ENW Short Story Smackdown Summer 07 (Winner Announced)
- Thread starter Rodrigo Istalindir
- Start date
WhimsyTheFae
Explorer
Trench said:
Avatar_V said:FickleGM, we're in similar placesI've been slammed at work (and busy at home to boot!). I nearly gave up last night, but I did managed to write about a third of my story. Hopefully I can finish it tonight. Talk about a time crunch, though. 72 hours can be brutally short.
I hear ya both. My oldest daughter, who is living with friends an hour away needed us to run some paperwork to her this evening. We're behind schedule at work, so I'm not finding much idle time. Egads!
Right now, I'm trying to get some stuff done, but it's almost time for me to hit the hay. I'll have to see what I can sneak in tomorrow at work and just post what I have when I get home tomorrow evening.
Yangnome, you licking your chops over Trench's difficulties or are you going to have to cram your story in, as well? Now that I think of it, don't you usually cram your story in at the last second? Yeah, I new I hated you for some reason.
yangnome
First Post
FickleGM said:Yangnome, you licking your chops over Trench's difficulties or are you going to have to cram your story in, as well? Now that I think of it, don't you usually cram your story in at the last second? Yeah, I new I hated you for some reason.
[sblock] I'm just starting right now. I'm resisting the urge to go to bed and put it off until morning since it has to be turned in by 830am my time. I was honestly going to start this one earlier, but the week has been very hectic for me. We got a new shark in at the aquarium, which = extra busy time for me.[/sblock]
Noah's Lament
by Shawn Feakins
"Dad we got it, come on!"
He meekly protested and mumbled his acquiescence.
"Lord save me from math professors," his wife says, affectionately.
Betsy was the one he tried to move, but she actually liked standing there holding a plastic pumpkin between her teeth. Euclid was snuffling and bobbing his head and the sheet almost came off, but his daughter rushed over to throw it back on. Newton, Popper, and Devlin were mostly trying to chew on the pumpkin handles. he asked again if he could take betsy out.
"Oh you always want Betsy out," his wife said. "Only one you didn't name."
His family made it work, of course. Betsy stood in the front of them all, defiant and gnawing of that plastic handle (which had been smothered in bacon grease) until it snapped in half. But when he saw the picture, that fifth dog gnawed at him and made his brain burble and itch. He made it standable. One pumpkin was obscured so that made four pumpkins. Add that to the five dogs and you get nine- still an odd number. But take the number five and break it down, two and three. Three squared became nine and that made the picture part of an equation. The circle was closed and he could relax again.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30477
He wasn't dressed as anything, although his daughter had on a pair of faeire wings they bought for her. Her boyfriend was dressed all in white. A lazy costume, but he justified it by saying he was a soul being ushered to heave by his angel. She swooned of course, despite the blatant confusion of mythological motifs on the boyfriend's part. He gagged internally and shriveled a little inside as his wife chewed her lip and echoed back the cute sentiment designed for maximum social foreplay. He could see it, of course. It all fit the pattern.
He was still bothered by the picture, so he excused himself and left his wife to deliver the cautions and admonishments before the children headed out for the night. He walked back to the kitchen, which still had a rustic old-timey feel that they never updated when they bought the farmhouse. Only way they could have the room for five dogs, after all. Still, he was bothered by the subtle asymmetries of it. The curve of the table that dipped from the warped wood and the mismatched chairs. He put his head in his hands and sighed. This was why he could only get a teaching job at a community college far away from most urban centers. They thought that maybe he could get somewhere with no distractions perhaps he could calm himself but...
He looked up to the stuffed owl on the refrigerator top. It came with the house. All moth-eaten and small and feather bare and mustering as if it were molting. He looked at the taxidermied avian and wondered if it would just be simpler if he were an animal. A being that was just content to exist and not constantly quantify and organize to such a debilitating degree.
He set the bird on the table and stared at it for a moment. Noah saw the necessity of order. Or evening out the equations. Two by Two. It was needed to create life.
"Dad?"
He looked back to see his daughter peeking through the doorway. Some friends of hers had come over to pick them up and she was saying goodbye. But as she opened the door he saw her boyfriend stare at her with a lecherous grin that made him feel... uneven. She didn't notice of course. She stared with a mixture of concern, curiosity, and boredom at her father sitting across a warped table staring at a dead bird.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30476
"We're leaving. Happy Halloween."
He nodded and she stood, bent over for a moment waiting for a verbal reply. Her boyfriend was still staring at her bent over and he whimpered a little. Chewing her lip just as her mother does, she hastily closed the door- a little embarrassed at her father's oddities.
The sexual charge in the air left by that stare put his mind in a haze of emotion that struggled to unravel his world. He took the silverware out and lined them up, putting forks with forks and spoons with spoons in two by two.
He started going to the hunting lodge. He could never do it himself. The act of loading a gun and the noise and the triggers clicking was far too much for him. Still, when he saw the bear he realized what he had to do.
He began ordering from taxidermists. He got literature and emails. His first purchase was a stuffed cat from an estate sale, which used to belong to an old, lonely woman. After that it got much easier. A pair of dyed chicks from an educational museum. A waxy penguin from the zoo display. His proudest purchase was the giraffe that he drove all the way out to Pennsylvania for, left over from a big game hunter who spent time with Theodore Roosevelt. After that the bear from the lodge just seemed necessary.
His wife and family were concerned, but kept quiet. When they went to sleep he would set the animals up on the table and looks at them. He thought about how they were from a simpler time. How their mindset precluded them from obsessing on the nature of things. How they could just be.
Still they were dead. And, for most, only one of them.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30475
The papers were glad to have the story. An eccentric mathematic professor breaking into a zoo and freeing animals was odd enough. Once coupled with the odd scene of a zoological last supper however. He tried to explain. He only wanted certain animals. A giraffe to go with his. A bear to go with his. Life to go with Death. The Equation had to be completed. Two by Two.
As they wheel him in, something is broken in the world. There are cracks that show in the ether. Coughs in the pavement and a dim buzz behind everyone's ears that provides a harmonic hum to living. It's there, but no one sees it. The loops of living wrap around itself like ouroboros and begins to choke the individual out of the abstract. Time begins to fragment. Color recedes and fades and soon he take a shade of green as he red shift blue shifts yellow shifts out. He feels his head spiral back toward a mathematical representation of the universe- an equation that explains it all in all it's layers and complexities and paradoxes in one simple equation beyond pi beyond Planck's Constant beyond Gödel's Proof. But the knowledge gained is fleeting so fleeting and by the time any progress is made in your head by the time any concept begins to stick it evaporates as if it were water on a hot pan and bubbles away with your senses and you are left simply falling falling toward the door where they have you strapped down and an intern cracks a small ampule of haloperidol to keep you from thrashing in your birth/death throes.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30479
And then before one can breathe before one can think or feel or do or begin or end it all
Simply
Turns
Green.
"And you're home."
He looks at her, diaphanous wings glistening as the wind ripples the sun as if alive through them. The bones are fragile like birds as this tiny woman with wings stares at him. Logically, he knows she can't exist. She is the stuff of faerie tales. She reaches up to caress his cheek and he starts at the touch of her hand on his flesh. His beard is simply gone and he finds that when he breathes, leaves rustle. His hair has become leafy and verdant. A noble mustache of oak and maple swoops down and she brushes the bridge of his nose. And for some reason.... he sees her, so like her, so like the daughter he had (has? Has or Had Present or Past? Possession is the only constant.) and he is at peace.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30478
"It doesn't hurt anymore," he says.
"You wanted to live in a simpler time. A time where man was more one with the world, yes?"
"Is this a dream?"
"Does it matter?"
And so she flew off to dance in the air with others of her kind. And he walked down forest paths covered with crunching leaves and gloried at the feel of it between his moss-encrusted toes. And every animal knew him. And everything, everything evened out.
by Shawn Feakins
"Dad we got it, come on!"
He meekly protested and mumbled his acquiescence.
"Lord save me from math professors," his wife says, affectionately.
Betsy was the one he tried to move, but she actually liked standing there holding a plastic pumpkin between her teeth. Euclid was snuffling and bobbing his head and the sheet almost came off, but his daughter rushed over to throw it back on. Newton, Popper, and Devlin were mostly trying to chew on the pumpkin handles. he asked again if he could take betsy out.
"Oh you always want Betsy out," his wife said. "Only one you didn't name."
His family made it work, of course. Betsy stood in the front of them all, defiant and gnawing of that plastic handle (which had been smothered in bacon grease) until it snapped in half. But when he saw the picture, that fifth dog gnawed at him and made his brain burble and itch. He made it standable. One pumpkin was obscured so that made four pumpkins. Add that to the five dogs and you get nine- still an odd number. But take the number five and break it down, two and three. Three squared became nine and that made the picture part of an equation. The circle was closed and he could relax again.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30477
He wasn't dressed as anything, although his daughter had on a pair of faeire wings they bought for her. Her boyfriend was dressed all in white. A lazy costume, but he justified it by saying he was a soul being ushered to heave by his angel. She swooned of course, despite the blatant confusion of mythological motifs on the boyfriend's part. He gagged internally and shriveled a little inside as his wife chewed her lip and echoed back the cute sentiment designed for maximum social foreplay. He could see it, of course. It all fit the pattern.
He was still bothered by the picture, so he excused himself and left his wife to deliver the cautions and admonishments before the children headed out for the night. He walked back to the kitchen, which still had a rustic old-timey feel that they never updated when they bought the farmhouse. Only way they could have the room for five dogs, after all. Still, he was bothered by the subtle asymmetries of it. The curve of the table that dipped from the warped wood and the mismatched chairs. He put his head in his hands and sighed. This was why he could only get a teaching job at a community college far away from most urban centers. They thought that maybe he could get somewhere with no distractions perhaps he could calm himself but...
He looked up to the stuffed owl on the refrigerator top. It came with the house. All moth-eaten and small and feather bare and mustering as if it were molting. He looked at the taxidermied avian and wondered if it would just be simpler if he were an animal. A being that was just content to exist and not constantly quantify and organize to such a debilitating degree.
He set the bird on the table and stared at it for a moment. Noah saw the necessity of order. Or evening out the equations. Two by Two. It was needed to create life.
"Dad?"
He looked back to see his daughter peeking through the doorway. Some friends of hers had come over to pick them up and she was saying goodbye. But as she opened the door he saw her boyfriend stare at her with a lecherous grin that made him feel... uneven. She didn't notice of course. She stared with a mixture of concern, curiosity, and boredom at her father sitting across a warped table staring at a dead bird.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30476
"We're leaving. Happy Halloween."
He nodded and she stood, bent over for a moment waiting for a verbal reply. Her boyfriend was still staring at her bent over and he whimpered a little. Chewing her lip just as her mother does, she hastily closed the door- a little embarrassed at her father's oddities.
The sexual charge in the air left by that stare put his mind in a haze of emotion that struggled to unravel his world. He took the silverware out and lined them up, putting forks with forks and spoons with spoons in two by two.
He started going to the hunting lodge. He could never do it himself. The act of loading a gun and the noise and the triggers clicking was far too much for him. Still, when he saw the bear he realized what he had to do.
He began ordering from taxidermists. He got literature and emails. His first purchase was a stuffed cat from an estate sale, which used to belong to an old, lonely woman. After that it got much easier. A pair of dyed chicks from an educational museum. A waxy penguin from the zoo display. His proudest purchase was the giraffe that he drove all the way out to Pennsylvania for, left over from a big game hunter who spent time with Theodore Roosevelt. After that the bear from the lodge just seemed necessary.
His wife and family were concerned, but kept quiet. When they went to sleep he would set the animals up on the table and looks at them. He thought about how they were from a simpler time. How their mindset precluded them from obsessing on the nature of things. How they could just be.
Still they were dead. And, for most, only one of them.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30475
The papers were glad to have the story. An eccentric mathematic professor breaking into a zoo and freeing animals was odd enough. Once coupled with the odd scene of a zoological last supper however. He tried to explain. He only wanted certain animals. A giraffe to go with his. A bear to go with his. Life to go with Death. The Equation had to be completed. Two by Two.
As they wheel him in, something is broken in the world. There are cracks that show in the ether. Coughs in the pavement and a dim buzz behind everyone's ears that provides a harmonic hum to living. It's there, but no one sees it. The loops of living wrap around itself like ouroboros and begins to choke the individual out of the abstract. Time begins to fragment. Color recedes and fades and soon he take a shade of green as he red shift blue shifts yellow shifts out. He feels his head spiral back toward a mathematical representation of the universe- an equation that explains it all in all it's layers and complexities and paradoxes in one simple equation beyond pi beyond Planck's Constant beyond Gödel's Proof. But the knowledge gained is fleeting so fleeting and by the time any progress is made in your head by the time any concept begins to stick it evaporates as if it were water on a hot pan and bubbles away with your senses and you are left simply falling falling toward the door where they have you strapped down and an intern cracks a small ampule of haloperidol to keep you from thrashing in your birth/death throes.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30479
And then before one can breathe before one can think or feel or do or begin or end it all
Simply
Turns
Green.
"And you're home."
He looks at her, diaphanous wings glistening as the wind ripples the sun as if alive through them. The bones are fragile like birds as this tiny woman with wings stares at him. Logically, he knows she can't exist. She is the stuff of faerie tales. She reaches up to caress his cheek and he starts at the touch of her hand on his flesh. His beard is simply gone and he finds that when he breathes, leaves rustle. His hair has become leafy and verdant. A noble mustache of oak and maple swoops down and she brushes the bridge of his nose. And for some reason.... he sees her, so like her, so like the daughter he had (has? Has or Had Present or Past? Possession is the only constant.) and he is at peace.
http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30478
"It doesn't hurt anymore," he says.
"You wanted to live in a simpler time. A time where man was more one with the world, yes?"
"Is this a dream?"
"Does it matter?"
And so she flew off to dance in the air with others of her kind. And he walked down forest paths covered with crunching leaves and gloried at the feel of it between his moss-encrusted toes. And every animal knew him. And everything, everything evened out.
WhimsyTheFae
Explorer
[sblock]Good luck with your story and with the shark. I'm about a third done with my story, but I have a few more hours than you do. I'll have to finish mine at work...or I'll be posting an incomplete story tonight.[/sblock]yangnome said:
yangnome
First Post
An Intervention
Some say there is another world-- a world very different from ours--that exists parallel to our own world. Stories of this other world tell of mythical creatures: faeries, goblins, talking animals, and even dragons that have live in equality and harmony with each other and have charged with managing nature in our world. Despite their involvement in our world though, most people do not see or interact with these creatures, nor are most aware that they exist.
Truth be told, there are some that know of the fey’s existence. Those who are in tune with nature often suspect their presence. Every generation has enlightened ones that can see beyond the veil and into the world of the fey. Typically, only those who are sensitive toward nature and open their minds are blessed with this gift.
Joshua was not one of these people. Until yesterday, Joshua was your typical, self absorbed, late-20-something pricks who was only interested in making money and wetting his dick.
Make no mistake, Joshua had been granted what many would call the best opportunities in life. Born into a wealthy family, Joshua was never left wanting. He had the best opportunities in life: a wealthy family, a fancy car –a brand new corvette-- when he turned 16, an Ivy League education, to include an MBA from Harvard, his blessings went on and on.
Now one might say that Joshua was a product of his environment. Perhaps his spoiled upbringing played a part in whom he had become. After all, at no point in his childhood had he heard the word “No.” Maybe, had his parents raised him better, he may have learned some consideration for others or the world around him.
Perhaps this is why the faeries chose him—perhaps it was a mission of mercy. I am getting ahead of myself though. Quite honestly, we cannot know their motives, just as we cannot consider any other Joshua other than the one who takes part in this story. To try to analyze what he could have been, or the motives of the fey would be to lose the meaning of the story.
So, back to the Joshua that we’ve known. Joshua was the person that many would envy to trade places with. Following his Harvard MBA, Joshua got a job in New York City working on Wall Street, earning a salary that none of us would consider meager.
As I mentioned earlier, Joshua was the kind of prick that cared only about the finer things in life—mainly indulging his own senses. He would frequently pass the bums on the street without casting them a wayward glance much less a nickel or dime or God forbid the leftovers from his dinner at Blue Ribbon or whatever swank place he had dined at that evening.
Now, I don’t mean to bore you with all these details about Joshua—nor do I mean to make you feel envy. I am merely trying to demonstrate that Joshua is not the typical fellow that would share experiences with the fey—of course he did, or I wouldn’t be telling this tale.
It all started in late October—at least as I can guess—on Joshua’s 28th birthday when Joshua’s father gave him an interesting birthday present: a deed to 300 acres of forest in Colorado. The deed was to property Joshua and his father had visited when Joshua was a boy. The only property on the land was a wooden cabin they used on hunting trips.
It had been years since Joshua had visited the land with his father. To be honest, the trips outdoors weren’t his favorite memories growing up. He didn’t like being away from the amenities of home, and he didn’t really enjoy roughing it.
Because of this, Joshua wasn’t too thrilled about the gift he had received. Of course he knew he would receive it someday. After all, the land had been passed down from generation to generation. Still, Joshua had no intentions of visiting the land with his son, and was even a little upset with his father for skipping out on a real birthday present for him.
Now, Joshua, being a crafty sort, did have plans for the land. The property was close enough to Colorado Springs that he figured he would be able to make some decent money by leveling the forest area and building a housing development along with a golf course. He figured if he wasn’t going to enjoy the gift, he might as well make something off it. He had a friend from business school that would be able to hook him up with the right permits. Not less than 24 hours after he received the gift from his father, Joshua had booked a plane trip to Colorado the following week.
There is an interesting thing about faeries, and if any of you are sensitive enough to know much about them, you might be aware of this: faeries are very attuned to emotions, ideas and the like. There is something about their world that helps them understand a person’s motives, even across great distances. Something about Joshua’s plan touched the faeries and they decided to conduct an intervention on Joshua.
Now, one thing about the fey—they can be a very subtle folk. They don’t always come out and say what they want directly, but would rather have the person glean their lesson through experience. It was no different with Joshua.
The first visit the fey paid Joshua was on a late night, two nights after he had received the gift from his father. Joshua had returned home from the bar not more than a few minutes before their visit. Joshua was in the living room of his brownstone working a girl out of her Prada shoes and Versace dress. That is when the doorbell rang.
Now most would probably expect Joshua to pay attention to his half-disrobed guest, but as I’ve said Joshua doesn’t care much for anything other than himself and at the moment, he had considered it might be an old one night stand coming back for more and there is a small possibility she might be better looking than the girl sprawling across his suede loveseat. Hell, he might get really lucky and be able to talk them into a three-way.
So, Joshua decides to answer the door. To his surprise, on the other side of the door, [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30477][/url] Joshua finds not one, but five b!tches. [/img] More specifically, five dogs dressed up in ghost costumes with plastic pumpkins hanging from their mouths—definitely not something he wants to add to the party. He had forgotten it was Halloween, but there was something that looked familiar about the dogs—his grandfather had five golden retrievers he used to keep on the property in Colorado.
Now, had Joshua actually stood there a moment longer, the dogs would have spoke to him and he probably wouldn’t have been so puzzled, but Joshua, figuring it was some prank his friends were playing, slammed the door shut and went back to the b!tch on the couch. The fey didn’t get a chance to really share their message with him.
Joshua flew first class to Colorado Springs. On the plane, he met a young stewardess with auburn hair. It wasn’t long into the flight when he had wooed her and talked her into visiting the lavatory for him to re-vet his membership in the Mile High club. Joshua went to the lavatory first, leaving the door unlocked. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30476]Then[/url], a few minutes later, the stewardess came in, looking back into the cabin as she shut the door, making sure the other crew members didn’t see what she was up to.[/img]
Needless to say, the occupied light came on the lavatory, and Joshua was feeling pretty pleased with himself. She turned toward Joshua and told him to close his eyes. He did what she said, but felt a strange sensation. He didn’t know if it was turbulence, or if maybe it was anticipation, but he felt like he was being transported to somewhere else.
“Open your eyes” A small finger touched his lip.
Joshua was no longer inside the plane lavatory. He found himself somewhere… outdoors, amongst the woods.
Now, what you have probably figured out is that Joshua had been transported to that other world—the world of the fey. Joshua didn’t know this, so needless to say this was a bit of a shock to him.
What did you do to me?” he asked. “What did you do to you?”
[img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30478][/url] In front of him, a small creature with wings sat perched on his lap.
“I am not here to harm you Joshua.” She said.
Joshua looked closely and noticed the fairy resembled the stewardess who had lured him into the lavatory only a few minutes earlier.
“You have lost your course Joshua, and I hope you will let me help you find it.” She said.
Joshua sat, awestruck. The fairy explained to him the same thing I’ve told you regarding the parallel world.
“If you’ll let me, I’ll show you why it is important to think of others outside of yourself, Joshua.”
Joshua tried to fight her. He tried to push her off his lap and move toward the door of the lavatory. During his life he had tried a number of kinks, but this was too much for him. He wasn’t able to move though.
“Listen Joshua, I have brought you here to Faery to show you this lesson. You have no control here. You have no choice, but to listen. Like it or not, you are part of nature.
“Look at your true self Joshua.” She took his hand and placed it on his upper lip. Where before he had been clean shaven, something—almost like leaves—had sprouted from his face.
“But, what..”
“Shh..” she told him.
“You, aren’t what you think you are Joshua. Years ago, your great-grandfather, when he was young visited the same land that your father gave to you. There, he met and fell in love with one of the fey.”
Joshua’s face showed no expression. He was unable to open his mouth to speak.
“Your grandfather, your father and you are all part fey. Part Dryad to be exact.”
“Why has no one told me this before?” Joshua asked.
“Would you want your son going around telling people he’s part mystical creature?” she asked. “your father felt it best that you not know your heritage until later in life.”
“Why should it matter to me. I hate the outdoors?”
“The outdoors are part of you Joshua. You, your life force is connected to your family land.”
The fairy motioned for Joshua to rise and follow her. They walked through a forest until they came upon a cabin in the woods, a cabin that looked vaguely familiar to Joshua.
“This here is your family cabin. Today, you will be able to see the true woods for the first time, Joshua. Your father has decided you are old enough, and he wants to pass on the responsibility of maintaining the family forest.”
The fairy motioned toward the cabin. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30475]Joshua[/url] entered and she followed him inside. Inside the cabin, a number of different animals of the forest sat around the table. Creatures Joshua had seen as a child when camping with his father: a rabbit, an owl, a fox, and a badger, and a bear as well as some creatures he hadn’t seen in these woods: a giraffe and a penguin. They looked up at him when he entered and bid him welcome. [/img]
Needless to say, Joshua was startled. Startled beyond words.
“They’ve come here for a sit down with you, Joshua.” The fairy said.
“A … sit down?”
“They have a vested interest in what happens to this land, and are quite concerned over your plans.”
The penguin beat its wing against the table in rapid succession.
“Quite troubled indeed.” The penguin said. “I congratulate you on your new inheritance, but we are quite disappointed that you did not consult us before making decisions regarding the land of my family here.”
The fairy intervened before Joshua could respond.
“I have just been explaining to Joshua the true history behind the land here and the history of our people” she said. “ I am sure he may reconsider his views now that he has seen the whole truth.”
“I would hope so.” the penguin said and a number of the animals echoed their consent.
“We established a pact with your grandfather when he inherited this land from his grandmother.” The badger said. “Here, the details of the agreement are on this.”
The badger pushed a green ball over across the table toward Joshua. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30479]The[/url] fairy motioned toward it and Joshua bent down and picked it up—a flash memory device with a bust of his grandfather’s head on the end of it. [/img]
“You can take it with you and review it later.” The badger said. “The important thing is you hold up to your responsibility to protect our home.”
“You see,” the fairy said, “so many people are depending on you, Joshua.”
“Look, I’ll do whatever you want.” Joshua said “I just want to go back home, to my world.”
“We have a deal then?”
“Yes” Joshua said.
Everything went black for a moment, then Joshua’s head felt as if it had been split open. He was cold and someone was shaking him.
“Mister, mister wake up” a kid, with a sheet draped over him was shaking Joshua’s shoulder. Four other kids also in costume stood behind him, scared looks in their eyes.”
“You ok, mister?” the kid said.
Joshua rubbed his head and glass fell out of his hair. He struggled to pick himself off the ground and dust himself off. He quickly felt his pockets and noticed his wallet missing. He looked around and noticed he was near the entrance to the Central Park Zoo.
He blinked his eyes and muttered “It all must have been a dream.”
“What’s that?” the kid said.
“Oh nothing. Thanks for your help.” He turned to walk home.
“Hey mister, does this belong to you?” the kid held up the green plastic head of Joshua’s grandfather attached to a memory stick.
Some say there is another world-- a world very different from ours--that exists parallel to our own world. Stories of this other world tell of mythical creatures: faeries, goblins, talking animals, and even dragons that have live in equality and harmony with each other and have charged with managing nature in our world. Despite their involvement in our world though, most people do not see or interact with these creatures, nor are most aware that they exist.
Truth be told, there are some that know of the fey’s existence. Those who are in tune with nature often suspect their presence. Every generation has enlightened ones that can see beyond the veil and into the world of the fey. Typically, only those who are sensitive toward nature and open their minds are blessed with this gift.
Joshua was not one of these people. Until yesterday, Joshua was your typical, self absorbed, late-20-something pricks who was only interested in making money and wetting his dick.
Make no mistake, Joshua had been granted what many would call the best opportunities in life. Born into a wealthy family, Joshua was never left wanting. He had the best opportunities in life: a wealthy family, a fancy car –a brand new corvette-- when he turned 16, an Ivy League education, to include an MBA from Harvard, his blessings went on and on.
Now one might say that Joshua was a product of his environment. Perhaps his spoiled upbringing played a part in whom he had become. After all, at no point in his childhood had he heard the word “No.” Maybe, had his parents raised him better, he may have learned some consideration for others or the world around him.
Perhaps this is why the faeries chose him—perhaps it was a mission of mercy. I am getting ahead of myself though. Quite honestly, we cannot know their motives, just as we cannot consider any other Joshua other than the one who takes part in this story. To try to analyze what he could have been, or the motives of the fey would be to lose the meaning of the story.
So, back to the Joshua that we’ve known. Joshua was the person that many would envy to trade places with. Following his Harvard MBA, Joshua got a job in New York City working on Wall Street, earning a salary that none of us would consider meager.
As I mentioned earlier, Joshua was the kind of prick that cared only about the finer things in life—mainly indulging his own senses. He would frequently pass the bums on the street without casting them a wayward glance much less a nickel or dime or God forbid the leftovers from his dinner at Blue Ribbon or whatever swank place he had dined at that evening.
Now, I don’t mean to bore you with all these details about Joshua—nor do I mean to make you feel envy. I am merely trying to demonstrate that Joshua is not the typical fellow that would share experiences with the fey—of course he did, or I wouldn’t be telling this tale.
It all started in late October—at least as I can guess—on Joshua’s 28th birthday when Joshua’s father gave him an interesting birthday present: a deed to 300 acres of forest in Colorado. The deed was to property Joshua and his father had visited when Joshua was a boy. The only property on the land was a wooden cabin they used on hunting trips.
It had been years since Joshua had visited the land with his father. To be honest, the trips outdoors weren’t his favorite memories growing up. He didn’t like being away from the amenities of home, and he didn’t really enjoy roughing it.
Because of this, Joshua wasn’t too thrilled about the gift he had received. Of course he knew he would receive it someday. After all, the land had been passed down from generation to generation. Still, Joshua had no intentions of visiting the land with his son, and was even a little upset with his father for skipping out on a real birthday present for him.
Now, Joshua, being a crafty sort, did have plans for the land. The property was close enough to Colorado Springs that he figured he would be able to make some decent money by leveling the forest area and building a housing development along with a golf course. He figured if he wasn’t going to enjoy the gift, he might as well make something off it. He had a friend from business school that would be able to hook him up with the right permits. Not less than 24 hours after he received the gift from his father, Joshua had booked a plane trip to Colorado the following week.
There is an interesting thing about faeries, and if any of you are sensitive enough to know much about them, you might be aware of this: faeries are very attuned to emotions, ideas and the like. There is something about their world that helps them understand a person’s motives, even across great distances. Something about Joshua’s plan touched the faeries and they decided to conduct an intervention on Joshua.
Now, one thing about the fey—they can be a very subtle folk. They don’t always come out and say what they want directly, but would rather have the person glean their lesson through experience. It was no different with Joshua.
The first visit the fey paid Joshua was on a late night, two nights after he had received the gift from his father. Joshua had returned home from the bar not more than a few minutes before their visit. Joshua was in the living room of his brownstone working a girl out of her Prada shoes and Versace dress. That is when the doorbell rang.
Now most would probably expect Joshua to pay attention to his half-disrobed guest, but as I’ve said Joshua doesn’t care much for anything other than himself and at the moment, he had considered it might be an old one night stand coming back for more and there is a small possibility she might be better looking than the girl sprawling across his suede loveseat. Hell, he might get really lucky and be able to talk them into a three-way.
So, Joshua decides to answer the door. To his surprise, on the other side of the door, [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30477][/url] Joshua finds not one, but five b!tches. [/img] More specifically, five dogs dressed up in ghost costumes with plastic pumpkins hanging from their mouths—definitely not something he wants to add to the party. He had forgotten it was Halloween, but there was something that looked familiar about the dogs—his grandfather had five golden retrievers he used to keep on the property in Colorado.
Now, had Joshua actually stood there a moment longer, the dogs would have spoke to him and he probably wouldn’t have been so puzzled, but Joshua, figuring it was some prank his friends were playing, slammed the door shut and went back to the b!tch on the couch. The fey didn’t get a chance to really share their message with him.
Joshua flew first class to Colorado Springs. On the plane, he met a young stewardess with auburn hair. It wasn’t long into the flight when he had wooed her and talked her into visiting the lavatory for him to re-vet his membership in the Mile High club. Joshua went to the lavatory first, leaving the door unlocked. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30476]Then[/url], a few minutes later, the stewardess came in, looking back into the cabin as she shut the door, making sure the other crew members didn’t see what she was up to.[/img]
Needless to say, the occupied light came on the lavatory, and Joshua was feeling pretty pleased with himself. She turned toward Joshua and told him to close his eyes. He did what she said, but felt a strange sensation. He didn’t know if it was turbulence, or if maybe it was anticipation, but he felt like he was being transported to somewhere else.
“Open your eyes” A small finger touched his lip.
Joshua was no longer inside the plane lavatory. He found himself somewhere… outdoors, amongst the woods.
Now, what you have probably figured out is that Joshua had been transported to that other world—the world of the fey. Joshua didn’t know this, so needless to say this was a bit of a shock to him.
What did you do to me?” he asked. “What did you do to you?”
[img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30478][/url] In front of him, a small creature with wings sat perched on his lap.
“I am not here to harm you Joshua.” She said.
Joshua looked closely and noticed the fairy resembled the stewardess who had lured him into the lavatory only a few minutes earlier.
“You have lost your course Joshua, and I hope you will let me help you find it.” She said.
Joshua sat, awestruck. The fairy explained to him the same thing I’ve told you regarding the parallel world.
“If you’ll let me, I’ll show you why it is important to think of others outside of yourself, Joshua.”
Joshua tried to fight her. He tried to push her off his lap and move toward the door of the lavatory. During his life he had tried a number of kinks, but this was too much for him. He wasn’t able to move though.
“Listen Joshua, I have brought you here to Faery to show you this lesson. You have no control here. You have no choice, but to listen. Like it or not, you are part of nature.
“Look at your true self Joshua.” She took his hand and placed it on his upper lip. Where before he had been clean shaven, something—almost like leaves—had sprouted from his face.
“But, what..”
“Shh..” she told him.
“You, aren’t what you think you are Joshua. Years ago, your great-grandfather, when he was young visited the same land that your father gave to you. There, he met and fell in love with one of the fey.”
Joshua’s face showed no expression. He was unable to open his mouth to speak.
“Your grandfather, your father and you are all part fey. Part Dryad to be exact.”
“Why has no one told me this before?” Joshua asked.
“Would you want your son going around telling people he’s part mystical creature?” she asked. “your father felt it best that you not know your heritage until later in life.”
“Why should it matter to me. I hate the outdoors?”
“The outdoors are part of you Joshua. You, your life force is connected to your family land.”
The fairy motioned for Joshua to rise and follow her. They walked through a forest until they came upon a cabin in the woods, a cabin that looked vaguely familiar to Joshua.
“This here is your family cabin. Today, you will be able to see the true woods for the first time, Joshua. Your father has decided you are old enough, and he wants to pass on the responsibility of maintaining the family forest.”
The fairy motioned toward the cabin. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30475]Joshua[/url] entered and she followed him inside. Inside the cabin, a number of different animals of the forest sat around the table. Creatures Joshua had seen as a child when camping with his father: a rabbit, an owl, a fox, and a badger, and a bear as well as some creatures he hadn’t seen in these woods: a giraffe and a penguin. They looked up at him when he entered and bid him welcome. [/img]
Needless to say, Joshua was startled. Startled beyond words.
“They’ve come here for a sit down with you, Joshua.” The fairy said.
“A … sit down?”
“They have a vested interest in what happens to this land, and are quite concerned over your plans.”
The penguin beat its wing against the table in rapid succession.
“Quite troubled indeed.” The penguin said. “I congratulate you on your new inheritance, but we are quite disappointed that you did not consult us before making decisions regarding the land of my family here.”
The fairy intervened before Joshua could respond.
“I have just been explaining to Joshua the true history behind the land here and the history of our people” she said. “ I am sure he may reconsider his views now that he has seen the whole truth.”
“I would hope so.” the penguin said and a number of the animals echoed their consent.
“We established a pact with your grandfather when he inherited this land from his grandmother.” The badger said. “Here, the details of the agreement are on this.”
The badger pushed a green ball over across the table toward Joshua. [img= [url]http://www.enworld.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=30479]The[/url] fairy motioned toward it and Joshua bent down and picked it up—a flash memory device with a bust of his grandfather’s head on the end of it. [/img]
“You can take it with you and review it later.” The badger said. “The important thing is you hold up to your responsibility to protect our home.”
“You see,” the fairy said, “so many people are depending on you, Joshua.”
“Look, I’ll do whatever you want.” Joshua said “I just want to go back home, to my world.”
“We have a deal then?”
“Yes” Joshua said.
Everything went black for a moment, then Joshua’s head felt as if it had been split open. He was cold and someone was shaking him.
“Mister, mister wake up” a kid, with a sheet draped over him was shaking Joshua’s shoulder. Four other kids also in costume stood behind him, scared looks in their eyes.”
“You ok, mister?” the kid said.
Joshua rubbed his head and glass fell out of his hair. He struggled to pick himself off the ground and dust himself off. He quickly felt his pockets and noticed his wallet missing. He looked around and noticed he was near the entrance to the Central Park Zoo.
He blinked his eyes and muttered “It all must have been a dream.”
“What’s that?” the kid said.
“Oh nothing. Thanks for your help.” He turned to walk home.
“Hey mister, does this belong to you?” the kid held up the green plastic head of Joshua’s grandfather attached to a memory stick.
yangnome
First Post
FickleGM said:
[sblock]
Well, I finished, but not without some more procrastination. About half way through the story, I went and wasted about 30 minutes or so over on CM..oh yeah, then there was the search for mile high pictures
. Anyway, it is done I should have written it earlier, I probably would have put more effort into it. I started getting really worried that I was jut throwing things together when I did have a general plan for this story, but I think the ending pulls it through and strengthens the picture use a bit. now it is off to bed. i ahve to be up for work in three hours. Good luck with your story.[/sblock]Similar Threads
