Friday, December 24, 2010
Week Forty Two: December 13th - December 19th
Working 36 hours. Not much, but enough to fry me this week. Sorry guys.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Week Forty One: December 6th - December 12th
Tales Told by Lost Shadows
Our tale starts off on a green stretch of softly rolling hills, running in every direction as far as the eye can see. The wind - delicate today – picks up blades of grass the length of a hand, and gently sets them back in place. Gracefully, it dances on deaf toes in many different directions, forming gorgeous patterns of intertwining shapes pressed into the blankets of grass. The designs serpentine together as they joyfully run across the field, until being momentarily divided by a little girl standing in the middle of this never ending expanse.
The girl – a child in fact – appears to only be five or six. She wears a long sleeved blue jacket, with a brown skirt. A typical school uniform, in an untypical setting. Walking through the grassy field, she looks over her shoulder irritably, and stares behind her. “Go away” she whispers, as she starts to trudge ahead. After a few feet, she looks behind her again, and says “Go away”, this time a little louder than before. Seeing movement in her peripheral vision, she begins to run as hard as she can. Thinking she has outran it, she slowly turns her head, only to see that she had not gained any ground on him. The anger in her eyes flares for only a brief second before shock takes over as she plummets to the ground. Turning around, nothing can be seen in the field except for her shadow, dancing on the waving grass. Desperately, she starts to hammer her tiny fists into the ground where the shadow is, and starts screaming “Go away! Go away!”. Aggressive shouts quickly melt into weeping pleas, as she tries to crawl away, crying out “Please... please just go away. Please leave me alone”.
The dancing shadow just stares as the little girl grips tufts of grass with her hands, and sobs into the dirt. Unaware, she continues to cry as the shadow starts to stretch out and break away from her. Tiny hands break from the shadow's side - their fingers trying to lace themselves with hers, but coming up short. The sound of a hammer striking an anvil starts to loudly echo inside her head, sending her on her back, kicking and screaming for it to stop. Only a few moments pass before she feints, laying there in that field with the wind – delicate today- as it picks up strands of her hair, and gently sets back in place.
For those of you unaware, the human spirit is a fragile house of cards, made up of astronomical coincidences; each part playing its own respective role. Removing even the smallest, most insignificant piece will change it. Its as if completing a puzzle, and then removing a small piece from the middle. Perhaps nobody on the outside will notice, and perhaps it will still look fine, but the puzzle is still incomplete. That missing piece will make others close to it loose, and soon, they too will be gone. Its only a matter of time before it all crumbles, and the puzzle is nothing more than a pile of broken pieces. When Amissa removed her shadow, she in turn removed a small part of herself. She now roamed the countryside, searching for something she was never quite sure of; walking ahead, growing increasingly weary with life.
Her shadow was cursed to live life as a shadow of a shadow; close enough to see, but too far to reach out and feel. He knew if he could say just one word to her, they could be together again, but she would never look back. One foot in front of the other, she stared straight ahead and never saw him. For years, she walked from town to town, always searching for that forgotten something, long since forgetting why she was even looking in the first place. Her shadow had given up trying to reach her, and instead finally came to terms that he would never have her back. After all this time, even he couldn't walk without his head down, staring at his feet and marching in line – nothing else mattered anymore.
Our tale concludes three months later, on Amissa's 21st birthday, in the field where she first lost her shadow. Mirroring their appearance, the sky above was cloudy and gray. There was no wind today, and the rain fell heavy straight down. Eyes on the ground, the shadow started to speak to himself for the first time in over a year. “That's right” he says with a small laugh, barely recognizable as such. "Today is Amissa's birthday isn't it. Happy birthday dear” he spoke softly. He somehow found the courage to lift his frail neck, and tried to yet again reach her. To be honest, the shadow didn't really expect to reach her anymore. He had long since given up such ridiculous hope. This was just merely a routine that kept him going. The heavy patter of the rain is broken by a dry scream, as the shadow runs ahead like he never had before.
“It's my 21st birthday today” Amissa said to herself sadly. “16 years of searching for nothing, when is it time to rest?” “I'm so tired” she whimpers to herself. “I'm so damn tired.” As per usual, she walked forward, staring at the ground in front of her. Her voice is drowned out by the sound of waves furiously crashing against the side of the cliff, but she never hears them. It's been a long time since she's really listened to anything. In a few minutes, she feels the ground disappear from under her, and she plummets from the cliff into the ocean. If you don't look up every now and then, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. She never opened her mouth, fore she no longer worried about fear, yet something surprising happened. She could have swore she heard a familiar voice scream, but it wasn't hers.
Her arms are suddenly lifted as a black figure wraps his own under hers. “Absum, you're back” Amissa sleepily says. “I am, my love, I am” the shadow responds. Wrapped in his arms, she places her chin on his chest, and peers into his dark face and starts to softly weep. “I'm tired Absum, I'm so tired” she manages to get out. Turning her head sideways, he presses her cheek against his heart, and begins to drag his fingers through her hair. “Shh, we can go to sleep now my love.” he whispers into her ear. Through a yawn, she manages to get out a “I've missed you so” before falling asleep. Like a long lost friend, Absum's smile appeared on his face for a moment, as tears streamed from his cheek and onto her sleeping face. He held her close, and closed his eyes, and for a brief second, felt as if flying before slipping off to sleep as well.
Smiles plastered to their faces, and their minds soundly asleep, they never felt the rocks at the bottom as they crashed upon them. Death came instantly, and although quick, in it, held more meaning than a lifetime of searching. If you ever feel that you are wasting your entire life searching for something you can't explain, just look over your shoulder my friend. Chances are it's the only place you haven't yet looked.
Our tale starts off on a green stretch of softly rolling hills, running in every direction as far as the eye can see. The wind - delicate today – picks up blades of grass the length of a hand, and gently sets them back in place. Gracefully, it dances on deaf toes in many different directions, forming gorgeous patterns of intertwining shapes pressed into the blankets of grass. The designs serpentine together as they joyfully run across the field, until being momentarily divided by a little girl standing in the middle of this never ending expanse.
The girl – a child in fact – appears to only be five or six. She wears a long sleeved blue jacket, with a brown skirt. A typical school uniform, in an untypical setting. Walking through the grassy field, she looks over her shoulder irritably, and stares behind her. “Go away” she whispers, as she starts to trudge ahead. After a few feet, she looks behind her again, and says “Go away”, this time a little louder than before. Seeing movement in her peripheral vision, she begins to run as hard as she can. Thinking she has outran it, she slowly turns her head, only to see that she had not gained any ground on him. The anger in her eyes flares for only a brief second before shock takes over as she plummets to the ground. Turning around, nothing can be seen in the field except for her shadow, dancing on the waving grass. Desperately, she starts to hammer her tiny fists into the ground where the shadow is, and starts screaming “Go away! Go away!”. Aggressive shouts quickly melt into weeping pleas, as she tries to crawl away, crying out “Please... please just go away. Please leave me alone”.
The dancing shadow just stares as the little girl grips tufts of grass with her hands, and sobs into the dirt. Unaware, she continues to cry as the shadow starts to stretch out and break away from her. Tiny hands break from the shadow's side - their fingers trying to lace themselves with hers, but coming up short. The sound of a hammer striking an anvil starts to loudly echo inside her head, sending her on her back, kicking and screaming for it to stop. Only a few moments pass before she feints, laying there in that field with the wind – delicate today- as it picks up strands of her hair, and gently sets back in place.
For those of you unaware, the human spirit is a fragile house of cards, made up of astronomical coincidences; each part playing its own respective role. Removing even the smallest, most insignificant piece will change it. Its as if completing a puzzle, and then removing a small piece from the middle. Perhaps nobody on the outside will notice, and perhaps it will still look fine, but the puzzle is still incomplete. That missing piece will make others close to it loose, and soon, they too will be gone. Its only a matter of time before it all crumbles, and the puzzle is nothing more than a pile of broken pieces. When Amissa removed her shadow, she in turn removed a small part of herself. She now roamed the countryside, searching for something she was never quite sure of; walking ahead, growing increasingly weary with life.
Her shadow was cursed to live life as a shadow of a shadow; close enough to see, but too far to reach out and feel. He knew if he could say just one word to her, they could be together again, but she would never look back. One foot in front of the other, she stared straight ahead and never saw him. For years, she walked from town to town, always searching for that forgotten something, long since forgetting why she was even looking in the first place. Her shadow had given up trying to reach her, and instead finally came to terms that he would never have her back. After all this time, even he couldn't walk without his head down, staring at his feet and marching in line – nothing else mattered anymore.
Our tale concludes three months later, on Amissa's 21st birthday, in the field where she first lost her shadow. Mirroring their appearance, the sky above was cloudy and gray. There was no wind today, and the rain fell heavy straight down. Eyes on the ground, the shadow started to speak to himself for the first time in over a year. “That's right” he says with a small laugh, barely recognizable as such. "Today is Amissa's birthday isn't it. Happy birthday dear” he spoke softly. He somehow found the courage to lift his frail neck, and tried to yet again reach her. To be honest, the shadow didn't really expect to reach her anymore. He had long since given up such ridiculous hope. This was just merely a routine that kept him going. The heavy patter of the rain is broken by a dry scream, as the shadow runs ahead like he never had before.
“It's my 21st birthday today” Amissa said to herself sadly. “16 years of searching for nothing, when is it time to rest?” “I'm so tired” she whimpers to herself. “I'm so damn tired.” As per usual, she walked forward, staring at the ground in front of her. Her voice is drowned out by the sound of waves furiously crashing against the side of the cliff, but she never hears them. It's been a long time since she's really listened to anything. In a few minutes, she feels the ground disappear from under her, and she plummets from the cliff into the ocean. If you don't look up every now and then, you have to deal with the consequences of your actions. She never opened her mouth, fore she no longer worried about fear, yet something surprising happened. She could have swore she heard a familiar voice scream, but it wasn't hers.
Her arms are suddenly lifted as a black figure wraps his own under hers. “Absum, you're back” Amissa sleepily says. “I am, my love, I am” the shadow responds. Wrapped in his arms, she places her chin on his chest, and peers into his dark face and starts to softly weep. “I'm tired Absum, I'm so tired” she manages to get out. Turning her head sideways, he presses her cheek against his heart, and begins to drag his fingers through her hair. “Shh, we can go to sleep now my love.” he whispers into her ear. Through a yawn, she manages to get out a “I've missed you so” before falling asleep. Like a long lost friend, Absum's smile appeared on his face for a moment, as tears streamed from his cheek and onto her sleeping face. He held her close, and closed his eyes, and for a brief second, felt as if flying before slipping off to sleep as well.
Smiles plastered to their faces, and their minds soundly asleep, they never felt the rocks at the bottom as they crashed upon them. Death came instantly, and although quick, in it, held more meaning than a lifetime of searching. If you ever feel that you are wasting your entire life searching for something you can't explain, just look over your shoulder my friend. Chances are it's the only place you haven't yet looked.
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