ENWorld Short Story Smackdown Summer 07
Round 4, Match 1 (Final match)
Freedom
by Mike Rousos (Avatar_V)
Feet pounded the floor. Hands clapped together. Fans hollered. The crowd’s roar swept over Nathan and shook the pit of his stomach. His left hand held binoculars to his eyes as he watched the basketball game. It wasn’t the NBA, though, it was an International Wheelchair Basketball Federation game. The United States was hosting Japan and the game was close. Japan had just sunk a three pointer, bringing themselves to within one of the Americans as the final minutes of the third quarter ticked away. The din of the crowd reminded Nathan of another sporting event – one that had taken place three years ago. Nathan closed his eyes and remembered.
Nathan saw a blue track and he felt the rhythm of his stride as he came around the last turn. He breathed quickly as his arms pumped and he ran. Ahead of him, he saw a hurdle. He pushed off with his left foot and cleared it easily. Then there was another. Without breaking his stride, Nathan cleared it. And then the race was over. He soared across the finish line and knew that he had won. His scarlet jersey clung to his body as he gulped air and then water. He looked around and saw a crowd roaring and cheering for him. He raised a fist in celebration and the noise amplified. He was only a junior in college and was the fastest 400 meter hurdle runner in the state of Ohio. Next would be Nationals and he stood a real chance of placing. As Nathan sat in the stands of the basketball game, a small smile spread across his face – that track meet was, without a doubt, the high point of his life.
He brought his attention back to the basketball game and, there, his fantasy continued. He imagined himself on the court dribbling around defenders and then launching into the air to dunk the ball. Sure, Nathan wasn’t actually much of a basketball player, but in his imagination his athleticism more than made up for his lack of talent at shooting a basketball. He set the binoculars on his lap. But, as he did so, he felt the cool metal rail to his left – a rail that was constantly beside him – and he remembered why his girlfriend had brought him to this game instead of to a Cav’s NBA game. Suddenly, his fantasy changed. Why was he imagining himself jumping over defenders? That was his old life. He would never jump again. Grimly, he saw in his mind’s eye the absurd image of a wheelchair-bound player soaring through the air for a dunk and his smile turned into a frown. He looked at his wheelchair and shook his head. Could he have proven himself the fastest hurdler in the nation? If not that year, perhaps the next? Who knows? Who cares? Nathan leaned back and closed his eyes, no longer aware of the crowd’s cheers all around him.
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Next to him, Nathan’s girlfriend, Jessica, looked over at him concerned. She squeezed his hand, “Nathan, you ok?”
“Yea, Jess, I’m fine.” He picked up his binoculars again. The Japanese team had taken the lead.
“You sure?” Jessica pressed. She took the binoculars. “You’ve seemed really detached and depressed lately.”
“Lately? What, you mean like for the past three years?”
Jessica frowned, “I’m just worried about you, Nathan. You ought to get out and make some new friends. You haven’t seen any of your college friends, other than Art, since you graduated. You can’t always be alone.”
“I’m with you, aren’t I?”
“You know what I mean, Nathan. Basketball, for instance,” she motioned at the game going on below them. “There’s a local wheelchair basketball league. I thought maybe you could sign up and meet some people.”
“Why would I do that? I’m terrible at basketball.”
“You’re not terrible,” Jessica protested, “you just don’t want anything to interfere with your moping! You ought to give it a try. You’re a great athlete, Nathan. I don’t want to see you give that up.”
Anger flared in Nathan’s eyes as he stared at her. “Give it up? Jessica, I never gave it up. It was taken from me!” People around them looked at Nathan and he realized his voice was raised. He lowered it, but the intensity remained. “I used to be an athlete, Jess. Used to be. In the past. If I joined a team now, I would just help them lose. I jumped hurdles. That’s it. Now, I can’t even walk. So what’s that leave me with? Huh? I’ll tell you what – not much. I’ve got nothing to give to anyone. And no one’s got anything I need. Now stop pushing on things that you know hurt me.”
Jessica was flustered. “But, Nathan, to be an athlete – it was your dream…”
“Dreams? You’re one to talk about dreams, Jess. You’re 25 years old – shouldn’t you be well on your way to being ‘Dr. Jessica, veterinarian extraordinaire’ by now?”
“Nathan, that’s not fair; you know I’m not smart enough for that-”
Nathan interrupted, “And you know that I can’t walk! So quit telling me to do things that I can’t do.”
Nathan turned his wheelchair as fast as he could and pushed himself out of the arena. He sat on the sidewalk for some minutes thinking before Jessica joined him. She came and stood next to him, but couldn’t find the words she was looking for. Instead, she pulled her coat tighter around herself to keep the cool night air from chilling her. Nathan looked up at her. “With this stupid chair, I can’t even stalk out angry. All I can do is roll myself out to the sidewalk and sit there waiting for you to catch up with me.”
“Let’s go home,” Jessica said, pulling her keys out of her pocket.
“No,” Nathan answered.
“No?” Jessica asked, “I’m leaving – if you don’t come, how are you planning to get home?”
“Well, I’m not going with you. I know you think I’m such an invalid I can’t even get myself home at night, but I can call Art. He’ll pick me up.”
“Nathan, I’m just trying to help you,” Jessica pleaded.
“I know,” Nathan conceded, “but you can’t help me. So, it’s really just a waste of your time.”
Jessica frowned and thought for a moment. Then she nodded and said, “Yea, I’m beginning to see that.”
“You know – in there I said that, at this point in my life, I’ve got nothing to offer anyone and no one has anything I need.” Nathan looked up at his girlfriend. “That’s the truth, Jess.”
Jessica stood for a moment looking at him, then she said “You’re right – I don’t have time for this.” And she turned and left.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Nathan slept in late the following morning. By the time he woke and got ready for the day, guests had already arrived for the barbecue his parents were hosting. It didn’t really bother Nathan that he wasn’t ready when the guests arrived – none of them were there for him, anyhow. Jessica had been invited, of course, but he was pretty sure she wasn’t coming. On the way home the previous night, Art had mentioned that he may drop by, but Nathan knew not to count on it. The preceding night’s sourness was still with Nathan as he wheeled himself out into the backyard where the guests were gathered.
Nathan made the rounds, politely chatting with the guests, but the party went on for some time and his boredom only increased. Eventually, he decided that no one would care if he headed back inside and spent some time with his Xbox. He wheeled himself up the short ramp into the kitchen. As he passed the kitchen counter and the last of the guests, Nathan heard someone call his name and he stopped. The voice was strange – it sounded vaguely feminine, but he couldn’t be sure. “Nathan,” it said again, and he looked around. The voice was mesmerizing; he was sure he would have remembered if it had belonged to one of the guests. He turned around, looking for the speaker. Then, the call came again and Nathan stopped cold. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. The voice was most certainly coming from a watermelon sitting on the counter. A watermelon that had been sliced open and had the face of a woman carved into it. As he stared, the watermelon’s mouth moved and it spoke, “Hello, Nathan.”
Nathan looked around. There were other guests in the kitchen, but no one else seemed to hear the watermelon. He wasn’t sure if he should answer. Was he hallucinating? He didn’t feel sick. At last, he looked at the fantastical fruit and informed it, “I’m sorry, but watermelons don’t talk.”
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The watermelon watched him for a moment, as if unsure whether that was all he had to say. Finally, assuming that Nathan was done, the watermelon responded, “It seems that you’re mistaken.” Nathan was sure that the watermelon was smirking at him. It made him angry to have a large fruit smirk at him. It continued, though, “It seems, Nathan, that you have never seen a talking watermelon before. It seems that there are many things you have not seen.”
“What are you talking about?” Nathan was trying to talk quietly now in case someone noticed him talking to a side dish.
“I can show you,” came the offer. Nathan waited for a little more explanation. And the watermelon did continue – in just as frank a fashion: “Eat me.”
“Excuse me?” Nathan was beginning to get somewhat uncomfortable, “I think that you’re a figment of my imagination, and my life’s really too screwed up right now for you to make it any worse…”
“Eat me.” Nathan looked at the watermelon, unsure what to say. It persisted, “Eat me. Just a small piece, there’s a knife next to me. Go ahead.”
Not sure what else to do, Nathan reached for the knife and slowly cut off a piece of the watermelon’s cheek. It gave no indication of pain. Then, watching the watermelon woman the whole time, Nathan slowly lifted the melon to his mouth and ate it. He chewed. He swallowed. Immediately, his world began to spin. He dropped the knife as vertigo struck. If he had not been sitting already, he certainly would have fallen. The ceiling whirled around and the walls and guests spun around him.
Nathan could feel his pulse in his temples and he raised his fingers to his head. He closed his eyes and fought to hold in a scream as his sense of balance deserted him completely. The spinning sensation continued and he opened his eyes again. Now, though, the scene was different. He was no longer in his kitchen. He was in a car. The vehicle was careening out of control and Nathan watched in horror as the world outside the car spun in a whirlwind around him. Now his scream came uninhibited – he had been here before. He knew this car. He had been in it three years ago – on the day he lost the use of his legs. These memories were not new and Nathan began fighting to get out of the car. But, of course, there was no time for that. Everything happened in a flash. Nathan saw the sky spinning past him. But then he saw something that had not been in these memories before. He saw water spinning past him. There had been no water near his accident. Then, he saw other cars – they were flying. Before he had time to process the bizarre scene, though, his car crashed into the sea and he was thrown into the icy water.
Water forced its way into this nose and mouth and, instinctively, Nathan swam upwards. It was very difficult to swim – he almost couldn’t do it – but just as his vision waned for lack of breath, he broke the surface of the water and gasped deeply for air. For some moments he just fought to stay afloat and breathed in the fresh air. Only after assuring himself that he was not going to drown, did Nathan really look around and take in the amazing scene around him.
He was treading water in a beautiful sea. The shore was mountainous and not terribly far off. Up upon the highest peak, Nathan saw what he could only describe as a castle. The sky above him was a brilliant blue and was nearly cloudless. There were a few seagulls. But, the sky also held the strangest of all the things Nathan had yet seen here. For flying over him were a multitude of vehicles and buildings – cars, trains, houses – all with rickety wings, sails, and dirigibles keeping them afloat. Some – especially the large buildings – moved lazily across the sky. Others, such as the trains, sped along – often dangerously close to the water. Near him, Nathan saw the remnants of a wing in the water and he realized that he had been in one of those very vehicles – a flying car that had somehow lost control and deposited him here in the water.
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Not wanting to tire before he could safely reach shore, Nathan began swimming towards the mountains. It was much harder going than he would have expected, but he stroked and kicked furiously. Suddenly, something dawned on Nathan that had been lost in all of the prior commotion. He was kicking as he swam. He could move his legs! He felt them powerfully propelling him, just as he remembered. Encouraged and amazed by this, Nathan kicked harder and moved more swiftly to shore. Finally, he reached the rocky shore and crawled onto the beach.
Very carefully, he placed a foot flat on the ground. Then the other. Then, slowly, he straightened his legs and stood. He looked down, he was wearing his old track uniform. The joy at feeling his own strong legs under him again was almost immeasurable, but even as he stood and stretched, concern entered his mind. For, the situation was not as simple as it had first seemed. For, there was more peculiarity here than just the health of Nathan’s body. His body was just as he remembered it being all those years ago, but tied around his waist were two large stones. They hung from his waist and weighed him down terribly. He could stand, he could walk, but he could barely run at anything faster than a jog with the great weights hanging from his hips. He could never race like this – he could hardly jump over anything. The tremendous difficulty in swimming to shore made sense, now.
Frustrated, Nathan sat down on the rocky beach and examined the weights that tethered him. They were large oblong rocks. He picked one up, measuring it. Nathan figured that each of them must have weighed easily over twenty pounds, probably more than thirty. Strong cords connected them to a rope belt that encircled his waist. At once, Nathan set to work unknotting the ropes. But, despite his best efforts, the ropes were tied securely and would not budge. No matter how he pulled at the ropes, they stayed firmly fastened around his waist and to the stones. Nathan tried slipping the rope belt off, but it was too snug and wouldn’t fit over his hips or ribs, no matter how he contorted his body. Growing more and more upset at the terrible weights, Nathan found the sharpest rocks the beach offered and set to work sawing at the ropes. The efforts were in vain, though. He sawed furiously, but the ropes never so much as frayed.
At last, defeated, Nathan sat on the beach, drenched in sweat and seawater, and looked out over the waves. He couldn’t see the other side of the sea, but as he looked up, he once again saw the flying vehicles. He couldn’t imagine how they flew – they seemed so unwieldy. Then, he looked back at the ropes around his waist and it struck him – this world was clearly magical. Perhaps it was magic that bound the ropes around him. He turned, remembering the castle up on the mountain top. He looked up at it. If this land was somehow enchanted, perhaps whoever lived in that castle would be able to tell him how to overcome the enchantment and drop these burdens that were so determinedly fastened to him. Perhaps whoever lived in the castle would be able to tell him how to go home. Though, as he looked at his legs, Nathan wasn’t sure he wanted to go home. For a few minutes, Nathan stood on the beach, waving his arms overhead, trying to get the attention of one of the pilots above him. They were too far away, though. Nathan turned and looked up at the castle again. He would have to get there himself.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The first leg of the journey was difficult. The beach quickly turned into steep and rocky hills and Nathan had to crawl up most of them on hands and knees as they were too steep to walk up. Even without the stones around his waist, it would have been a difficult hike. By the time he reached the first level terrain, he was breathing heavily and his legs were badly bruised from the stones bouncing against them. He took a short break and then continued on. Although the incline was much less severe now, the trees around Nathan became increasingly dense until, at last, he was pushing his way through nearly impenetrable foliage. His progress was no faster than it had been on the hills, and to make matters worse, the stones kept tangling in the brush and holding him back. Nathan hoped that he was still heading in the right direction (the green canopy overhead prevented him from seeing the keep’s towers), but he had no choice but to trust his sense of direction and press on.
It wasn’t until the light in the forest began to fade that it occurred to Nathan that he might need to eat and sleep before he was able to reach the castle. In fact, he was suddenly aware of the fact that he was quite hungry. Not sure where to find food, he continued on – not sure where food would come from, but also unsure what else to do except to try and reach the mountaintop castle. He continued trudging through the thick foliage for another half hour before it was too dark to see any further. Even if it had been light, though, Nathan’s legs were quite sore and he had to stop and rest. With the last of the daylight, Nathan settled down next to a large tree trunk, his stones on either side of him, and slept.
Nathan awoke early the next morning. He wasn’t sure whether it was the first rays of light through the canopy that woke him or the tremendous pangs of hunger and thirst. Either way, he woke and began searching immediately for something to drink. There was no water to be found, though – only the dew on the ground. Nathan tried to press dewy leaves to his lips, but the moisture from them was scarce. With nothing else to do, he pressed on, cursing the weights that swung from his waist.
The forest Nathan hiked through was beautiful in the morning sunlight, but he could not enjoy it. The stones at his sides and the hunger in his gut occupied all of his thoughts. Then, just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, around noon, he left the forest and came out onto a plain. He had been hoping for a reprieve from the thick forest brush all day, but he quickly longed for the shade of the trees as the scorching sun beat down on the plain fiercely. At least he could see the castle again. He was nearer to it than he had been before. Encouraged, he trekked on.
Shortly after leaving the forest, Nathan encountered what was simultaneously the most encouraging and the most depressing scene of the day. There were some tall sparse savannah trees scattered around the plain he walked across and as he drew near to one, he looked up and realized that there was fruit hanging from its branches! He couldn’t clearly identify the fruit, but it seemed to be some sort of large berry. The excitement of the discovery was very temporary, though, because it became quickly apparent that he had no way of retrieving the food. There were a few pieces of the fruit lying near the tree and Nathan greedily devoured them. Their taste was splendid, but they were far too few to satisfy his hunger. He tried climbing the tree, but the trunk was sheer and his stones weighed him down heavily. He tried throwing the rocks against the trunk to shake down berries, but to no avail. After some time, Nathan gave up on harvesting the berries and continued his journey. He stopped by all of the trees he saw to check the ground for berries, but he never did manage to pick a berry that hadn’t already fallen. And, tasty as they were, the fallen berries were generally somewhat rotten and no matter how many trees Nathan found, what sat on the ground was not enough to sate his hunger.
And so things went for the rest of the day. Nathan wearily made his way across the expansive land, drawing ever nearer to the castle. It wasn’t until the sun sank behind the horizon that Nathan became truly frightened. That fright was triggered by the howl of a hyena. Dusk had settled fully when Nathan heard the spine-tingling laughing cry. He saw eyes peering at him from the darkness, and he tried to run. He didn’t know where he was going, but he wanted to get away from the hyenas as quickly as he could. The entire way, though, the stones fought him – slowing him, hitting his legs, even threatening to trip him as they swung around at his sides. Though he ran, the hyena howls continued. Then, in the distance, Nathan saw a light. At first it was a small point of illumination, but as he drew nearer, he could see it was a campfire. With all he had, he ran. The hyenas were still following him, just waiting for the perfect time to pounce, he supposed, but the campfire promised safety. Onward he charged, in spite of the stones. Finally, exhausted, cramped, and sweating, he drew near to the campfire and he heard the howls of the hyenas recede.
The first thing Nathan noticed by the campfire was a rhinoceros. It was an enormous beast. It was more than a little startling, but Nathan could see that it leaned to its left, putting no weight on its front right foot. The second thing he noticed was the woman sitting beside the rhinoceros. She sat huddled, knees to chest, arms wrapped around them, staring into the campfire. She had a brimmed hat that would serve her well to keep the blistering sun from her face come daylight. She wore a haunting expression that Nathan could only describe as longing and sad. Then, abruptly, it hit him. He knew this woman. He wasn’t used to her in a hat and next to a rhinoceros. But sitting on the ground not more than forty yards from him, staring into a campfire, was Jessica.
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***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Nathan stood for a moment, trying to process how she could be in this bizarre world with him. He dismissed the thought quickly, though, as he realized that he didn’t even have an explanation for how he had entered this world. He considered approaching her, but he looked at the stones around his waist and thought about the sad expression on her face. Wherever she was going, he would only keep her from it. He didn’t want to burden her. He very nearly left. But, by now, his thirst was overwhelming. And the laugh of the hyenas still rung in his ears. And so he stepped forward slowly. When she still didn’t look up from the fire, he addressed her, “Jessica…” His voice cracked as he spoke; he hadn’t considered that he’d said nothing for the past day and half.
Her head jerked up in surprise and she looked at him, wide-eyed, “Nathan!”
Before she could say anymore, he interrupted her. “Jess, I’m just here to find out if you know where I can find water. I know you’re going to want me to come with you. But you’re more than capable on your own. I have these weights,” he motioned at the stones, “attached to me magically. I can’t remove them. Everything I do is hampered by them. I can’t run, I can’t jump, I can’t climb. I need some water, so I’m coming for your advice. But don’t weigh yourself down with me. You’ll be more likely to survive this hellish place alone.”
Jessica looked at him for a while, processing and making sense of what he had just said. Then, slowly, she stood and lifted her hands. As she did, Nathan saw that attached to her wrists were the same ropes that were bound about his waist. And hanging from each wrist, Jessica had a large stone – not unlike those he wore.
“You…” Nathan was utterly shocked, “You have them too?” Jessica just nodded and began to cry. Slowly, the stones still weighing heavily, Nathan went over to her and they sat down together. She handed him a canteen and he drank. Then, for a long time, neither said anything. They watched the fire together and just rested. At last, Nathan motioned at the rhinoceros next to them, “So, who’s your friend?”
Jessica chuckled a bit, “I found him yesterday. He’s very friendly, but he seems to have sprained his ankle. I think I could set it in a big rhino-sized splint for him if I could gather some wood and something to tie it with, but I just can’t do a thing with these,” she held up her wrists and let the stones hang for a moment before allowing gravity to pull her arms back down. “I feel so helpless.”
Nathan nodded, “I understand.” An idea occurred to him. “Maybe tomorrow I can set it for you. You’ll have to tell me what you need and how to do it, but I’ll bet if we work together we can fix him up. My stones are on my waist, not my arms. Then, after that, maybe I can put you on my shoulders to get some of those berries fresh out of the trees.”
“I thought you weren’t staying with me.”
Nathan shrugged, “Maybe I won’t be so much deadweight after all.” He placed a hand on the rock that lay next to Jessica’s knee, tethered to her wrist. “I think we have more in common than I realized.”
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The following morning was one of industry. Jessica showed Nathan the stream nearby where she had filled her canteen. He drank greedily from it. Then, they visited the fruits trees and standing on Nathan’s shoulders, leaning against the trunk, Jessica pulled down all the berries they could eat. Throughout the morning, the rhino limped around, grazing. Shortly before noon, Nathan’s shirt was torn into makeshift ties and, under Jessica’s instruction, Nathan carefully set the giant animal’s bad ankle. Then, their pockets full of berries, and Jessica’s canteen brimming with water, they bid farewell to the rhinoceros and set off again towards the castle.
As it turned out, the berries were good to have, but they soon were going to have far more water than they had counted on. For that evening, just as they were transitioning out of the plains and back into mountains, there was an abrupt clap of thunder and rain began pouring down. There was no cover, so they simply got wet. But the worst of it was not the inconvenience or the discomfort of it. The worst of it was the way it made their climb up the mountainside far more treacherous than it would have been otherwise. They slogged through muddy passes and up slick stone slopes, every step crucial as they carefully picked their way over the slippery ground. It seemed that as they went the rain only got harder and the mountain only got steeper. And their climb only became more dangerous. Until, finally, as they walked along a narrow mountain path, Nathan’s stones became too much for him and he stumbled. He slipped on the slick ground and nearly fell from the mountain’s face. Holding on to the edge of the narrow path and unable to pull himself up, he called for Jessica. For a dreadful moment, it seemed that she could not hear him over the torrential rain. He called again, “Jessica, help me!” And, then, she turned, saw what had happened and rushed to him. Dropping to her knees on the muddy path, she extended an arm to him. Ironically, the dangling stone was nearer to him and he grabbed a hold of the rope fiercely. Jessica leaned back and Nathan clamored back up onto the ledge. For several minutes they just sat on the path, their feet hanging over the edge, the rain drenching them. Then, Nathan leaned over and kissed Jessica. After a long embrace, they stood, and continued their climb. It was only a short distance later that they found a cave they could use as shelter from the rain. There, they spent the night.
The next morning, they breakfasted on soggy berries and Nathan went out to survey how far they had come in the night. He was pleased to find that they were nearly to the top of the mountain and the castle was only a short ways off. And so, after their light breakfast, they set out once more. The mountain ledge was far easier to navigate in the daylight and without the rain.
Early in the morning, they arrived at the gates of the castle. They both were a bit nervous as they approached the portcullis. Neither spoke, but they clenched each other’s hands tightly. As they approached the gate, it was suddenly drawn up. They still saw no one, but they ventured inside. The castle’s courtyard was nothing like Nathan had imagined it. Grey outer walls surrounded a beautiful yard, which, in turn, surrounded a great white keep. Parked in the courtyard were a number of the strange aircraft Nathan had seen when he had first arrived. Liveried servants ran to and fro, all miniature people – gnomes, Nathan might call them. The spectacle of the gnomes running back and forth was almost enough to distract Nathan from the most striking thing of all about the courtyard – the other guests.
Spread around the courtyard were dozens, maybe hundreds, of other people. Nathan knew them all. There were old classmates, teachers, relatives, neighbors, even some of Jessica’s friends that Nathan only knew through her. Like Nathan and Jessica, they all looked a bit worn and dirty. And like Nathan and Jessica, every single one of them wore stones that weighed them down and impeded them. Some wore them around their waists like Nathan. Others had them on their ankles or their shoulders. Some had the stones draped around their neck. Two days ago, Nathan had been shocked to discover that Jessica was weighed down as he was. Now he found that everyone he knew stood before him with stones of their own. He had no time to speak to them, though, for at this moment, a door halfway up the keep opened and a trio of gnomes emerged with an enormous horn. Two of the gnomes in front bent over, resting the horn on their backs. The third gnome took a deep breath and blew the horn loudly. The walls shook as the horn bellowed.
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Then, the herald straightened and shouted as loud as he could, “Her majesty, the Empress!”
And with that announcement, a door at the base of the donjon opened and a gnome woman, decked in many lavish robes, strode forth. Nathan looked at her and squinted in concentration; he knew her face from somewhere! Then it struck him – her face had been on the watermelon he had eaten to begin this whole adventure. She rapped her staff on the ground to get everyone’s attention (though all eyes were already fixed on her), and she spoke “Welcome to my manor. I’m glad to see you all here. Congratulations on arriving despite the inclement weather. Please, make yourself at home – there’s no reason to still be wearing those stones.”
The crowd stirred and Nathan eagerly reached for his knots. They were as tight as the first day he had arrived, though. Try as he might, he could not release the cords. He looked around and saw that everyone had the same problem. Frustrated, he spoke, “Your majesty, our stones cannot be removed; these ropes are enchanted.”
The Empress laughed, “The stones certainly can be removed.”
Nathan was growing upset at her teasing, “Your majesty, I have tried. It is impossible.”
The Empress continued to chuckle as she looked at him, “Nathan,” she addressed him, “it is no more impossible than arriving safely here at my palace.”
Nathan grunted, “That would have been impossible too, except…” his voice trailed off and he looked up at Jessica. Then he addressed her quietly, “Jessica, I can’t untie these ropes. Can you?” Obliging, she stepped to him. Her hands were unsteady because of the weights hanging from them, but it didn’t matter. She barely touched the knots at Nathan’s waist and they unraveled themselves. Nathan felt himself lighten as the stones fell to the ground.
Jessica stepped back, surprised. Then, hope spread across her face. She touched her hands to her wrists and said, “Nathan…” He went to her, tugged on the knots ever so gently and they fell apart. The stones fell to the ground. The others in the courtyard saw this and became excited. They ran to each other and, soon, no one was burdened with a stone. Celebration erupted. The jumped and shouted and cheered. Nathan grabbed the ropes to his rocks and ran through the open portcullis. He took hold of the ropes and spun as if he were a state champion in the hammer throw instead of the hurdles. Then, he let them fly. The rocks spun through the air and finally caught in the branches of an old tree. Others cheered and ran to throw their stones from the mountain as well. Hundreds of stones littered the mountain side. Many, including Jessica’s, joined Nathan’s on the tree – hanged there, burdens put to death, never to weigh their owners down again.
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Nathan closed his eyes, leaned his head back, and spread his arms victoriously.
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Nathan,” the voice came. Then again, “Nathan, are you all right?” Nathan’s eyes snapped open and he looked around. His mother was standing near him, looking concerned. He was in his wheelchair, in his kitchen. A half-eaten piece of watermelon was in his hand. “Are you ok?” His mother asked, “You looked very ill for a moment just now.”
“I’m fine,” Nathan said, still dazed from what had just happened, but trying not to show it.
“Well, why are you inside? Most of the company is outside.”
Nathan had to think for a long time before he could remember all the details of what was going on. Then, as it all came back to him and he remembered the barbecue and the previous night, he answered, “Oh, sure. I just came in where it was quieter so I could make a phone call.” He took his cell phone out of his pocket. “I want to talk to Jess. I’m hoping she can come over.” As he dialed, he took another bite of watermelon.
