Fragments of Fiction

Who could that be at this hour?

I jumped when the phone rang and managed to knock the cork board off of the wall. I am not a fan of late-night or early-morning telephone calls because they rarely offer good news.

“I am in trouble and I need your help. They’re back.”

It took a moment for me to realize I wasn’t dreaming and a moment longer to grunt in reply.

There was an awkward silence followed by a plea for my help and reminders of promises I made. I said I would do what I could and hung up the phone.

Lay down in the dark and stared at the ceiling and made a mental note about what supplies to pick up and where to get them. I figured I had about two days to get it together before they found me.

Public transportation was out. There wouldn’t be any planes or trains on this trip and I probably wasn’t going to be able to get any help from any of the old crew.

We had all gone our separate ways years before and intentionally not shared the details of where we were going. We did it for safety reasons. No one was invisible but we figured if things went to hell it might give the others time to prepare.

I didn’t have time to worry about the others. If I found a way I would send word to them and if not, well they were all capable people.

Right now I had two days worth of work and a three-day drive to prepare for.

The clock on the desk read 2:49 AM.

Might as well close my eyes again and try to get another two hours of sleep because once I start moving sleep is going to be scarce.

Closed my eyes and tried to sleep and then the other memories hit me like a torrent of water and I remember why I had to walk away from her…and them.

****

My mind said it took morning twice as long to arrive as normal but the alarm I set the night before made it clear the laws of physics hadn’t been broken.

The day was still 24 hours long and the drive would take just as long as it always had but this time it would be harder.

Not just because of age, time or any of the feelings I was trying to set aside but because the world was more connected than ever.

The digital revolution and prevalence of smartphones and a hundred social media platforms would make it easier than ever to be found.

He thought about ignoring the call and promises once made but didn’t waste time thinking about how to do it because he was never going to be able to do so.

Some bonds never release you from their grip no matter how hard you try or what tools you use to free you from their fetters.

In a moment it would be time to walk away from the one and run towards the other.

The readers write in and ask why I don’t publish every day anymore and inquire about The Shmata Queen tales.

They ask what happened to Datingmaster Jerusalem and wonder if he ever solved the mystery of S and J and I smile because there are stories and there are answers.

Because one day I’ll put down on paper more than the skeleton of the tale and fill in some of the blanks that leave the fine folks wondering about friendship, epic romances, marriage and silly tales of thus and that.

They ask for the words to rain down upon them and shower them in a waterfall of answers and so I nod, smile and promise.

Except they cannot see my face or hear my words so the promises made about The Shmata Queen Tales are left between my lips and hers.

Perhaps I’ll send them here or here or perhaps not.

“As if you were on fire from within.

The moon lives in the lining of your skin.”
― Pablo Neruda

There was a time when I tried to kiss the queen and she pulled away.

She told me no and I respected her wishes but I was tempted to ask her to look in my eyes and tell me she didn’t like the electric shock our connected lips created.

Instead I stayed silent and waited to see if he would volunteer it on her own but she didn’t.

Time passed and when we connected again she kissed me though she would never admit to having made the first move.

After we had spent some time with locked lips I asked her if I was crazy and she said yes, but not about the feeling.

“I like kissing you.”

I smiled and told her we ought to make a coven tree about it.

She told me to shut up and kiss her some more.

“No more of those jokes or you get no more of this.”

I smiled again and felt her legs wrap around mine and of that moment no more is to be shared…here.

Ten thousand years ago in the time that was and the place that no longer exists some guy told a girl he would be willing to be close with her for a long time, maybe longer.

She said something like forever and a day and they developed a series of responses, comments and jokes ranging from MLBF, to YLC and a dozen others.

Earthquakes, fires and floods destroyed the castle and secret garden and for a long while they wandered alone and apart.

Some said they both met with moments of sincere heartache and unrest because of it and some said that neither really did.

Occasionally they’d come across each other and exchanged a series of moments in which they swore to never let each other go and to never speak again.

In short, it was a typical push/pull of people who couldn’t quite figure out what they were supposed to do and so they fumbled along.

A time came when he sent out a silent question asking her to answer who she really trusted.

“Who are you really close with and do you seriously not miss us.”

He knew what his answer was and sometimes he fought it. Sometimes he focused on all of the negatives and reasons not to let her in but she always found a way back to his heart.

Eventually he decided he wouldn’t try to control his thoughts or feelings about her and would see where it led.

So he looked at the moon and whispered his secret at it, “I miss her being my rock, even if she can be a pain-in-my-ass. What should I do about it?”

The man-in-the-moon just smiled and told him it would work out.

He shook his fist at him and said that is the kind of response I hate. It is a non-answer. “She won’t like it either.”

But the man didn’t respond.

Time Together

He walked under the dark night for a while longer and remembered how she told him she just wanted to spend time with him and smiled.

“That is what I want too. To get real-time for a while and to just be. Can’t know what I know without knowing more. Can’t test my hypothesis, can only hypothesize.

Even she would understand that, but I don’t know if she would admit it.”

He walked a while longer, looked at the sky and said he was certain under the right circumstances she would kiss him.

“I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. The right moment and the right combination of words. Especially because they wouldn’t be a line and she would know they were genuine.”

The moon remained silent but he swore he saw it wink at him. Not in a “taunting” kind of way but one that offered support.

And then he heard Hallelujah start playing and tried to discern if it was with romantic intent or something other than that.

For a moment he swore he could feel her hand grab his bicep and the other intertwine her fingers in his.

Was that a phoenix in the sky or just a comet streaking across the sky?

Probably didn’t matter as both were good and with that he smiled and kept walking.