2021 November's Autumn Authoring Ad-lib Adventure!
A Writing Corner challenge
Preparation for November's Autumn Authoring Ad-lib Adventure!
Consider a one page starter for a story— come up with a compelling character (or two or three), a general genre concept and a few different ideas as to where your story will go. Sadly, you won't have control past that.
Every day a simple prompt will be provided and you'll be required to add at LEAST 250 words to your story based on the idea/concept/springboard that is the day's prompt.
November 1st will be day one and the story starter will be due. There will be 28 mini prompts to guide (and possibly derail) your story throughout the month, with your final piece set for completion by the 30th. Final stories will be at LEAST 7500 words with no cap.
Thinking of taking part? Would a $100 USD grand prize for the winning entry encourage you to get creative? Time to start considering YOUR contribution. (Minimum of 10 qualifying entries required for a prize to be offered).
[Story start: 723 /// Total Count: 723]
“Sir, I will have to ask you to drink your coffee,” said the waitress. It was a quiet afternoon at the mostly empty coffee shop. The sky was overcast, the wind was chilly outside and the few open windows allowed it through. In theory -the owner thought- that would increase the purchases of beverages and food. A little discomfort to nudge the clients into the right direction is all that was needed. “It’ll get cold. Again. If that is what you want you can have it as you like, but I tell you our coffee is actually good if you don’t let it go cold or reheat it a thousand times.”
The chill of the wind announced that the door had opened and that a new customer had arrived. The human waitress turned around and left the wrinkled walrus alone to invite the new arrival. The person sat at the other side of the shop and he could hear nothing more than an indistinct chatter between the two humans. It didn’t take more than a minute or two for the waitress to leave with the new customer’s order.
It is a good coffee, the walrus thought to himself as he adjusted his ascot cap. He reached for the cup and brought it to his nose. With a deep breath he smelled the bitterness of his beverage, a hint of sweet and a chocolaty note. He placed the cup down again and reached for a napkin to clean his white whiskers, which he had sunk carelessly into the coffee again. It is indeed good coffee, he admitted.
A few breaths later he could once again smell the scent of fresh cement and the fresh synthetic leather of the seats. The café had opened just a few days prior and it still retained that characteristic smell new buildings often had. Seats and tables looked clean effortlessly and the counter’s polished metal and glass shone unblemished.
He liked the café– yet he also disliked the café. It was the only place in this small town where he could get good coffee. It was also a new place, which was exciting in its own right for someone his age, and at the hours he liked to visit there weren’t that many people. On the other hand, it was a new place, another sign that the times were catching up with the town. If time could only stay still for a little while longer.
The walrus reached under his trench coat and under his coat and found his pen, grabbed another one of the white napkins, then laid it on the table in front of him. With one hand he took his cup, placed it on top of the napkin, and with the other he traced the circumference of the cup’s bottom with his pen. He moved the cup away and wrote around his new circle a few words, then placed the cup into the drawn circle again. From the edge of the circle he drew a line and towards one of the corners of the napkin and then began to idly scribble a small circle again and again.
At first the ink seeped into the napkin as usual but a few moments later it began to unwind, tracing back the path the pen had taken; he hadn’t stopped moving the pen in the same tiny circle either but the pen no longer drew anything visible. He continued with the same motion for a few seconds more, laid down the pen and simply observed how the remaining ink disappeared, following the path his pen had taken until the little circle at the end of the napkin was no more. Like fire following a line of gunpowder, the ink continued to disappear down the line drawn from the small circle to the big one where the cup was placed.
The moment that happened the vapor from the cup froze. He patted the vapor and it felt as solid as any rock, and when placed his cold paws around the cup he felt its warmth. When he removed them no heat remained on his paws as if he had never touched it.
A few ticks of the clock behind him later the vapor reanimated and he was able to take a sip of his coffee again. It was getting cold.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Childish /// Prompt Count: 841 /// Total Count: 1,564]
It didn’t help that right at that moment a rush of wind ran across the café as the door opened again. The walrus lifted his gaze to see who it was who wasn’t helping keep his coffee warm. A young man (he figured) stood at the door, one hand on the glass and his head low, hunched, and breathing heavily. The young pinniped looked around the room as if searching for something. The walrus met the young one’s gaze and in no time the sea lion had closed the distance and sat at the walrus’ table.
The old walrus moved his chair back intending to leave to another table when the sea lion grabbed one of his coat’s sleeves and pulled him back. “You are my grandfather now. I’m Elwood, I go by Elo. Please stay.”
The walrus was about to protest when he saw the young sea lion’s wide open eyes as his words came between gasps for air. Did he come here running? Why? Thought the walrus. He didn’t pay much attention to the youths of the town so he couldn’t tell if he had seen him before or not. Elo’s hand continued to pull him down, but after a second’s thought he realized it was that the sea lion’s hand was trembling. “My name is Byron,” said the walrus as he tentatively took his seat again.
Elo nodded, gulped, and let go of his sleeve. At this distance Byron could see that the sea lion was sweating, some of it running down his face from under the dark red beanie he wore. Or maybe he was just wet as the off-black sweater he had also looked damp. The sea lion, as if reading his thoughts, pulled a few napkins and did his best to briskly dry himself with them. He still breathed heavily and every so often he turned around to see the door. He laid the wet napkin in front of him and covered them with his large hand-paws which Byron could clearly see were still trembling.
Byron looked up from the sea lion’s hands after noticing he had been staring. Elo straightened and tensed in an effort to still his hands, and before Byron could ask what was happening he heard the door open again. Without turning around, the sea lions took a deep breath and held it.
A young orange tabby cat stood at the door now. In contrast with Elwood’s dark colored clothes, this feline wore a bright blue shirt with a few yellow stripes, khaki trousers, and a pair of white suspenders. It was a childish outfit for someone of that size but he wore it with such confidence that the walrus doubted anyone would tell the feline so. With an easy step he walked towards the counter and looked up towards the menu. The cashier talked to him and shortly thereafter produced a coffee which she handed over to the cat.
The feline, coffee in hand, approached their table. Elo released his breath as the cat took the third seat at Byron’s table. “So,” the cat said without even acknowledging the old walrus, “running over to the new café? With what I still need from you I’m surprised you even have time to be here.”
“You don’t need me for anything, Jet. I already told y–”
Jet gave a full throated laugh, interrupting Elo, and with a wide grin he turned to see the walrus. Byron was confused, but more than confused he was beginning to feel annoyed. The cat turned again to face Elo, “you don’t get to tell me anything unless I ask you. Why are you here?”
“I wanted to drink something with my grandfather. Y-”
“Your grandfather? I don’t even remember seeing him around.”
“I don’t remember having ever seen you either,” interjected Byron. The walrus saw the cat turn around with his hackles half raised which he elegantly turned into a smile. “It had been some time since I had last seen Elwood and I asked him to come here.”
“How very RUDE of me,” Jet said, punctuating his sentence by slamming his hand on the table. “I interrupted your reunion. Let me make it up to you by giving you my coffee, Elo. For your hands.” He shoved his coffee in Elo’s direction and it would have spilled all over him had he not taken his hands from underneath the table to grab it; they were still shaking slightly.
“Don’t forget,” the cat said as he stood up. He took out his cellphone and with a few taps (which all sounded like miniature “meows”) a small glowing orb appeared in front of it. Jet took it and dropped it in Byron’s coffee which immediately began to release more vapor. He winked at the walrus. A swipe and two mewing taps on his cellphone later, a car appeared right outside the café making a loud noise as it landed on the ground. The tabby cat tipped an imaginary hat at the pinnipeds and left. Byron was seething.
- - - - -
[Prompt: The anniversary of a disaster /// Prompt Count: 854 /// Total Count: 2,418]
The sea lion kept his gaze low until he heard the car’s roaring engine disappear in the distance. He held his coffee mug in a vice-like grip which almost stopped it from shaking. He took a sip, then another, then downed it all at once.
Byron looked at the person across his table in silence. He was angry– how dare that cat warm his coffee like that? And especially like that, he thought, what if I wanted it cold? He took a disgruntled sip of his newly warmed coffee as Elwood finished his.
“This has to be the best coffee I’ve had in… it’s been a while. Possible ever.” Elo said, pointedly avoiding looking at Byron.
After another sip, the walrus put down his cup and once more cleaned his long whiskers. He remained silent as he studied the sea lion and waited for him to leave. Young? Yes. Not school age. College? Would make more sense since he isn’t working right now. An addict, too, which would explain those hands; I know fairly well how experimental one can get during college, back w– a loud crashing sound interrupted his thoughts. Beside him on the floor now laid Elo’s broken mug.
“Ah. Haha. Now I remember why I don’t drink coffee,” Elo said in a half laugh. He attempted a smile but his eyes still revealed concern, his hands now shaking more aggressively than when he came. “I just wanted,” he said as he pulled his large hands and his them beneath his armpits, “I just wanted to hold the cup again.”
“Don’t worry yourself, young man,” said the waitress as she approached with a broom and a dustpan, “I’ll get this cleaned in a second. Our first broken cup, I’ll take this as finally christening the café! Unfortunately, despite it being Sunken Bay day I’m still going to have to add it to your tab along with your coffee.”
“The coffee?” Elo asked, “he hadn’t paid for it?” The waitress shook her head, finished off cleaning, and left. “Why am I not surprised?” The sea lion turned to check the menu and grumbled, then grumbled again as he patted his pockets.
In the distance a siren began to wail, answered soon by another opposite to it somewhere in the town, then another, then another. The waitress and the cashier approached the glass panes along with the other customers, a few of them carrying their beverages.
Byron watched the sea lion look furtively around and quickly grabbed a handful of paper napkins from another table. From underneath his black sweater he pulled a cheap rollerball pen which he hurriedly used to draw a square on one of the napkins. Or at least attempted to, the trembling of his hands impeding him to make a straight line. He grunted, crumpled the napkin, pocketed it, and tried again.
The walrus simply observed the sea lion’s futile attempts at drawing as he continued sipping at his coffee. Elo clenched his fists and grunted and turned quickly to look at the people at the window. The two human employees, a human male, two birds, and another cat, were still all looking out. The sirens continued, and through one of the unobstructed windows the walrus saw one or two people running with flags.
When he returned his gaze to the table Elo had already grabbed more napkins and was looking intensely at them. The sea lion reached across the table and nabbed the unused knife that rested next to Byron’s mug. He stood up and dipped his left hand in one of the nearby flower vases until it was soaked, then returned to the table.
Byron knew where this was going, and he inhaled deeply at the same time as the sea lion did. Their nostrils closed tightly, and Elo used his soaking hand to dampen his face. The walrus didn’t have to wait long to feel himself calming, his heart slowing down considerably– and he knew that Elo had used the water to accelerate his diving reflex. The tremor on Elo’s hands lessened significantly, and using the knife as a straightedge he finally managed to draw the square.
He hurriedly began writing around the square, then a few words inside of it, and he finalized his work by cutting a small thread from under his beanie and laying it inside the square. With a wobbly line he connected his square to a circle he traced and retraced just as Byron had done a short time ago.
Oh, he knew what the young sea lion was doing. He knew at least a few variants of this spell and he couldn’t believe the college student was going to try something so stupid. Still, he watched silently as Elo finished his work, the ink at the unsteady circle disappearing backwards. Elo took one more look around and placed more napkins underneath the one he’d drawn on. When the undoing line finally reached the square there was a brief flash and a bunch of bills of low denomination laid where the once the napkins were. His beanie looked a little bit darker.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Reunion /// Prompt Count: 1,059 /// Total Count: 2,623]
To his eyes the bills looked surprisingly ok. His sight at his age wasn’t as good but he could confidently say that… from this distance he couldn’t tell they were just created. They were extraordinarily ordinary. The sea lion looked pleased with himself as he examined the topmost bill, and finally exhaled when he was satisfied with the result. Byron exhaled too.
Sirens continued to sound for a good while before they began, one by one, to shut down. Outside more people with flags continued to run around. Some others appeared that only carried rope and a few teams of three or four people carried small wooden boats too and fro. Just as suddenly as the commotion had started, it ended. The last people to pass by the window were the ones carrying buckets of seawater that got thrown at every closed door. When water was thrown on the café’s door the waitresses began to cry.
Everyone who’d stood up returned to their seats. The waitress and the cashier went behind the counter and the latter tried to console the waitress. It took minutes before the sniffling stopped and the waitress reappeared. Elo’s hands had begun to tremble again by then and the walrus could hear him repeat what he was going to say to the cashier, changing one or two words then practicing again to sound more confident.
When the waitress made her way back to their table she had a courteous smile on her face but her eyes were still red and slightly wet. “It’s the buckets. They always get to me.”
“For me it’s the boats,” Byron replied.
“The boats are hard but they spell hope for me too. I was too little back then to do much but I still remember seeing people unload and the happy crying families. Were you…?” She asked. Byron nodded and she looked aside. She continued with a more cheerful tone, “maybe because it is Sinking Bay I should just give you your coffees for free. I wouldn’t want you to pay for a coffee that clearly had to be warmed up again.” She pointed at Byron’s coffee with her pencil.
Elwood was about to speak up when Byron slapped his hand on top of Elo’s, neatly covering both the trembling hands (which he could feel moving beneath his palm) and the money. Both the sea lion and the human waitress turned to see the walrus as he pulled out his wallet with his free hand and and offered a handful of bills of his own. “This ought to cover it, right? Both of them and the cup? Good. I’ll have my free coffee once the café is well established.”
The woman thanked him and told him she hoped she’d liked the coffee even after it was cold. “There are plans to prepare iced coffee during the summer, in case you really like cold coffee that much.” With a smile she accepted the money and left.
The walrus curtly lifted his hand as he grabbed Elo’s and pulled the bills away from him. He finished his coffee in a few gulps, stood up, and exited the café. He waited on the street corner next to the coffee shop and as expected he heard Elo’s voice behind him as he approached.
“What was that? Floods, you slapped my hands!”
Byron started walking again and crossed the street, the sea lion followed. “You are my grandson and I paid. Simple.”
“No, you are not my grandfather. That was just while Jet was around to get him to leave me. After that I was fine.”
“Clearly, that was not the case.”
“It was. I had money. I was fine.”
“You were not fine, you did not have money. You asked me to act to get you out of trouble and I did that, twice.”
“I had money I could pay with but y–”
“The things I took? That is not money and you know it. If she had caught you making those counterfeit bills or even if she took a closer look at them you’d be in even bigger trouble than whatever that cat could bring.”
“All money is fake an-”
“Don’t be a smartass.”
“All money is fake and that one you took is mine. Give it back.”
“No,” Byron said as he turned from the main street to a small side alley. Elwood still followed. “Don’t tell me you’re going to call the police for this, you know how that could end.
Elwood didn’t say a word but continued following Byron. He hoped the sea lion wouldn’t try to violently take that money from him. Even if he wasn’t his grandfather by age he could very well be and in a physical confrontation he would surely lose. Maybe break a few bones. He did not look forward to it.
The two of them continued without talking with the walrus leading the way, down the side alley and into an even smaller side alley where one could only walk after the other. Byron moved decisively until he reached the dead end. To his right was a large lever and a list of names. Without looking at the list he pulled the lever five times, took a quick glance at the list, then pulled two more times. He turned around to see that Elo was still there looking at him angrily with his shoulders up and his hands under his armpits.
Byron did a circle with his hand and then pointed past Elo. With a huff the sea lion turned around and began walking out of the tight alleyway. Upon reaching the end, however, where before another alleyway had been now was a sizable piece of land bordered by four tall buildings. Somehow, even though the buildings should be blocking all the sunlight of this already cloudy day, there was a warm glow of light shining upon the tall grass. A stone walkway led to a small two story house. As soon as they entered one of the two big windows on the top floor opened briefly and then snapped close.
“By the Stones!” A female voice screamed from within the house. “A flood and a depth-less sea with you, Byron Penbow. Years, YEARS! A scant call or two and NOW you come to my house uninvited with a GRANDKID? Are you kidding me?”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Charismatic /// Prompt Count: 787 /// Total Count: 3,410]
Byron brought a hand to his face and slowly dragged it down. He began walking towards the house carefully staying on the stone path; Elo followed. To the left and to the right of the path there were piles of wooden boxes of different heights with plants of various sorts. Some were aromatic, some had impossibly small leaves, while others had leaves so big that they covered their box and the ones next to it. Beneath that shade grew even more plants of different species, most of which he couldn’t name.
Before they arrived at the veranda the front door of the house exploded open and a donkey came out stomping. She wore loose working jeans dirty with earth and dry mud, a lilac blouse and a dark purple shawl. As she approached Byron could see that the matted fur on her face showed her age, though she kept her mane tidy in a single braid– just as she always did.
Byron’s whiskers shivered when he felt her plant her two hooves right next to his feet. She snorted on his face and grabbed him by the lapel, shaking him slightly. “How DARE you?”
“Uh… excuse me, I–”
“I’ll be right there with you, kiddo,” the donkey said, looking over Byron’s shoulder. “Say, you look familiar, have I seen you before?”
Byron half-turned in time to see Elo’s mind click. The sea lion opened his mouth slightly and his eyes went wide. He gave a few steps back and then spun around to leave. Byron chuckled mentally when he heard a “what” coming from the Elo when he noticed that the path led back to no exit.
“How DARE you,” the donkey repeated, looking back at Byron and shaking him again. “It’s been years and this is how you show up? You… you got some nerve.”
“Hello, Poppy.” Was the only thing Byron answered. The donkey looked at him intensely and after a few long seconds her expression softened and she pulled herself against the old walrus.
“You imbecile.” Poopy said as she pulled on Byron’s very sensitive vibrissae. He grimaced and mentally cursed, but he didn’t move or attempt to remove her hand. “Let’s go in. You, kiddo! That’s a wall you are looking at. You won’t find the exit there. Your grandfather and I are coming inside, why don’t you join us?” Her voice traveled across the whole area with ease and, like the light here, it had a certain warmth to it– much different to the ground-shaking one she used when speaking to Byron.
Once inside the house they had to wait a scant minute or two for the sea lion to poke his head in. Inside there were a lot more potted plants, some hanging, some on the floor, and on every table. There were even vines that entered through two of the windows and crept upwards towards the ceiling. A book shelf divided the open area in two, leaving most of the plants on the side that could be a living room with three big sofas in the middle, and on the other a small kitchen from which multiple aromas escaped. The smells would’ve been overwhelming had the open windows not allowed a breeze through, carrying fresh air into the house.
Byron sat on one of the sofas with his gaze straight down to the floor. Elo took a seat on the opposite side of that same sofa, still with his hands hidden beneath his armpits, but he looked around curiously at the vibrant green life in the house. Meanwhile, Poppy continued to talk, her voice ringing clearly across the rooms. She talked about everything and about nothing, talking mostly to herself and almost never addressed either of the pinnipeds. None of them answered. It had been so long since the Walrus had heard this voice that he dared not interrupt her lest her anger returned. It was nice to be again under that spell -he decided- and by how relaxed Elwood looked now, he probably thought something similar.
Poppy’s charismatic voice stopped after what felt only a minute or two, but the smells in the air revealed something different. The whistling of a tea kettle announced that the water was ready and at that Byron began to remove the pots and plants that were on the table in front of them. As if practiced, when he removed the last one and came back to his seat, Poppy appeared with three cups, a few tin cans, and a plate with freshly baked cookies.
“How do we start here?” She said as she left the tray on the now vacant table. “I know, how about you give me your name, young sea lion?”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Nemesis /// Prompt Count: 519 /// Total Count: 3,929]
“Elwood.”
“Acker?”
“Yes… Elwood Acker.”
“I knew I’d seen that face of yours somewhere, and that somewhere was on the very back of my classroom at the beginning of the semester, am I right?”
“Yes…”
“I remembered that beanie of yours being of a much vibrant colour, as was your sweater.”
“Um… yeah, I…”
“Oh, don’t worry, I’m just kidding. I don’t expect you to use the same clothes all the time. I was wondering about it because they are very similar, but I can’t be sure about it since you didn’t come after our second class. Semester is almost over and unfortunately with your attendance all I can say is that you failed. Don’t make that face, surely you didn’t come here expecting otherwise.” Poppy smiled, Elo simply nodded and looked the other way.
“Poppy, that’s n–”
“Surely YOU didn’t come here expecting otherwise,” Poppy interrupted Byron, “that would be insulting to me and very beneath you.” She aggressively sipped her tea.
Byron tried to star again, “Popp–”
“You know?” She wasn’t having any of it though, “I don’t even care that you have a grandkid, I do care that you didn’t even tell me.” She stood up and brandished her tea around, the liquid impossibly staying inside the mug. “When did this happen?”
“Professor Groundwright, I am not his grandson.”
Poppy stared at Elo for a few seconds, “are you sure? The resemblance is uncanny. The way your whiskers frame your face is definitely similar to Ron’s.”
Byron took a deep breath at the mention of that name. He took a side glance at the sea lion on the other side of the sofa and saw that he was looking at him as well. For one thing the sea lion looked younger and due to his species he was sleeker. He also lacked Byron’s well looked after tusks– polished, white, and with none of that nonsense engravings some of the younger walruses took. Nor would he ever remove them. That had been a terrible craze a few years back among another subset of young walruses and it made him sick just to think about it. Nevertheless, there was something to be said about their whiskers and he hated to admit it.
“So is he your nephew? Ward? Friend? A bit too young for a friend but I have some among the student body and they keep you on your toes. It can be a nice change of pace”
“We met about an hour ago.” Elo replied.
“What? You mean to say he brought a stranger to my house on this day?”
“I am sorry professor but I know nothing about him.”
“Or about me,” Poppy said, squinting. Elo looked down to his knees.
“Uh… yeah. Sorry. He was just helping me out with my nemesis, that’s all.”
For the first time in this day Byron felt something else other than sadness and mild confusion, as he let out a deep bellied laugh. “Nemesis you say? Kid, you must be taking something really weird to think that about someone.” Elo shrugged his shoulders and shrunk deeper into the couch.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Wonder /// Prompt Count: 1,330 /// Total Count: 5,259]
The donkey looked at the two people sitting on her couch. Byron could imagine her mind trying to make any connection possible trying to make sense of what was up with the two of them. It was better this way, let her focus on something else, he thought. After about a minute he calmed down enough to continue with their conversation.
Poppy stood in front of the sofa with one hand on her hip and the other one holding her mug. “So?”
“I thought you might be able to help him.” Byron began preparing some tea for himself. The coffee was nice but the teas she had were close to perfection as far as he was concerned, and it was so long since he had one.
“I doubt she can.” The sea lion stared at the last mug, the one waiting for him, as he grumbled something to himself. “No offense, professor.”
“It’s unfair to say that now that you’ve come all the way to my house, especially given the fact that you didn’t really attend my classes.”
Byron was about to say something when she lifted a finger and stared daggers at him. Elo shifted in his little corner of the couch. “My… nemesis. Yes,” the sea lion turned to glare at Byron, “he must be that, else he wouldn’t want me dead. Look, I– it was an accident, ok? On my part at least, I’m sure he knew it was going to happen. It just fell from my hands, it slipped, I tried to grab it but couldn’t and–”
“What fell?” Asked the professor.
“His new cellphone.” Byron had to make a supreme effort not to burst out laughing again when he heard those words. “I smashed it into the ground by mistake. All I wanted was a call and I didn’t have any money for a payphone and my own cellphone had broken down a few days before. I didn’t want to try any of the new fancy pre-written spells he had there, just a call.”
“I take he wasn’t happy with the mistake.”
“His friends were all there and and they started laughing, ‘That’s a new record for you, couldn’t even make it last for a day’, I heard a few of them say. He -a cat by the name of Jet- looked me up and down with a smile. He wasn’t angry, that’s when I should have known something was wrong. I picked up the pieces and handed it to him, apologizing profusely. I dreaded to hear how much it would cost me to pay back, I was sure I was going to starve before I had enough to pay him.”
“‘Hey pal, DON’T you WORRY. It’s fine, it’s fine.’ He said as he asked for one of his friend’s cellphone and tapped away, making little meow sounds every time he touched the screen. I stood there frozen until he went, ‘ah, this will work JUST fine,’ and then screen illuminated as a small orb came out of it and– nevermind, you know how it goes. He then had an official looking paper which he handed to me. ‘Looks to me like you need a hand. Or two brand new ones. Luckily I’m not here to ask you to pay for my new cellphone, haha, no, I don’t think you have the cash at hand for that. Instead I’m going to ask you for a favor. I need some time to think on what, in the meantime you can sign here so that we don’t forget that you’ll do some for me. Actually, just put your thumb here because– haha! I can’t believe you can’t even make a fingerprint without smudging. I’ll be in touch.’ And then he left.”
“Are you telling me you signed a contract without reading it?” The donkey put a hand on her head when Elo nodded. Byron had to double his efforts to not laugh. “I imagine he already told you what he wants.”
“He wants me to dive.”
Any hint of laughter left Byron’s face when he heard that and he nearly dropped his tea to the floor. Poppy gasped.
“The water is so cold…”
“Kid, have you lost your mind!? You can’t possibly think about doing something like that.” The walrus was furious and a hint of a growl accompanied his words.
“What can I do? I signed. He knows where I live, he knows where I usually am. I don’t even know if it’s that contract or if it’s him but it’s getting harder for me to find or keep jobs. I can’t even leave this town.”
The walrus crossed gazes with Poppy. She looked worried. “Contracts aren’t my speciality and without reading what it said I can’t do much.” She admitted. “And cellphone made? I guess it’s possible for it to bind everything Elwood said, it just needs to be connected to a power source constantly, something fairly easy for a cellphone. You apparently didn’t know about this.”
Byron had stood up by then and was pacing around the room. “I obviously didn’t. All I thought was that I was bringing you an addict which you could easily help.”
“What?” Said the donkey and the sea lion at the same time.
“Sweating, nervous, a criminal, and with a withdrawal so bad his hands can’t stop shaking. At least you can clean him up and he’ll have one thing less to worry about. Be done with it.” The walrus took his seat again by letting himself fall heavily, and fist clenched and the other one covering his face.
First he heard a sniffle and he partially removed his hand from his face to see what was going on. Elwood’s eyes welled with tears, his chin trembled, and try as he might he couldn’t go any deeper into the sofa. Tears began to freely fall on his face, rolling down his cheeks and onto his whiskers. He freed his hands from under his armpits and pulled his knees close to his chest and began crying in earnest. HIs hands shook almost uncontrollably against his legs.
Poppy looked incredulously at Byron. “I’m relieved he’s not your grandson.” She left her cup on the table and kneeled in front of the sea lion and pulled on one of his hands. Tugging a little harder until he relented, she held his shaking hand between her. His hand, as any pinniped’s, was larger than hers and she had some trouble keeping holding it, but was still able to caress it in a soft circling motion.
After some time Poppy had to stand up again (her back cracking as she did so) and sat down beside Elo, still holding his hand. He bawled and sobbed for what seemed like an hour. When he lifted his head his face was a mess. Byron awkwardly offered one of the napkins that Poppy had brought along with the tea and that laid beside the now cold mugs. She snatched the napkin from him and passed it on to Elo.
“I’m sorry, I…” Elo sniffled, “I don’t even know why I told you any of this. I’m just a criminal after all, right?” The walrus was about to say something when Poppy stomped right next to his foot and he kept his mouth shut. Elo removed his hand from Poppy’s and held both before his eyes; they didn’t cease to tremble. “But I swear my hands have always been like this. Always.” He closed his fists, “no matter what I do they are always like this. My two wonders. ‘Oh look, he’s waving. He’s always waving. I wonder to whom. To what. Oh I wonder if he is cold. A cold sea lion? What of his blubber? I wonder.’” He laughed as he pressed his hands underneath his armpits again. “‘Oh, I wonder what he’s carrying, what is he holding? Always with his hands in his pockets. Always hiding them away, didn’t he used to wave? I wonder.’”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Childhood Friend /// Prompt Count: 1,225 /// Total Count: 6.484]
More tears began rolling down his cheeks but he didn’t make a sound. The room remained silent for a time. Elo’s tears simply flowed, Poppy stayed close by, and Byron stayed as far away as he physically could without risking getting up and moving elsewhere. Not that he thought that he could make a glorious comeback after all these years but this was way worse than he’d ever imagined.
Despite his reluctance Byron finally decided to stand up, stretched, and went for one of the chairs he knew was behind the bookshelf. He half-dragged it and placed it in front of Elo. “If you are telling the truth–” Poppy gave the walrus a look he thought she was about to smash her mug on his head. He cleared his throat. “I apologize, Elwood.”
The young sea lion half-sighed, half-sniffled. His tears had stopped and his gaze was vacant and focused on his knees. He shrugged, “I guess… it’s ok. Even if I was an addict you were still trying to help. I also got all that out of my chest which feels kind of nice. Now at least someone else will know what happened when I either starve or simply disappear.”
Poppy looked troubled. She took a sip or two of her tea and then returned it to the tray, clearly no longer in the mood for it. “Dorsey?” Was all she said as she pulled the sea lion into a half hug, which he allowed.
“Oh no. No, no, no. Not that lunatic, absolutely not.” Byron sat straight on his chair and shook his head.
“He is still your friend, right? You can’t possibly tell me that you’ve talked to him less than you’ve called me. All those stories you told me of this childhood friend of yours, you must still be in touch.”
“I am, but this is a subject that you can’t bring up with him. You haven’t listened to what he says, Poppy, just… and the idea of diving is out of the question.”
Elo lifted his head, “you can help me?” He said with a hint of hope in his voice. Both Byron and Poppy answered and shook their heads at the same time, a ‘no’ and a ‘yes’ respectively.
“Didn’t you come here on this day -and oh you know this day- after all this time and somehow brought him along just to help him?”
“I… um, followed him because he stole my money.” Elwood shifted in his seat and pulled his knees close to him again.
This time it was Byron who spoke up before anyone else could. “This,” he fished Elo’s bills from one of his pockets, “is not money, no matter how desperate you are.” Poppy extended one of her hands over to the walrus and he handed her the bills. “Unless you are desperate to go to jail.”
Poppy examined the bills closely, up, down, against the light. She reached into one of her own pockets and pulled a few crumpled bills of her own, then kept one of the same denomination as the one she’d been checking and inspected them side by side.
“I truly apologize for calling you a junkie,” Byron continued, “but you did pull this off right in front of me.”
“These are counterfeit?” Poppy asked.
“Like I said, he pulled that off in front of me- the whole process. Even made it with a bright flash! Amateur hour for someone trying to make fake money on the spot.”
“With…”
“Ink. Not sure if I’m happy or displeased about it. I think mostly displeased by this blatant misuse of it.”
The donkey kept checking the bills one by one then pocketed them all. “Are you sure those were the ones? Yes? Then I’m not sure what he’s done but they don’t look counterfeit, they don’t feel counterfeit, and at least passed the preliminary countermeasures I could think of.”
“All money is fake,” Elo answered matter-of-factly, “a puzzle to keep everyone chasing for a solution forever. On a more practical level it is also a puzzle, you just have to figure out which pieces you need and how to fit them together.”
“Since it’s fake then you won’t mind me taking it.” She waved her hand at them before either of them could say anything. “Though I’ll make it an exchange, how about that? I’m sure you can find that reasonable.” She stood up, grabbed the tray with the tea and took them to the kitchen. Byron stood after her and thought about lightly shaking Elo to get him to join them, his hand lingered close to the sea lion’s knees but ultimately decided to pull it away. Elo’s eyes were on Byron and he knew (or hoped) that he was smart enough to get the message.
Byron brought the chair back to the kitchen with him and a short time after Elwood came dragging his feet along. Poppy was in the process of clearing the dishes they had used, using the water that both Byron and she had used to water some plants; Elo’s untouched water went back into the kettle to boil again. She lightly tapped with her hoofed fingers the tray with cookies and they all crumbled into dust. She added some water to the tray and began mixing it with a rubber spatula until it turned to a paste that frankly looked like mud. She carelessly molded them with the spatula into rough cookie shapes and put them in the oven.
“When you find him–”
“Which we will not,” added Byron.
“When you find him,” Poppy continued as if he hadn’t interrupted her, “tell him that the party is still on. No, don’t make that face at me. You were in charge of the invitations yet you never read them and that is on you. Dorsey will be delighted, I’m sure. It will be your greatest achievement!”
“You must be joking.”
“I assure you I wish I was.” The donkey began grabbing some of the pots she had around the kitchen. She walked out and the door to the house could be heard being open. “It would have been a fantastic joke,” she screamed from the front garden, “you made the most useless invitations of all. We should have not read them as you told us– we knew you wouldn’t joke about something like that but we did it anyway and it’s our own fault.”
“Anyway,” Poppy entered back with a handful of other potted plants which she arranged on one of the counters, “as horrible as this all is it’s either Dorsey, the storm drains, or finding the house of this cat Elwood mentioned wherever it might be, break in, find the phone, close the contract and disconnect the device– all without being caught. Oh, come on, he’s your oldest childhood friend. Look, he’ll love it, ok?”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” Byron replied as he moved to stand beside her. In a practiced motion he began handing her some of the pots she had brought and some of the other ones around the kitchen. Elwood (who after putting his hands on the table, then on his lap, and finally back under his armpits) looked at them with words clearly on his mouth, but every time Byron stopped to look at him he never said a thing.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Abandoned Village /// Prompt Count: 481 /// Total Count: 6,965]
With a free hand Byron offered Elo another tissue. “Why d-” The walrus then used a gleaming tray that he found nearby as a makeshift mirror and placed it in front of Elo. “Oh. Oh, what a mess, I’m sorry.” With that the sea lion cleaned his face as best he could, straightened his sweater, and sat upright on his chair with his hands beneath his bottocks. “Why am I here?”
“Why indeed. Now that one on the edge of the counter, please, Byron?. Yes, seldom used, It’s not my fault. I am sure.” The donkey grabbed the pot that Byron handed to her while answering questions he never asked.
“Can I leave? You two seem to be doing…” Elo looked as she grabbed a spoonful of dirt from the pot she had just received and placed it in a bowl, “something.” Poppy shrugged, her two long ears twisting and focusing on the kettle. Without a word, the sea lion stood up and left the room, and in a second they could hear the door at the entrance to the house opening and closing.
“The abandoned village is also an option.”
“Aren’t you full of wonderful ideas today?” Byron grunted.
“I am, and you are in an awful mood. I should be the one that’s all angry and saying hurtful things to people.”
“I said I was sorry, but what was I to think of him?”
“Who knows? I wasn’t there, but you were supposed to think. Did you ask if he had problems with drugs?”
“No, but–”
“A young man like him that knows how to make money? I’m sure he could get his hands on all the drugs he wanted and he would have died a long time ago. No, Byron, the issue is that you didn’t think. The orange pot, please.”
Byron didn’t say a word back. With the new pot in her hands she continued, “it’s easy enough to get to the abandoned village, I’d reckon no one has gone there in quite some time so you’d be safe. I still remember my way around there as if it was yesterday, do you? Elwood didn’t tell us what the dive was for, but if it’s something that’s made its way to the village, wouldn’t it be easier and substantially safer?” She scraped some earth off the top of the pot, careful to not damage the plant in it, and placed a big spoonful on the bowl.
He knew she was right and arguing would just result in him getting scolded. It was now his hands who trembled against his legs as he gripped his trousers. The kettle began to whistle, a timer rang signaling that the cookies were ready, and the door to the house opened again. Elwood came back and sat down on the chair he had left some minutes prior, “there is still no exit.”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Going out to eat /// Prompt Count: 479 /// Total Count: 7,444]
“There is no way out if you don’t know where to look,” the donkey donned a pair of oven mitts and took out freshly baked, delicious smelling cookies. She poured boiling water into the mugs again and made room in the small table where she had been putting soil in the bowl. “This time I must insist you drink your tea warm and eat the cookies while warm. Firm on the outside and chewy inside– cookie perfection.” She dusted the table a little with a rag, “come on before things get cold. You two should go out to eat someday, it would do you good.”
The walrus didn’t have to be told twice and had already grabbed his mug back and two cookies that he ate without hesitation. He closed his eyes as he tasted the cookies as his mind traveled back in time with the memories they brought. Elwood hesitated but ended up taking a mug, some loose-leaf tea, and one cookie.
On the counter, a little far away from where the two men ate, Poppy carried on filling her bowl with dirt. She opened the cupboard and took a jar that at some point probably contained coffee; the screw-cap looked just like the ones at the convenience store. She filled it halfway with dirt and the rest with golden sand she picked from a decorated box near the window. The rest of the dirt she put in a large tin can and stored it away.
The donkey finally sat down with a triumphant look on her face. She placed the jar in front of Elo and then prepared her drink. The three of them had their tea in silence.
“This doesn’t count as eating out?” Ventured Byron when he was almost finished with his drink.
“In this house? No, this isn’t more than a visit. I still think it would do you two good to eat somewhere else someday.”
“Not to be rude, Ms. Groundwright,” Elo finally chimed in, ”but you said that you could help me? Delicious cookies by the way.”
She smiled and lightly tapped the closed jar in front of Elo. “One teaspoon of the golden sand every three days. I suggest you take it with water, and stop taking it when you notice that your teaspoon grabbed some of the dirt. You’ll have to come back here for more at that time, if you like.”
“Uh…huh,” was all Elwood could muster. He took the jar and put it in one of his sweater’s pockets. “This will… dissolve the contract somehow?”
“No, no, don’t be silly. I took the money in exchange for the jar. If you don’t like it you can come here again and I can give you your money back. That’s my help. Byron here will take you to Dorsey and he might help you out with your other problems.” The donkey’s ears stood up in surprise, “almost forgot something!”
She left the room for but a few seconds and returned with an old shoe box. “If I’m correct these are all from the current year? This should serve you well.” She handed each one of them a brand new cellphone.
‘How… why? And no thank you.” Said Byron.
“How? Rich students trying to prove some dumb thing in my class, then they never come back for them. They all have new phones by our next class. Why? So you can call me Byron, and for Mr. Acker’s general use since his no longer worked. And it’s not a question, you are taking it and you are calling me.”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Film Trope - Bottle Episode /// Prompt Count: 356 /// Total Count: 7,800]
Byron begrudgingly accepted the phone while Elwood looked more than happy to receive one. “Excellent… I think. Am I being robbed? Or am I part of the robbery? If the robbing part is over, can I leave now?”
Before Elo could stand up completely Poppy’s hand was on his shoulder, pulling him down into his chair again. “No, now you can’t leave because you think you are being robbed.” The walrus lifted an eyebrow and attempted to stand up, yet he also was pulled down to his chair. “You, on the other hand, can’t leave because you haven’t promised to do as I said.”
Byron met Elo’s gaze and the young sea lion seemed in as much as at a loss as he was. “What is it that you want me to say?” Byron asked.
“How about you promise me that you two will go eat out some time, as I suggested? And that you will talk with Dorsey, and most important of all, that you will help Mr. Acker. And that you’ll call me.”
“Why would I do any of that? My whole idea was to bring him here and that would be the end of it, and from what I see he got some serious help.” He tried to get up again and once more was pulled down.
“Helping him will help you out. I can see that clear as day– you need this almost as much as he does.”
Both Poppy and Byron continued talking and arguing for what felt an eternity but was most likely just an hour. Both of them tried to leave a few times but each time they were sat down again, or given something to help with, or simply asked a question. It took a while but eventually Byron did notice that what the donkey was saying was largely inconsequential, idle chatter, yet there was something to it– she didn’t want them to leave. Whether it was how she looked at them or the excuses she gave, Byron knew she just wanted them there. After he noticed he turned the topics towards more pleasant topics and even tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to include Elwood, and that seemed to calm her.
After another hour had passed he finally said, “Poppy, it’s time for us to leave.”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Film Trope - Exploration /// Prompt Count: ???? /// Total Count: 7,800]
She looked down at her now empty mug, “yeah… I think so.” She stood up and began taking things back to the sink, “you better do as I told you, Byron. I have to say, however, that I’m happy that you came around even if someone else had to drag you here.”
“I–” he grunted as she gave a little giggle, “never mind. Elwood, we are leaving. Thanks for everything, Poppy.”
“Don’t worry about it. Oh, and remember the party!”
Byron led the way out of the house and onto the rocky path, where he turned around to see that Poppy was looking through the kitchen window, waving. He gave a small wave back and proceeded to reach the end of the path, right in front of one of the big walls surrounding the area. He could hear Elwood starting to say something when he reached into what appeared to be thin air and rummaged through it for a bit until he found what he was looking for and a hole in the wall appeared. He continued onward and was pleased to listen to Elwood quickly clearing his throat and following.
They walked through the alleys until they reached the main road. “I assume you know your way around.” Elo nodded. “Good. Good luck then, Elwood.” Byron turned left and continued his way down home. It was difficult to gauge what time it was because of how thick the clouds hang overhead, but given how dark it looked it could be close to mid-afternoon; they stayed with Poppy more than he’d realized.
As he approached his house the sound behind him began to grate on his nerves. Those steps in time with his that never left him. “Elwood,” he stopped, “I thought you said you knew your way.”
“I do.”
“Do you think you know your way into my house? Because that is NOT going to happen.”
Elwood continued walking and stepped in front of Byron. He followed the young sea lion until he stopped in front of Byron’s house, then with a quick look down the road he crossed it. Byron approached his own door as he looked back at Elwood approaching the door of the tiny apartment building on the other side of the street.
The rest of Byron’s afternoon went without a hitch. Though the memories of what had happened earlier in the day weighed heavily on his mind he did his best to ignore them and to continue with his routine as if nothing had happened. By the end of the day he was almost able to convince himself that whatever had happened was just part of his imagination.
His plan would have worked if not for the fact that Elwood was standing in his front door in the morning, shakingly holding Byron’s newspaper up to him. He was shocked for a moment until he admitted to himself that whatever had happened yesterday had actually happened. He closed the door on Elwood’s face.
“You promised her,” came a voice through the door, “I don’t know what you two are but you two seemed to know one another well enough. Does her petition mean nothing to you?”
Byron gritted his teeth as he opened the door again, “what would you know, kid? Couldn’t you just… ugh. Wait here.” Back inside he began preparing his breakfast just as he had planned, and ate it in peace while reading his newspaper. About an hour and a half later he opened the door to see if the sea lion was still there– and there he was.
He grabbed one of his coats from the hanger next to the door and exited his home. The sea lion looked at him with a mix of exasperation and relief, or at least that’s what he got from his expressive big eyes. He was never too good at interpreting faces and it didn’t help that recently he stayed alone for most of his days. His house was built in a time when he had imagined his life would turn out differently. For a lonely man it was immense, with more rooms than he knew what to do with. He didn’t even own many things so most of what the rooms themselves collected was dust.
They walked a few blocks in silence, one beside the other. “What is it that was asked of you?” Byron asked at last.
Elwood took one of his shaking hands from his pockets and scratched his neck; Byron frowned. “Apparently his grandfather met his end south of the lighthouse. Jet didn’t tell me why or how. All he said was that what he wants back was about ey-big, honeycomb shaped, all gold and with a gemstone of some sort in the middle in each of the four hexagons.”
Byron took some time to answer. “The good news is that it’s distinctive so we might not have trouble spotting it. The bad news is that because it sounds so distinctive that anyone else could have spotted it already and taken it. Don’t know what will happen with that contract of yours if that were to happen.”
“I would rather not think about that.”
They made their way around the town until they found themselves at the edge of the town near the beach. All of the houses and buildings that overlooked the water were abandoned. Most of their windows were broken, had no doors, and were in various states of disrepair. The street that separated them from the actual beach was desolate and clean– it was still part of the town so it was still routinely cleaned but only seldom did someone come.
Ahead of them a small building stood among the sandy beach, the only one that seemed to be taken care of, and it was nothing more than a single room with four walls. Byron slowed to a halt as he approached the edge of the street. Why am I here? He thought, why would I ever set foot on this place again?
Elwood was already walking on the beach. “Byron. Sir? Mister? Mr. Byron? Not really sure what to call you. Are you coming?”
A single tear rolled down the old walrus’ face as he stepped into the sand, and in seconds it was dried away by the sea breeze. He dragged his feet along the sand as the burden of his memories weighed him down. He reached the building covered in sweat and gasping for air.
“Not a word.” Byron said between gasps when he heard Elwood coming close hurriedly. The walrus placed his hands on the wall in front of him to stop himself from falling. Using the wall as support, he moved towards the only visible opening in the building: a small window, no larger than a sheet of paper, with a thick metal border and glass pane. Beside it was a small button that upon pressing lit up a light inside the building that shone through the window and the sound of static could be heard.
“Tempergris Seafarer Services welcomes you to the edge. May their drift down be ever placid.” Came a voice from the inside of the room.
“May their drift down be ever placid.” Responded Byron.
There was a pause where only static could be heard, “Byron P.?” finally asked the voice through the comms.
“Yes…”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’ve just asked myself that same thing.” He could feel Elwood’s hand on his coat, probably about to say something now too, not that had anything to say that Byron wanted to hear. “Nothing good, probably, though you could say that it was for old times sake.”
“That question was unprofessional and I apologize. How can we be of service today?”
“Just one boat, how much would it be?”
“As a senior member you are allowed to use boats for free for one day at the time unless there is a high demand for them. There are currently none in use so you can take one.”
“And one companion.”
There was another silence. “Have they used our services before?”
Byron told Elwood to come closer. “Use the button here to talk and speak clearly.”
The sea lion came closer and stood in front of the small window, coming closer to it to examine the interior of the building. “It’s an empty room? There’s a door on the floor and a lamp in the middle, and–”
“Have they used our services before?” The comm voice incisited.
“I, um, no, this is the first time I’ve come here.”
“Sir, could you please press the button only once?”
Elwood grimaced at the comment. Byron, who had by now regained his composure, walked around Elwood and pressed the button for him. “Sorry, I said this was the first time I’d come here.”
“Name and occupation?”
“Elwood Acker, student at the university.”
“One moment.” The gentle crashing of the waves was the only thing they could hear for a few short moments. “That is indeed correct. I just need a phone number and for you to sign a few waivers.”
Elo gave his number and took out the phone he had gotten just yesterday and in a few seconds he received a letter. In front of the phones screen a small ball of light formed and then unfolded into an ethereal piece of paper. His head moved down but before he could do anything else Byron cleared his throat and pointed at the top of the page, at the very beginning of the waiver. “This is how you got into this problem in the first place. Make sure you understand what you read.”
A few minutes later Elo’s gaze reached to the bottom again and he nodded towards Byron. When he placed his fingerprint on the waiver it folded itself again and sank into the screen.
“Thank you, Elwood A., you are now allowed into our vessels. Please remember that you enter them under your own responsibility, as are all personal belongings even if they were to get wet or fell into the water.” Said the voice over the comm. Byron passed some bills under a small opening that had recently appeared on the window. “The cost will be– oh, thank you for your patronage. Your boat will be here shortly, please don’t go near the water until the vessel is ready for you. Have a safe trip, if you need anything else all you have to do is press the button again.” The noise stopped and the light inside turned off.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Neighbor /// Prompt Count: ???? /// Total Count: ????]
Without a chair or a bench around all Byron could do was slowly sit down on the sand. It was another cloudy day as usual and the cold sea breeze didn’t help with his joints. At least the small building shielded him from much of the wind. Elwood seated a little further away, facing the ocean.
“How long have you known we were neighbors?”
“I learned about it yesterday.”
“What? I thought you were joking.”
Byron squinted his eyes at him, “why would I joke about that?”
“The whole ‘don’t come into my house’ thing? You sounded serious but at the same time I can’t believe you wouldn’t have seen me coming in and out of the apartments right in front of your house.”
“I don’t have a reason to pay attention to that.”
“How about Ms. Brinwery? Left to your house. Or Mr. and Ms. Dedrick? They live to the right and own two houses for whatever reason.”
“Someone moved to the left house? Guess that makes sense. I didn’t know the Dedricks had finally decided to buy the other house.”
“Or the people in my building who are– wait, what do you mean by ‘moved to the left house’? Ms. Brinwery has lived there for about six years, how could you not know that?”
“I don’t have a reason to pay attention to that,” Byron replied dryly, “how do you know about this Ms. Brinwery?”
“I moved to my new apartment about a month and a half ago. It’s usually a pretty pricey area but the last person there wrecked the place. As long as I’m able to slowly fix it I get a hefty discount, which is perfect since I had to switch jobs again. After the first few days I knocked on every door to meet my surrounding neighbors; most people opened.”
“I have good neighbors then. They don’t bother me… most of the time.” The last few words he said with a touch or irony.
If Elwood understood what Byron said he did not show it. “I had seen you a few times leaving or entering your house by now. It wasn’t much to go by but it was why I decided to go sit at your table yesterday.”
“Only because you’d seen me?”
“I hoped you’d seen me too, even if we hadn’t actually talked before that moment. I thought that was why you’d allowed me to stay.”
“I had never seen you.”
“Oh, well,” Elo let out a long breath, “it worked out anyways. Thank you.”
- - - - -
[Prompt: Best Friend /// Prompt Count: ??? /// Total Count: ????]
The waves continued to crash against the shore marking the passage of time with their irregular comings and goings. “So… who was this Dorsey person?” Elwood asked.
The walrus wanted to keep quiet, but as the time stretched on and the boat didn’t arrive he felt obliged to say something. “A friend.”
“And…?”
“He still is.”
“Ok… and what does he do that he’ll be able to help me?”
“He is not going to help you because we are not going to see him and get him involved in all of this.” After that the two of them sat without saying another word. Eventually they heard the sound of a bell and at that point Byron stood up and made his way towards the large pier.
Awaiting there for him was a metal boat just big enough for about four persons and perfect for two. It was painted white with a red and a yellow stripe along the top of the hull. On top of it was a metal and glass dome that made a seal with the hull making it look like some sort of large pill; a pair of outriggers helped with balance.
The walrus approached the boat and opened the single door on the dome and invited Elwood in, then he entered and closed the door behind him. He reached towards the top of the dome and opened two of the small windows that were found there. “The sea is calm and there isn’t much wind today, this is good.” He declared, yet he could feel his knees shaking as he sat down.
He grabbed one of the two pair of oars, instructed Elwood to do the same after he sat down the walrus maneuvered carefully into the sea. “No, no, grab the oars around here… yes,” he said pointing to Elo to where he should grab the second set, “and like this. No slouching. In time with me! Yes, that’s it… no, NO, DORSEY, in time with me so that the oars don’t cross.”
“Dorsey? I’m still Elwood, Mr. Byron.” Elo repositioned himself in the centre of the boat and grabbed the oars again after untangling them.
Byron didn’t say anything for a while. “Drop the ‘mister’, you’re making me feel older than I already am. Elwood, listen to the movement of my oars and try to keep in synch, that way we won’t mess up the oars and we’ll get to where we’re going quicker.”
The sea lion looked around, “where are we going? North? But the lighthouse is south of us and the place where Jet directed me was simply ‘south’, why are we going in this direction?”
“Save your breath for rowing. We are not going south for you to dive, that would be irresponsible. We are going to try something else instead. We’re heading north.” Oars clacked together, crossed one another, but eventually –after a considerable amount of grunting and swearing from Byron– they were able to get in sync and make their way north.
- - - - -
[Prompt: Earthquake /// Prompt Count: ???? /// Total Count: ????]
sda
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[Prompt: Celestial Event /// Prompt Count: ???? /// Total Count: ????]
Sda
- - - - -
[Prompt: Basement /// Prompt Count: ???? /// Total Count: ????]
sda