Troublesome

In the aether of the world, we'll call it the World Aether Cafe, I and D' sat. My mind was occupied with thoughts of her while hers were occupied with thoughts unknown to me. Yet, she seems to know what it is I'm thinking-perhaps I am just too easy to read. As we speak about her condition, she suddenly changes subject:

"You know our spending time together is not a creative thing," She says. "I've mislead others in the past and I just want to be clear. You know that, right?"

I conceal myself behind a wall of unfeeling and casually respond, "Oh yes, of course."

The cafe dissolves and reforms into an intersection slowly filling with cars. I have my bike, D' is about to walk the opposite direction. As I turn to say goodbye, I notice she has suddenly aged: her hair is a newst of grey-white tangles; her clothes become tattered and torn, dingy and drab; A cane in her left hand supports her tired bones. Cars begin to surround us and come between us. The intersection, by this time, is an unmoving mass of metal and rubber, letting out honks here and there. I turn away and bike off down the only uncomfortably empty road.

A dream: while in a friend's bed.

It's K----! I see her. We are walking with A----- and M----. I slip in the grass. It's spring; the sun enhances the blue of the sky. Radiant!

K---- asks me a favor, "Would you please go retrieve my car?"

I nod and canter eastward.


I arrive at the car. It is small and red. I open the door. A note sits on the steering wheel: "Thanks for taking care of her cutie!"

I peel it from the wheel and look endearingly frightened at it. In the passenger seat suddenly appears K--- mother. I say hello and begin to drive her.

We pass by a lovely house made of Pine and glass. Time begins to slow. We drive by the kitchen. Our movement becomes nearly frozen; we are slow and sticky as a snail on the pavement, seeming just as lost. In the kitchen there are two children atop a gas range:

A boy, no older than 10, and his younger sister.

The boy is recumbent, as a cat on it's belly, stretched out and naked, sloped downward where his face rests on a burner. Sister is seated properly in a victorian style dress atop a pot, her bottom sinking into it a bit. Their skin is pale and their stares are dark and eerie; their semblance bearing no emotion.

We travel beyond them. I park the car, then look up to see a similar kitchen; the only major difference being the addition of an island. Upon this island I see apparitions begin to flicker to life, scratched projections from some unknown film strip. They are a man and a women; the latter reclining back onto the edge of the island, legs bent, arms back while the former stands at the edge, pulsing thrusts into her abdomen.

For a moment i watch in awe and then swing around to hide the act from K---'s mother. However, she seems quite oblivious to the act before us.

The wind picks up, then carries us in a breeze to our destination. I see K--- and A----. I love A---- and feel embarrassed about the note from K----. The sun disrupts itself and I wake up in soft light falling through the windows onto my face.

Eulogy for Robin Red-breast who broke his neck flying into a window.

He led a dangerous life
and the window that haunts us all
finally caught up with Robin Red-Breast

Did he realize his demise was at hand
as he saw himself in that last instant of life?
None can say for certain.

His kith and kin feast on the red berries of a nearby tree;
As I bury him they watch on,
celebrating the life he no longer has.

Yet, In his death their is still life;
To this tree sprout that grows next to the grave,
Robin Red-breast will continue to give.

Birds.

A male bird attempts to attract a female bird. He has spectacular emerald-blue feathers beneath his beak and atop his head. He puts his face directly before hers and fans out his feathers towards her. She is impressed. He goes behind her and begins to flap. A small pink wet penis comes out and he flaps his wings while falling onto/into her. The End.

Demon and creature/man/individual

A mobile home party. A rather large space. Still a mobile and still confined none the less. Cooked delicacies and sweet fruits all abound. Mead runs from one of the many taps. Beer is also widely available. Friends barbecue outside beneath the windows. There was much gaiety. Soon another friend shows up. It is Bey. When I look upon him though, he does not seem to be who he claims. At his side he carries a case. He calls every one's attention and begins to tell them to come and join him. Everyone is elated to do so. I am not. I hesitate and remain. Bey's skin rips apart and his true form is shown: an evil demon. He is a red cloud with a floating emoticon face. He looks a great deal like the red ghost from PAC-man. The demon expands his body, like a great balloon he grows and swallows up space all around. All who went near and close to him were overwhelmed by the red bomb. I run to the bathroom and lock the door. In through the mail slot in the center of the door, the red windbag pushes. I look for something to puncture him, grab a bobby pin, bend it, and force it into its stomach. Nothing happens. I push and push, but it is like pushing into a canvas sheet that already has holes through which small objects can pass. I am consumed and all becomes dark.

I wake up in the cabinet where the beer kegs and mead is held. I climb out and find everything as normal. The party still continues. People are enjoying themselves. I shake off the vision and go to cut a pineapple. As I turn around I see Bey enter carrying a small case at his side. This is not Bey. He calls everyone over as before, but this time he sets down the case. I walk up and peer in to it. There is a mahogany rectangular box with a black square hook coming out of one side. In side this box, there are a couple pieces of chalk. Beside the box are three playing cards, one of which is a face card (the other two merely numbers). A chalk outline has been drawn of the three cards as though they were to be found in a solitaire pile. And lastly, a 5X4 number board:

- 3 - - 4

- - 5 - -
9 - - - -

I refuse to stick around and I go out of the trailer and begin to walk up a hill and look on to the scene from a hill. Atop the hill I notice the sky darken a bit. I lie there for some time, but hear nothing come from the trailer. I then stand and begin to walk away. I feel tense. I turn and see Bey following me. This is not Bey. This time, his eyes are reddened, as though he had more veins running through the whites of his eye than was humanly necessary. I continue walking. The demon walks past, staring at me with a malevolent grin on his face. He continues on ahead. I am alone. I walk along the side of a road. I don't know how long it is before I see someone coming from the distance ahead. It is not-Bey. The demon stares at me as he walks, the same grin still on his face. When he nears me, he speaks some words to me. Persuasive conjectures and a held out hand. I am filled with dread and look for something to ward him off. I find a white wire in the sand. I grasp it firmly and give it a slight tug. It is attached to something, some distance away. I hold it firmly and show it to the demon. He frowns and says some words beneath his breathe, then walks calmly away. I follow the cord for some time, eventually coming to a small town. It goes in through a wall in a building and I circle around the complex to find an entrance. When I enter it is a seemingly small warehouse of sorts. The main "garage" seems to have been converted into a demonstration room. I spot on the far wall where from the cord enters. It runs a small distance on the ground and then attaches to an individual at his neck. His neck is not normal. It looks as though he tried to swallow a boombox whole, which just stuck there as a chicken bone...only quite noticeably. No matter the awkward site of this creature/man/individual, I was comforted by his presence. I walk up to him and he says hello. He is playing some sort of game with a stick pointed at a screen a short distance from us. He invites me to play after a moment and I happily accept. I search my pockets for change. He offers to pay as I sort but I politely decline. I eventually find enough for two or so continues. I set the reserve atop the change input and put my quarters in the machine. I have trouble seeing the screen. My vision feels cloudy. The creature/man/individual instructs me to focus and relax my eyes. He instructs me to stop squinting and blink slowly. Shapes begin to take form on the screen and I begin to make out the scape of the game, but before I can really begin to play, Bey passes by me--his eyes more red than ever. I am frozen with trepidation. I look at the creature/man/individual. He looks back reassuringly. Then, Bey appears grasping the three cards in his hand and reciting some sort of incantation. The creature/man/individual screams in pain and begins to liquidate and morph before me. He "melts" into a viscous silver purple form and then flows through the air to the top of the machine, which is only about chest level to me. The mass takes the form of a chalice full of silver blood. Within also lay a rounded piece of flat bread or cracker with a stain of the silver blood running from its center into the cup. The demon laughs and begins to bellow at me in harsh tones. He beckons to me, asking me to draw near. I am frightened. yet, despite the fear I see the chalice and grab the cracker quickly. I bite into the silver-blooded flat bread. I stare maniacally at the demon and yell "AMEN"! The demon cries out and spews forth in all directions like a thin red mist. I am left in a dark room. Empty. Alone.

My younger self and My older self.

An exquisite museum made of dark mahogany. Outside it is dark. In a large room, a platform is set out before me. I am my older self. On the platform lies my younger self. With me is a middle-aged man, gray mustache and brown hair. He holds a scimitar. He instructs me to cut the feet off of my younger self. I am given a broadsword. I contemplate the situation. I refuse to cut the child. The mustachioed man grows angry. I threaten him as he threatens me. He runs out of the room hitting a switch that initiates traps. I grab my younger self from the table and wake him up. He runs to the locked door. On the platform also is a display case. Inside is a makeup of words and letter:

M Q Q () C P
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - -

(Only the first row can I remember). All of the letters are physical and have both size and girth. In the () spot lies a ring on it's side. It seems as though the letter Q were turned on it's side. I read what is there and the doors open. My younger self runs out into the halls and I follow. It is a labyrinth of rooms and I search for the way out of the museum. The boy runs into the exit and the door shuts behind him. I search the halls for another way. I see the mustachioed man run into a room and I follow, sword still in hand. In the room is an arrangement of furniture. The door seals behind me and objects begin to fold and rearrange themselves. The room is shrinking and I must figure the proper arrangement of furniture before I am crushed. I manage to open a drawer, which triggers a hidden door to open along the far wall. I run into it and find myself in a courtyard where there are several tables with umbrella shades and chairs; it is as though I were at a restaurant's outdoor seating area. I see my younger self at one of the tables sipping a milkshake at one of the tables. I approach him and sit down. I feel uneasy. I have a sip of his milkshake. I fall asleep.

I wake up with a start. My friend Lucas and an other are before me. They signal me to follow and I walk through a seedy area of a city I've never been to before, yet feels strangely familiar. Lucas runs into a club that is on the right a little distance from the walkway. I follow and sit outdoors in a lounge chair as he goes inside. He addresses some woman and then I hear a slap. He comes out rubbing his cheek and goes off with the other. I watch them leave. As I turn my head toward the entrance of the club I see a tall, thin woman in a white dress, which ties behind her neck. She comes out and sits in the lounge chair next to mine. I look at her for a moment. She is very beautiful. She has dark hair and smoothly soft tan skin. She smiles at me and then brings her right arm behind her neck to untie her dress. As she stands, the dress falls to the ground and she straddles me. I try to look into her face again, but some force keeps my head pointed at her stomach. I blink and all becomes black, yet I still feel her around me. I wake with this lingering sensation.

Stealing through the city and skateboards.

Amanda and I are stealing through the city. The night is ours. We go from building to building, into museums and through courtyards. In each place we order a drink, stay for a chat, then run out into the night. At one point we come across the Governor's Mansion, which is in the way of our escapades. There is a break in the fence and I show her along to sneak by. I slide through the plastic sheeting and see an entire family lounging on couches in the courtyard. They are staring intently into a glowing orboid of pure light. I interrupt them. I crawl over them. They are confused and angry. They yell at me. I do not know where Amanda is. I do not know if she followed me. I run through the gate and find a red Camaro parked nearby. Inside is a horse, and a mystery person, shrouded. I take off with a new crew and search for Amanda in the city. I drive like a demon, burning the roads to sludge behind me. I am speeding like a bat outta hell. I cannot find her anywhere. The city is on fire. The horses head is skewered on the antennae; the shrouded mystery person is no more save for the shroud, crumpled in the passenger seat. I fall to my knees and eat dirt.

I wake up and grab my skateboard. I'm in the middle of a desert. My sister is outside waiting. We take off. I shoot down the slopes. Go over jumps. I have durable wheels. I am fast. I jump and do tricks. I spin my self around. Ghosts chase me from the sides. It is difficult to escape them. Some are rose colored and make kissy noises while hearts float about them. Some of them are pale and spit while snot drips, drools, and bubbles out the nose. Some are little children crying on the side of the road, who turn to reveal the mouth of a lion and try to bite off one's head. I avoid them all by fractions. Soon I fly from an incline, over a deep, echoing chasm, into a hospital window. I lie down in the bed and attach the iv to my arm. I fall asleep pumping morphine into my system.