miscounted. He would take the bags back and stow then under the ticket counter. These two would be back for them as soon as they realise that they had left without them. As was often the case, they were probably mesmerised by the incredible surroundings in the cave, as customers often are.
As for the bugs, he was not happy about them. The boss would be annoyed. He would say it would be bad for business if it got out.
Looking around briefly, he brought his boot down hard, crushing them and kicking the carcases into the shadow, before leaving.
The girl was digging around in the loft.
Her mother didn’t like her going up there because she said it was so dirty. This day, the family was out and she had the place to herself. There were all sorts; stuff that she didn’t recognise. Then, she came across it. A small wooden music box. Blowing the dust off it, memories came flooding back. Back to times when she was a lot younger. It was a gift from an auntie. She turned the key, wondering whether it still worked. Opening the lid, it began to play. The tinkling melody brought even stronger recollections of past times and the powerful emotions that went with them. Her eyes welled up with tears. She closed the lid and blew her nose.
Moments later, she was out in the garden.
With music box in hand, she took a large piece of stone from the garden rockery. Down the side of the house, she placed the gift on the ground and smashed it to pieces. These, she then gathered up and dropped in the dustbin.
She had never liked the horrible woman.
He stood, looking at his bride, smiling.
She smiled back, with a great deal of happiness in her eyes. The church was beautiful and quite majestic. It being their local place of worship, neither of them wanted to take their vows anywhere else. He was nervous of course, aware that both families were there, all looking on. He looked on the priest as a friend. They had both known him for a number of years. He had spent extra time with them in the evenings, going over what would happen, explaining what was expected of them on the day. Above all, he needed to repeat his vows perfectly. No mistakes!
Still smiling, he shook his head.
He gave the framed picture a couple more swipes with the dusting mop and put it back in the middle of the shelf.
It was his special anniversary routine.
He was convinced that it was the best thing for his pet.
He had never owned a ferret before. The vet who checked him out suggested he be vaccinated, as one can never really tell if his pet has been in contact with a rabid animal. He went on to say that he highly recommended that he be surgically neutered. However, as a loving owner, he wasn’t happy with the idea of putting Monty through the ordeal, if it wasn’t entirely necessary. With the ferret still on the inspection counter top, this turned out to be a long debate about the rights and the wrongs of it. Also, there was always the risk that the animal may not survive the operation. Throughout this discussion, he could see that Monty was becoming more and more restless. It was as though he knew what was being talked about and wasn’t happy with what was being decided.
When the day came, apart from a lot of struggling before the needle did its job, the surgery went well.
When the owner picked him up later that day, Monty was still quite drowsy. The vet recommended he keep him in for a day or two. When they got home, his pet slowly came round and became his old self again. He noticed that after spending some time licking himself, the animal began whining to go out. On the vet’s advice he was careful to keep him indoors.
This went well, until a momentary lapse on his part by not fully closing the back door when he came in from the garden. At this point, Monty flew across the back lawn, jumped the fence and took off.
Knowing that the surgery was only two blocks away in that direction, he decided to give the vet a call to let him know about Monty’s behaviour. Although he was thanked for the call, he got the impression that the vet didn’t take any of it very seriously.
It’s always easy to be wise after the event, but having received the call at three that afternoon, when the vet heard scratching at the back door of the surgery just a few minutes later, he really shouldn’t have opened it!
She knew it was high time that most of his personal stuff in the attic was cleared out.
At least three of the boxes contained all her late son’s old clothes. They had been there ever since the accident. As she looked through the items, transferring them into an old suitcase ready for taking to the charity shop, she felt the vivid memories of each item jolt her emotions. She knew this would happen, it being the reason she had left it so long. So many of her friends had encouraged her to do it in order to let it all go; to enable her to move on with her life. Her husband agreed, saying that it would help her find closure. She knew they were right, and despite the sadness that went with the task, she knew this was the thing to do.
It was about a month later, when coming out of the warmth of the local shopping centre into the biting chill of the morning that it had happened. She was making her way back to the car when she saw the lad across the road. He was sitting, propped up against a shop front begging for change. He was obviously homeless, but it was his age that made her stop and stare. After a few moments of hesitation, she crossed the street, opening her purse and taking out change.
It was with very mixed emotions when she saw one of her son’s old gloves held out to receive the coins.
He was coming out of a shop when he saw him.
It was a Saturday afternoon and the shops were busy; so were the streets. It was definitely him. No doubt about it. The opportunity had presented itself to catch up briefly. This was despite the fact that the man had never come across as a particularly pleasant sort of fellow. Despite this, seeing which direction he was heading in, he began to walk much faster, despite the crowds. Further along, he would cross the street, then head back. This would bring them face-to-face. The ploy worked.
Waving at him through the shoppers, he approached, saying, “Hello.”
The man looked puzzled. “Hello?”
“Excuse me, but can you tell me the time, please.”
Checking his watch, he said, “Yes, it’s a quarter-to-three.”
“Thanks. Don’t recognise me, do you?”
“I can’t say I do.”
“No, you wouldn’t remember. Don’t think you’ve actually ever said hello before.
In fact, when you used to be my neighbour, you never gave me the time of day!”
“Anyway, thanks,” he said, and walked on.
As he went, he couldn’t help thinking, now that wasn’t too hard, was it?