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I feel myself being lifted up, but lifted up by something from under my back. My hands reach out and I can feel something to hold onto. I grasp them. “My God!” I think, “What is it!”
I burst out of the water, gasping for breath… I roll over onto my stomach, keeping a tight grip of those handholds. I vomit up water, coughing it from my lungs, gasping. I feel very weak, and with an effort I raise my head to look around to see where I am.
My hands are holding on to two horns… antlers of a sort. That's when I realize that I am on something that's moving! I’m on a creature! …IT’S ELLIE!! We're moving with great speed and just her head is out of the water… she glides along almost effortlessly and has me perfectly balanced on her head.
I'm beginning to fade out again… weak from the struggle… but I'm alive. I can feel myself being dumped onto the ground, face down in the dirt on some shoreline of the lake. I want to look around… I want to see where I am, but exhaustion overtakes me and I collapse…
***************************************Time passes, I am now lying on my side and something is moving over me… I can sense it without opening my eyes. There's a shadow moving. I pop my eyes open… it is bright… my eyes adjust to the light… judging by the position of the sun in the sky, it must be mid-morning. I sit up and take a look at my surroundings. My mouth is as dry as if the entire Cheyenne Nation rode through it, and my head is pounding, I rub my forehead with my hand, feeling caked mud on it. I feel my still sore left eye.
I'm next to the fire ring. The fire is out, even the coals are cold and there's a broken bourbon bottle in the ring. I hear some noise from behind me, turning to look, I see Happy moving towards the cabin.
My Cabin… my unburned, intact cabin.
“Whew,” I think, “it was all a dream.” I rub my head again and wince when my fingers touch a cut on my forehead.
I stand up and realize that my clothes are wet… and… I was lying in some mud. “The boat?” I wonder. “There it is.” The boat is on the shore, pulled up in its usual place with the oars in their holders. I go over to the rowboat, look inside and find my hat, which I take and plop on the back of my head… my bedroll… all rolled up neatly on a seat… the saddlebags are there too… and one opened, empty can of Spam.
My head's pounding as I walk towards the cabin, my boots squish water with each step. I notice Lucy, Blossom and General Hancock grazing in the corral. I get to the front door of the cabin and a little memory bubble pops in my head. I bend down and lift the edge of the mat… “Oh look… there it is,” I say out loud, “my heart… right next to the key! I’m going to need that.” I bend to pick up my heart and the key… my head is throbbing. “Wowsers.” I mutter as I pick it up then I finger the key lightly, feeling its weight in my hand, next I slide it into my pocket. “Well…” I think, “I never lock the doors anyway.”
Happy is making himself some toast in the kitchen, he giggles a bit when he sees me come into the cabin. “Is everything okay?” He asks me, stifling another giggle.
“Yeah Happy,” I reply, knowing that I must look a real mess, “everything is okie dokies… it will be even better after a shower.” I go over to the sink and pour myself a large glass of water… I down it in just a few gulps. “…and I found my heart.” I go to the ladder and start to climb up to the second floor, putting one foot up on a rung. I stop and come back down off the ladder.
“Happy,” I say, “lets shoot off some fireworks tonight… gather the lads… lets have some fun.”
“Oh Boy!” He nods his head quickly while he’s buttering his toast, then he starts to laugh in that way that only Happy can laugh. “Let’s invite everyone.”
“YES!” I shout… “YES!!” throwing my hat onto its wall peg… a bit of dried mud drops from my hair, “We’ll fire up the grill… cook some food… after all, we got LOTS of food!” We both roar with laughter at that.
“We’ll get some beer…. But no bourbon… I’ve had enough bourbon for a while. Oh, oh, oh… And Spam, Happy… lots of Spam.” I feel giddy… I’m almost jumping about the place, “Music… we’ll need music… it is short notice, but maybe we can get Cocks and Roses to play. Get the lads to go around and offer the invitations… go to the bar… tell Old Joe what we need… I’ll be by with the pick-up later. Invite everyone… including the couple from the old cabin across the way. I’ll get cleaned up and start the preparations.”
“The crew are all at Miss Brandy’s cabin” Happy says.
“At the Bee Hive? I ask with a puzzled look on my face, “What are they doing there?”
I’m not sure,” he replies, “but Miss Brandy is driving a bulldozer.”
I start to chuckle, then I double over with laughter, at the mental image of Miss Brandy on a bulldozer. Happy starts laughing with me. “Go get the lads anyway… and tell Miss Brandy what’s going on.”
“Go Happy, go!” I say to him. Happy eyeballs his freshly buttered toast. I wink while saying, “Eat your toast first, of course…. Then scoot.”
Happy stuffs the entire slice of toast into his mouth, then scoops up the other slice and goes out the back door, heading for Miss Brandy’s. “Man, those guys can EAT!” I think while he scampers off.
I go up to the second floor whistling the “Heigh Ho” song and start peeling off my wet, muddy clothes…. I feel good…. I feel free… I feel… Reborn…
@ Marilyn ~ If you don't make this… I will.
I jump awake… I am in the boat and it seems I drifted off in more ways than one… the sun is just beginning to rise. I reach for the saddlebags, but the effects of the bourbon haven't worn off yet. I stumble… I fall… “SPLASH” …I'm overboard.
My boots are filling with water… pulling me under… I am sinking. I frantically try to kick the boots off, but I'm tired… I'm exhausted… and I don’t have the strength to get them off.
My struggles become feeble as I sink lower into the depths of the lake. Looking up, I can see my hat floating on the surface, which gets further and further away as I sink. Suddenly it becomes peaceful. “I've been here before,” is the thought that comes to mind. I see my AChat life passing before me.
Logging into AChat for the first time. Meeting Ms Pafe and Lady Satoire, “Anyone with WALL-E in their profile can’t be all bad.” Doing the surveys for them.
Meeting Miss Brandy … “What time is it where you are? You’re from the future. Thank you for your time.”
MoonCalf and her country ways… “I oughta kick you right in the shins, but I think I'll kiss ya instead…”
Jayc and Stone such a happy couple… “I can’t believe I’m kissing Miss Stone!”
Miss JemStar… “It’s a small world after all…”
Miss Concerto… Who, on a secret date, opened my closed mind.
The Pookie and Terri show… AChat spilling into real life at the Windmill.
Joining the forum… Those threesomes with Norwich… all the others whom I've met and enjoyed. TightFit74, Miss Sexilicious, Bear, Miss Rukya, Lover, Miss Kittenlepurr, Hukk, Miss Cheya, James… may he rest in peace, Miss Mollie, Tango, HB, Miss Momma Andrea, Mrsexlover, Lady Azrielle, Miss Marilyn, Miss Bluedenim, whom I still owe an apology to “I’m sorry Miss Bluedenim… itwasn’tme… itwastheVicodintalkin’… itmademedoalotofstupidthings…”
Miss Amy… “the kharma is strong tonight”….
Eva… oh Eva… always faithful… always there… “Hi, Honey!”
I sink lower and lower…
Peace and serenity are over taking me now. I can see the light, I know the way. I was here once before in my past… in another life. I was so close to getting in that time, but I was turned away at the last moment. There’s peace on the other side, I just know it. This time… maybe they'll let me in…
Waking up with a start in the early morning hours, I wrestle the blanket off myself and sit up. It's cooled off tonight, the fire has died down some, so I grab a couple of nearby pieces of firewood and place them in the fire ring. Using a branch, I give the embers a stoking, then I drop the branch into the fire. The dried timbers ignite almost immediately.
Looking up, I see a light from yet another cabin on the lake. “What light through yonder window breaks”, immediately comes to my mind. Rustling around in my saddle bag that I have been using for a pillow, I pull out the binoculars and peer through them at the light.
I search for the bottle of bourbon. Finding it, I open the bottle and take a long pull from it. Then I toss the cap into the fire. With each swallow from the bottle the night seems easier to take. I peer through the binoculars at the light one more time then slide my view over to Miss Brandy’s cabin. “Heheh… Peepin’ Cove”, I think, her cabin however is dark. One last peek at the light then I slip the binoculars back into the bag.
Rising to my feet, I stagger a little as the bourbon has begun to work its magic. I grab the bottle and take yet another pull on it. Next I walk, if you can call it walking, to the cabin door and kick it open…. I enter, being careful not to trip the dwarf's trap. I don't know if they have reset it, but I'm taking no chances.
Walking through the cabin to the back door, I kick that door open too, and head for the corral. The horses stir as they do when awoken. Pulling them all out, I tie Lucy and the General to Blossom.
“Blossom, lead them to Miss Brandy's. Now, go.” I say, “Git! GIT OUTTA HERE!” Waving my hands and shouting to get them going on their way. They leave, crying and complaining on their way along the trail.
Taking a few more pulls on the bourbon, I go back inside the cabin and look the place over. It seems lonely… deserted. I go up to the second floor and make sure there's no one there, then I go down, grab the hurricane lamp from the fireplace mantle and light the wick. Next I go to the kitchen and throw the lit lamp up along the ladder to the second floor, it clanks and clangs as it lands with the sound of broken glass. Quickly, flames begin to leap up, fueled by the spilled oil from the broken hurricane lamp.
I stumble out the front door, back to the fire ring. I stand there staring into the embers. One last pull on the bottle drains it, I stagger a little before dropping the empty bottle into the fire. Then I pick up the branch from the fire… the end burns like a torch. I begin to stumble as I turn, almost losing my balance.
I stagger to the cabin, with the burning branch in my hand. I throw the branch through the front door, sparks and embers scatter like fireflies. I watch as the embers catch the magic sofa, which smolders then begins to burn.
“More oxygen, ” I say while moving to the kitchen area, I grab the toaster and throw it through the window in the kitchen, next the microwave oven goes through the other window. Glass shattering and spreading out into the yard, “All good fires need a draft.” The lower section of the cabin is ablaze, thick smoke from the sofa and rug filling the room.
I stumble out of the cabin's front door and trip over a large rock, cutting my forehead as I land on the ground. Cursing the rock, I pick it up and get to my feet, then, while shouting, “I BUILT IT… I CAN BURN IT!” I hurl the rock at the balcony's glass door. The glass shatters with the impact. Falling backwards after I’ve thrown the rock, I land on the ground in a sitting position then I watch as the cabin begins to fill with fire. Flames licking the rafters of the second floor, I can see that the magic sofa is fully engulfed in flames. “Burn damn you, burn.”
I briefly think about moving the pick-up truck, but decide against it. “Must'nt drink and drive.” I slur out loud, I begin to laugh as I get to my drunken feet.
Next, I find myself in the row boat, my saddlebags are there and my bedroll is neatly rolled up on the seat. I push off from the shore and begin to row… no purpose in mind… just rowing. I'm drunk and I’m tired… so very tired… I can feel myself beginning to drift off. Looking back at the cabin as I row away, I can see that it is completely engulfed in flames… there’s no saving it now. Great billows of smoke rise from the conflagration. I slowly row on into the night…
(to be continued)
Not all Cookie Monsters are bad
Not that anyone really cares, but we made it to Clive, Iowa in 15 and a half hours.
We're going to go as far as Hersey, Pennsylvania today.
