I am the spider making the web. My web is strong, and I am patient. Patience is the key, you see. I don't track time the same way that you do. I can turn inward for a thousand years and never be bored. I can live inside of my head and let my body do what it wants. I can go on autopilot. I am like one of those fish that appear dead until you get them wet.
I spring up miraculously.
And once I am up? I am the inflatable clown, weighted at the bottom with sand. You can knock me down, punch me, kick me, I will bounce right back. This will drive you mad. It is a special kind of torture.
Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Try to hide in the dark hallways of sleep. Keep your wits about you. Soon enough, they will be mine, and I will use your wits as I please.
Sleep tight. It's gonna be a loooooong night.
(reserved for Mader comments)
ReplyDeleteThat is scary! It's very graphic, especially the clown in the sand. You've got people's phobias in there. And there's this eerie feeling about the whole thing, this creeping eeekiness.
DeleteLike Vickie said. Compelling. I love this: "I am the spider making the web. My web is strong, and I am patient." Great images and rhythm.
DeleteForty-four waited until all the invited members settled into their seats with their beverages of choice before he broke the news. Afterward, the assembled faces wore a spectrum of expressions from smug to astounded.
ReplyDeleteForty-three looked incredulous. “You’re telling us what, now?”
He explained again. “Melea texted me that three ‘cool old white dudes’ cosplaying in the park—with great accuracy—said they were actually Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Adams. Being such a fan of history, I had to check it out. And I found them quite compelling. Turns out Dr. Franklin built a time machine and went to the future with Jefferson and Adams to see how their American Experiment was progressing.”
“You owe me dinner,” Forty-three and a half said to her husband. She turned to Obama. “We’ve had a running bet that if any of the Founding Fathers had built a time machine, it would be Franklin.”
“You can ask him how he did it. You want to meet them?”
“Do bears shit in RFK Junior’s trunk?” Forty-two said. “Hell, yeah, we want to meet them!”
Forty-four made a call to his Secret Service guys and ten minutes later, the famous gentlemen filled the doorway. Three tankards of ale arrived in the empty spaces remaining at the table. Introductions were made; the questions came slowly at first, then fast and furious. Forty-two and Jefferson got deep into conversation about slavery and the South. Forty-three-and-a-half huddled with Franklin about the time machine. Forty-four engaged Mr. Adams because he had the distinct sense that the man felt left out. Forty-one’s gaze darted back and forth as if trying to listen to all three of the discussions.
During a rare gap in the conversation, Jefferson said he was astounded—and reassured—to know that the Council was still meeting. Quiet settled around the table. Faces turned from one to the other. Forty-four had told them nothing about their organization. Just if they’d like to come to his favorite haunt to meet a few of his friends. It was not mentioned during the introductions, or the discourse.
“You began it,” said Forty-three-and-a-half, not as a question.
“After our first trip into the future,” Jefferson said.
“You know, then,” she said. “You began it for the same reason Barack—I mean, Forty-four reinstated it? To limit the damage caused by a particular orange menace?”
Mr. Jefferson gave a solemn nod. “Yes. In case the guardrails we’d established were not strong enough to stop a possible return to the type of government we’d been compelled to overthrow, John and I felt a strong compunction to—keep watch, as it were.”
More drinks were ordered; conversation continued. Forty-four surveyed the scene as if floating above his body. Seeing the empty glasses, the men out of time, the offer by Franklin to take them anywhere they wished in his machine…
“Barry.”
He turned. Expecting a question from one of his colleagues. “Where do you want to go?” he asked.
“I want to go back to sleep, but you keep talking.”
Holy time-traveling founding fathers. “What was I saying?”
“You said ‘Thomas Jefferson started it.’ You writing another book?”
“Something like that. Sorry, honey. I’ll try to keep it to myself next time.”
LOL, I love the wanting to go back to sleep, and holy time-travelling fathers :) Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
DeleteSame! Boris, you gotta do something with these pieces 😂
DeleteJD BTW
DeleteGreat images. I liked the ebb and flow of this.
ReplyDeleteI like the images too, but I’m most impressed by the word choices and language. JD
ReplyDelete