Day Five
I thought I would share something that has come out of this little WENIN experiment. I also feel I need to be honest! One in that I didn’t know that I would be working some evenings and two that I haven’t therefore been able to write every night. I am however enjoying the process. So here is a short story, inspired by my reading this week & an evening diary entry from 2015. (unfiltered, unedited)
Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash
Walking in through the front door, Alissa gave all her energy over to falling into the comfort of her sofa. 2020 had been a year of change, confusion, and contradiction, and this week she was feeling the brunt of it. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the jagged tail she knew so well, dart behind the chair leg. Just enough to know he’s here, she thought, even though he is not welcome.
If she were to be honest with herself, the year had not been the worst, at least in her own little bubble, but this week it was really beginning to take a toll on her. Tapping into YouTube in the hope of good news, she found what appeared to be the complete opposite. Throwing her phone onto the floor she felt her body, emotions, and world implode around her. The monster from behind the chair took his chance and ran into the commotion, jumping in like a child with a puddle, splashing Alissa’s world into chaos. Then he smiled and crawled upon the sofa. As tears blurred her vision, he drank them in and conjured a spell of fear which rose up around her forehead, and soaked into her ears.
Rescuing her earpiece from the floor, it was all Alissa could do to pop it into her ear and send out a distress signal. It was the last thing she heard before energy left her, and she fell asleep.
When she awoke, she was in a garden. Her earpiece was missing but her watch had 3 unread messages, all from people who had received the distress call. She saw her energy lines grow as she read every message, pushing her percentage up again into some good ground. Bringing herself to her feet, she recognised the garden; many a time she had found herself here, though not at the top of the hill as she was now. There was the tree and the river ran right beside it, she smiled at its green leaves and abundant fruit, there had never been a time she had seen it in any other condition. The fruit was always in season.
“Why have you brought me here?” she asked, sensing his presence behind her, “I was doing ok, I even reached out, and the monster would have only stayed for a while”. Saying nothing her Father sat beside her, she looked across to him and smiled. How was it that silence could be so powerful that rather than causing distress, it was bringing her peace? She lay back against the ground, soaking in the sunshine, and for a moment, forgot everything that had been troubling her before her eyes had closed.
“You want to run down the hill?” his voice cut the silence like a mighty waterfall. She sprang up half in shock of the voice and half in her confusion of the question. He grinned; “want to run down the hill?” he asked again; “like you did when you were younger, arms flailing like you were trying to take off!” Alissa stifled a laugh, she appreciated the sentiment, but was far too old for games like that. The nostalgia of her age awakened her mind again to the reason she had ended up here, tensing up she looked around for the monster, surly he’d sense her fear.
“We’ll have none of that around here,” her Father said, sitting once again by her side “there is no need to tense up, let yourself go a little” She half thought he was talking again about running down the hill, but she didn’t ask. Instead, she questioned him, had he had seen her earpiece? After a moment he reached to his side but instead of giving her an earpiece, he handed her a letter. “Take some time with this, I’ll be here”
Opening the envelope, she glanced at its content. ‘Great!’ She thought, ‘ancient writing from the archives again’. Looking down again, she noticed the empty space on her wrist where her watch usually sat. “Hey!” she said turning accusingly to where her Father had sat, knowing sleight of hand was one of his more mischievous pastimes; but he had done a disappearing act himself, though she knew he was not far.
“For we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”.
Twenty Five words in total, it was an ancient riddle from him, she would have to think like him to understand it. All things had been written in capitals and the word ‘good’ had been highlighted in yellow. She had never known him to be so blatant, and why a phrase that she could blurt out at any given time. In the other land, she had won many a sweetie with her remembrance of it.
Familiarity: from the word familiar meaning ‘intimate, on a family footing, closeness‘. Why then do familiar things always feel more like the Latin derivative of the word, ‘servants’. When a phrase becomes familiar why does it lose its edge a little, as if they are within the household but not intimate, become more known but less meaningful? How can we make the familiar be of service us, or become more intimate to our souls once again?
She walked down to the tree by the stream and sat against it, dipping her feet into the cool water. Reaching forward she let the paper float for a moment on the water and then pulled it back placing it over her arm. She wanted to soak for a while in this phrase and see if anything new came out of it.
Within moments, she understood the folly of familiarity. This phrase which she could recite word for word, backward and forwards and have heard given out many times, had lost its power on her. Alissa wanted to bask in this verse, breathe it into her very being, shower the last year in its might. She thought of the distress signal she had typed out, this time seeing it differently. Seeing how the monster had directed fear to script her words as she typed. She was thankful for friends she could be honest with, and who would reply unphased, but fear had dictated her words. As she replayed the memories she knew this phrase, now tattooed onto her arm by the streams magic, would be one weapon towards defeating the monster.
“I did not believe that it was in all things”, she spoke out, to no one in particular (though she knew her Father could hear). “Most things, but not all things, and certainly not my things, just in other people’s things” Her Father came into view and she began to make her way back up the hill towards him. “And I don’t know I completely believed it would be for good” she raised her voice towards him “sometimes I feel like things happen to teach me a lesson” He smiled “and sometimes, you need to think like me, to know what is good” he added, “because, in all things, I do work for good”
As she reached the top of the hill he embraced her and carefully replaced her earpiece. Taking her hand, he fixed her watch back on her wrist; “I’ve added a new app” he said. Alissa tapped the screen and saw she could now record music & lyrics easily on the app which converted her voice to words and scores. She sat on the ground with him again and they talked for hours about her worries, tears, and fears. At some points he would embrace her, others he spoke gently to her, lifting her percentage level back up to 100. Sometimes he would stay silent, watching her as she would walk away and sing words into her new app.
Eventually as dusk fell, he rose to his feet and offered his hand for her to stand up. “You understand,” he said, “as long as you remain my child” he leaned in adding “which is forever; you don’t need to be tensed up! You can be free like a child!”
She saw that inevitable, glorious sparkle in his eye, that meant He knew all along that he would get her to this place! His bold laughter filled the air as he began to run down this hill, arms sailing round and round like airplanes “C’mon” he grinned. Unleashing the laughter that was bubbling up within her Alissa let her feet take control, and her laughter join his as she pelted down the hill, arms akimbo! Reaching the tree and stopping just before she landed in the river, Alissa and her Father fell on the floor laughing. Finally, they sat on the ground and he smiled his ever-gracious smile at her.
“What did you write?” He asked, she reached to the app to replay it, and he softly held her arm. “No, sing it for me” “It’s not finished” Alaska protested, “sing it anyway” he replied. She sang and he listened then he sang the words back to her and like a lullaby. She felt the words lure her eyes to closure, and when she awoke, she was back on her sofa, alone in the calm, with a new tattoo.
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