Lucid Waking

Archive for June, 2007

How to Check Out a Book

            The library was an old gothic building with high arched ceilings arcing high over the top of the two-story bookshelves. Several ladders ran on tracks attached to the top of the shelves so that one could reach the top shelf for the book they needed. Off to the side of the main hall, was a smaller room filled with books and loose pages of music. The shelves of the music room lined the walls and ran all the way up to the stone ceiling.
            The only way Jeda knew to get to the library was from the back roads behind the old church, but it was weed-ridden and clogged with shrubs. She parted the middle of a bush and weaved her way through the dirt-trodden path. She ran up the steps with a final air of triumph and opened the large double doors.
            “Welcome back, little one,” a voice said. The stamp at the desk was busy checking in books without the librarian. Jeda put her books on the desk and walked over to another shelf. The dusty tomes twinkled at her as she passed. A particularly dusty one glowed its gold-leaf letters down at her from the fourth shelf from the top. She climbed the ladder like an expert and grabbed at the book.
            “Here again?” a second voice called from the foot of the ladder. Jeda looked down at Keeting, who smiled back up at her. Keeting was the type of gentleman who looked like he was out of place in an old library such as the one they were currently in. Truthfully, when he wasn’t reading, he was writing and as far as Jeda knew, he was constantly at the library. Most of the time she saw him he was at a table stuck far into a book. He would always stop to say hello to her, but no one else. She had hoped he hadn’t taken a fancy to her, but she found out she was wrong as the pit in her throat fell to her stomach.
            “That’s a good book, but it won’t take you very long to read,” he said, moving in her way.
            “Oh, well. I’ll just have to come back,” she said, moving to the other side of the isle.
            He blushed and moved out of her way. “By the way, what’s your name?”
            Jeda turned around. He was attractive—she would give him that. And although she constantly told herself she did not want a man who was always with books, she could help but admire his knowledge. “Jeda,” she said with difficulty although she pretended not to know why.
            He smiled. “I hope to see you around.”
            Jeda smiled back trying to save a bit of face. She nodded to avoid speaking and saying something she would regret and walked over to the book counter. The invisible librarian checked her book from her card and waved to Jeda as she walked out the door.
            Jeda took a deep breath of air and went back the tattered path from whence she came, her book held close to her chest. She hoped that she could finish the book quickly to visit the library again soon. Even though it was a small hope, she let it stay with her throughout her walk home.

Le Dragon et La Libellule (The Dragon and the Dragonfly)

C’est une histoire pour les enfants et c’est en Français. Il a une message pour tout le monde si vous voulez lui entendre. Mais, parce que mes lecteurs ne parlent pas français, je l’écrit en anglais après cette histoire.

This story is for children and it’s in French. It has a message for everyone if you want to listen to it. But because my readers don’t speak French, I wrote it in English after this story.

              Il y avait un dragon qui était très sympa, mais tout le monde n’aimait pas. Il avait toujours faim et il aimait manger les vaches qui habitaient dans la compagne près de sa caverne. Parce qu’il mangeait les vaches, les hommes le chercheraient pour tuer le pauvre dragon. Le dragon, parce qu’il ne voulait pas morir, mangerait les hommes. Mais soulement si il n’y avait pas un autre choix. S’il pouvait, il courrait des hommes.
            Un jour, quand le dragon courait de les hommes, il a arrivé à un étang. Dans l’eau il y avait un belle libellule. Elle s’est faire la toilette et quand elle a vu le dragon, elle a dit : « bonjour ! »
            Le dragon était suprise et il a dit : « bonjour. »
            La libellule a fait attention au dragon était nerveux, alors elle a dit : « qu’est-ce qu’il y a ? »
            –Les hommes me ciselent. Ils voulait me tuer. Je peux courir, mais je ne sais pas combien de temps je peux continuer. Ils me trouveraient et me faire mourir.
            –Je ne pense pas votre situation est trop mauvaise. Par example, comment vous savez les hommes voulaient vous tuer ? Est-ce que vous avez demandé ?
            –Non. Ils ne voulaient pas parler.
            La libellule a rit. Sa rit était comme une cloche et elle a reverbé sur les arbres. « Ne soyez pas drôle ! Vous devoyez parler avec ils. Vous êtes plus grand et plus puissant que les hommes.»
            Le dragon a rougi. Il n’aimaient pas quand elle lui a rit, mais il a sait qu’elle avait une bonne idée. Il a entendu les hommes le derriere et il a turnu.
            Les hommes se sont arrêté. Ils ont entendu une petite voix qui a dit : « Assez-vous ! » et ils ont obéi. Le dragon n’a pas entendu la voix et il était supris quand tout le monde a assis.
            –Je vous demande pardon mais je ne sais pas pourquoi vous voulez me tuer. Il faut que je mange pour vivre.
            Un grand homme s’est levé. « Mais, il n’est pas necessaire que vous mangez nos vaches. Il y a autre chose que vous peuvez manger. »
            –Mais, je suis un dragon. Je ne peux pas manger autre choses. Il faut manger de la viande.
            Les hommes étaient silincieux. La libellule a dit : « Peut être nous pouvons laisser un ou deux vaches pour vous. Ensuite, nous pouvons avoir du lait et vous pouvez la viande. »
            Personne savait qui a parler, mais tout le monde pensait c’était un bonne idée. Alors, les hommes laissaient des vaches devant la cave du dragon. Le dragon n’avait pas besoin de manger les hommes. Tout le monde était heureux depuis le fin de temps.

            There was a dragon who was very kind, but everyone didn’t like him. He was always hungry and he liked to eat cows who lived in the country close to his cave. Because he ate the cows, the men looked for him to kill the poor dragon. The dragon, because he did not want to die, ate the men. But only if there was no other choice. If he could, he would run away from the men.
            One day, when the dragon was running from the men, he arrived at a pond. In the water, there was a beautiful dragonfly. She was preparing herself for the day when she saw the dragon and said: “Hello!”
            The dragon was surprised and said: “Hello.”
            The dragonfly saw that the dragon was nervous, so she said: “What’s the matter?”
            “The men chase me. They want to kill me. I can run, but I don’t know how long I can continue. They will find me and they will kill me.”
            “I don’t think your situation is too bad. For example, how do you know the men want to kill you? Did you ask them?”
            “No. They don’t want to talk.”
            The dragonfly laughed. Her laugh was like a bell and it reverberated in the trees. “Don’t be silly! You should talk with them. You are bigger and more powerful than the men.”
            The dragon blushed. He didn’t like when she laughed at him, but he knew that she had a good idea. He listened for the men behind him and he turned.
            The men stopped. They heard a little voice say: “Sit down!” and they obeyed. The dragon didn’t hear the voice and he was surprised when everyone sat down.
            “I’m asking for your apology but I don’t know why you want to kill me. I have to eat to live.”
            A big man stood up. “But, it’s not necessary that you eat our cows. There are other things you can eat.”
            “But, I’m a dragon. I can’t eat other things. I must eat meat.
            The men were silent. The dragonfly said: “Maybe we could leave one or two cows for you. Then, we could have milk and you can have meat.”
            No one knew who had spoken, but everyone thought it was a good idea. So, the men left cows in front of the dragon’s cave. The dragon didn’t need to eat the men. Everyone was happy until the end of time.

Train of Thought (Part 3)

            The second train pulled up with a laugh of satisfaction. Fell into the trap didn’t you, it seemed to ask as Alex and Chris dutifully walked inside the open car. The car was clean and smelled slightly of lemons and lilacs. There was a table on one end of the car with a glass case of whiskey and a teapot with two cups. The two men exchanged a look at sat down on the leather bound seats.
            “I’m sorry; I didn’t expect the extra visitor,” Persephone said walking from the opposite end of the car to the table with the whiskey and tea. “Would you like anything to drink?”
            “No thank you,” Alex said. He was focusing all his energy on staying calm and making his hands not shake that he missed that she had poured him a drink anyway.
            “It might calm your nerves,” she said handing him a glass of whiskey and sitting next to Chris. “Besides you’re going to be here a while.”
            Alex set down his glass and leaned back in the seat. The train lurched forward and sped off. Through silence, the train pulled up out of the subway station and into a countryside in the middle of the afternoon. Alex continued to watch the countryside before asking: “Why did you need people to go into the second train?”
            Persephone took a sip. “Well, quite frankly, I was bored.”
            “What?” Chris jumped up and hit the glass out of Persephone’s hands, spilling the liquid everywhere. “You brought us to this hell hole just because you were bored? People were killed on that first train—my sister was killed. And you murdered these people because you were bored?”
            “The purpose of a game,” Persephone said in a tone that forced Chris to sit down, “is to have fun. You propose the game for entertainment; it’s not anybody’s fault it gets out of hand.”
            “But that’s when you stop it,” Alex said calmly.
            “Why stop it when you’re so close to winning? I realized later that it was a good thing the boy was so stubborn to leave. I used him to keep you there. Why do you think I let him leave that message in your apartment? I even told the boy where it was. I knew you would get through the first game—you’re a writer after all. It was a gamble when the kid figured out the second part, but for some reason you decided to stay.”
            “What about the other children?”
            “They weren’t real,” she said pouring out another glass of whiskey.
            The two men shared a glance before she turned around and went back to her seat. “So, a game of cards?”
            Chris started to decline, but Alex quieted him with a quick glance. “Of course. Gin Rummy?”
            Persephone pulled out a deck of cards and shuffled them nonchalantly. “I haven’t played Gin in a long time.” After dealing the cards, she snapped her fingers twice and put the deck in the center of the appearing table. As she reached for the first card, Alex stopped her.
            “Let’s up the stakes,” he said.
            She put the card down amusedly puzzled and rested her chin on her fist. “What did you have in mind?”
            “Let’s gamble.”
            “Gamble?” she said laughing, “What do you possibly have to gamble?”
            “Right now, we’ve got nothing but time. We’ll play seven hands and on each hand lies a day of the week. If I win, Chris and I get to leave the train on our designated day. If you win, we stay.”
            She gracefully grabbed all of their cards and reshuffled the deck. “Fine,” she said dealing the cards to just herself and Alex. “But I’m a horrible cheat.”
            “Its hard to cheat a game that requires mostly luck,” Chris said, disdainfully.
            “It all depends on the deck.”
            She flipped the first card over and rearranged the cards in her hand. “This one’s for Sunday.”
            They played the hand until Alex put down the last card. “Beginners luck,” she said, but shuffled the cards again.
            The second hand went the same way and so did the third. Persephone was getting more and more angry with every hand she lost. By Wednesday’s hand, she had switched to another deck and for Friday, she insisted that they use her tarot card deck without the major arcana and knights.
            He put down his last card on the deck and sat back in the seat, trying not to look too content. She threw down the cards on the table and got up towards the whiskey and tea. “One more hand and if I don’t win, I’m not honoring the bet.”
            Alex waved her back to her seat. “Gambling is always luck.”
            “You’re only laughing because you’re winning.”
            “No,” Alex said, “if I lost I would give you what you won.”
            “We’ll see about that.” She dealt the cards again and flipped over the first one: the page of swords. Alex picked up the card and discarded the nine of wands.
            “For every day that you have to leave,” she said farther into the game, “you have to have your mind erased so you don’t tell anyone about this place. I can’t have people just joining the train ride without proper testing first. Where would the fun be if I did?”
            “So then I’d have to go through the test every time?”
            “No,” she said placing her penultimate card on the discard deck. “Every Saturday, I’d restore your memory of what happened. It would serve as a reminder as well.”
            Alex picked up two more cards and put the six of swords down on the deck. She finished her hand with a flourish of the six of wands. “Saturdays you are mine.”
            “All right,” Alex said, “You won Saturdays. What day is it anyway?”
            Persephone laughed. “Tuesday.” At that word, the train pulled up to the original station with a screech. Have fun! it said teasingly as Alex and Chris got off and cackled off into the distance.
            The light was starting to trickle in from the stairs and the cool misty air of morning was barely penetrating the musty station. Chris ran towards the stairs and disappeared, but Alex followed more slowly, savoring the well-earned week in his hometown. The stores hadn’t even woken up and the sun was just barely visible above the buildings. Alex sighed and walked over to where Chris was starting to climb a tree..
            “Come on,” he motioned to Chris to follow him and they both walked back to Alex’s apartment. “You’d better get washed up and then we’re taking you to school.”
            “I don’t think it matters,” Chris said taking the towels Alex handed him and walking towards the bathroom, “I haven’t been in the longest time.”
            “We can at least bring you home. Where do your parents live?”
            “Brooklyn. But don’t worry about them.”
            “Why not? I’m sure your mother will be worried sick.”
            “Well seeing as I used to have a sister…how do I explain that?”
            Alex bit his lip. Damn, I forgot about that, he thought, but he said: “I’ll come up with something.”
            The more he thought about it, the worse the situation became. He had come to the fact that he had to return Chris home. His parents would probably be grateful for at least their son. But it’s difficult to explain how their daughter died and why their son has to go into the city every Saturday without coming across as a dangerous lunatic. Even if Chris matched his story, his parents wouldn’t believe them. He had to come up with a plausible lie, which was the biggest problem. Nothing that had happened could be even remotely explained by reality and Alex couldn’t even remember what had really occurred.
            The bathroom door opened and steam rolled out. “Maybe I should go alone,” Chris said placing the towels in the laundry basket by the door. “Then I could just say I got lost from my sister and after trying to look for her, just went home. I don’t really know why I was there and it seems like a plausible explanation.”
            “I’ll go with you,” Alex said, putting on a coat, “but if you prefer, I won’t go up to the house. I just don’t want to leave you on your own.”
            Chris nodded and walked towards the door. “I guess we should go now,” he said. Alex locked the door behind them and they both walked down the stairs and to the metro station. The train was perfectly on time and as always, Alex took the fourth car from the driver. The ride was a normal rickety stop-and-go trip through New York’s gray jungle of steel. The buildings faded off into normal small housing of New York City’s factory cousin: Brooklyn. Chris had fallen asleep by the time the train pulled up to the appropriate station and Alex gently woke him up before helping his sleepy companion down to a taxi. The car drove them past several parks to the address Chris had given him and pulled up in front of a medium sized white house. The roof and garden in front of it was well cared for, but there was a police car in the driveway and an officer talking to someone at the door.
            “Thanks,” Chris said getting out of the back, “you can come in if you want.”
            Alex smiled and got out of the back of the taxi. He paid the driver and went towards the door. When Alex got to the porch, a somewhat short woman with shoulder-length red hair was crying and holding Chris tightly.
            “Thank you very much,” the woman said as she hustled Chris into the house. Alex nodded and wished the woman a pleasant day. She returned the greeting, but turned to the police officer again.
            “My daughter is still missing,” she said. But that was the last thing Alex heard as he walked away towards the metro station.

            Alex checked his watch again before looking towards the steps. Finally he could hear a teenager’s clunky footsteps down the stairs. The boy didn’t say anything, but just sat down on the bench expectantly.
            “How was the funeral?”
            Chris shrugged. “Lots of crying.”
            Alex nodded. “There would be.”
            The train pulled up to the station with a normal squeal and opened up its doors with the usual rattle. Alex stepped in first and took a seat on one closest to a window. Chris followed him but went straight to the refreshment table.
            “Tea?” he asked, pouring himself a cup.
            “No, thanks,” Alex said laughing. The train started forward and soon went up into a perfectly lovely sunrise over farmland. Persephone brought out her cards, but she and Chris started playing without Alex. He continued watching the purple and pink watercolor sky slowly fade to a crystalline blue. The birds were waking up in the tall grass and trees beyond the cornfields. A few little robins dotted the cloudless sky, diving for insects among the crops. At least, they were pleasant Saturdays. Even if he couldn’t remember them.

Building the Photography gallery

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Uninspired Blues

My muse is looking
For something I cannot grasp
I hope it comes soon…