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Monday, December 9, 2019

BORNE ON THE WIND_WEP story



BORNE ON THE WIND
{1000 words}


“Your life, like snow, while ongoing masks your passage, when finished, marks your path.”
– Darael



Labored breathing.  I’d heard the term often but only now realized the reason for it.  Every breath hurt as if I were giving painful, hard-won birth to it.


The dead are never far from us. 

They're in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final grasp for air



From just outside my hospital room door, I heard the nurse snap, “Mr. Evans, I can only tell you that your tenant is in guarded condition.”


“I just want to know how soon I’ll be able to rent out his apartment.”


“Mr. Evans, he may well recover.


“Ha. If that’s him breathing, he ain’t got long for this world.”


“Then, you have your answer, don’t you?  Please leave.”


There was a long silence followed by heavy steps heading away from my door.



A face of flint stuck in from a crack in the door.  “Did he bother you?”


I shook my head and wheezed, “He only bothers himself, nurse.”


Her face softened.  “How can you be so forgiving?”


I managed a weak smile.  “He has to live with himself 24 hours a day.  How can I not feel sorry for him?”


She sighed, shook her head bemused, and quietly shut the door.


By the dim mirror light, I tried to make out the plaque on the opposite wall.  It was an ornate rendering of Margaret Fishback Powers’ poem, Footprints.  

 I snatched back the snort before it cut me in two.


Others had lived worse lives I knew, but when the blows came for me, I never felt carried.  Never.   

My footprints had always been solitary, lonely ones.  Women went for the Bad Boy never the ugly, poor Nice Guy.


I could have become mean, bitter, but what kind of company would I have been for myself then?   

Better by far to give encouragement and a smile to those who entered then left my world.


I spasmed a series of wet coughs that cut me in half, bending me in a fetal position.  The world blurred, became black.  I blinked my eyes to clear them. 

It truly wasn’t worth the effort. I saw shadows moving in the corners of my room.  Though I should have been alone, I wasn’t.  


Words, feeling like mine but were not, slithered into my mind: ‘You will die alone, unloved, unmourned.  Yours was a worthless life.’ 

Maybe the words weren't mine, but were they speaking the truth? Were they?


“Enough!” softly rumbled a Voice above me from the back of my bed.  “Did you not hear the nurse?  He is in guarded condition.”


Wails of pain and outrage pierced through my mind.  Then, the Voice of distant thunders spoke but one word.


“Go!”


The inside of my mind suddenly was all mine once more.




I turned to see who had spoken.  Fingers of soft steel took my shoulder and stopped me.


“No.  Not just yet.”


“Who are you?  What were those voices?”


“The unlearned call them demons.”


“Ah, I’m not important enough for demons to fool with.”


There was a hint of laughter underneath the rumbling words.  “Then, perhaps they were bored.”


The laughter disappeared.  “If you are in the light, darkness will always try to extinguish you.”


The Voice sighed, 

“You, born of Eve, look back on your lives and those of others and only see a meandering trail that wanders into the light and into the darkness to things you only imagine are there.”


There was a strange blur in front of me, and I hushed in a painful breath.  The plaque was gone from the wall.   

Somehow, I knew that the mysterious speaker was holding it in his hands.


“Her heart was in the right place but her perception off-course … like all those whose blood is that of Eve’s.”


“Who are you?” I wheezed.



“Those with cloudy perceptions call me Archangel.”


“And are wrong?”


“And right.  Life for you of tainted blood can be confusing.”


“An Archangel?  I’m just small potatoes.  I’m not worthy of someone like you.”


The undercurrent of laughter was back.  “Really?  Remember what I said of flawed perceptions?”


A flurry of mists billowed in front of me and out of it floated a slowly spinning globe of the earth.  A breath smelling of cedar and honey blew over my shoulder.  The masking clouds wisped away.


Tiny spots of golden light dotted every continent, appeared in isolated places on the seas.


“What are those?” I asked.


“Footprints.  Your footprints.”


“No.  I never left this city, much less this country.”


“Oh, but you have.”


 “How?”



“There are Nexus Points in every soul’s life where a shared laugh, a compassionate word, a needed affirmation of another’s worth, or desperately needed money left anonymously in a mailbox can start a ripple of random acts of kindness whose wake goes on and on.”



Steel fingers softly squeezed my shoulder.  “Those acts became a way of life for you.   

So much so that they became a part of you … and a part of all those you touched and a part of all those they in turn touched.”


My breath just wouldn’t come anymore as the Voice whispered in my ear. 


“Just now, the nurse you think of as Nurse Ratchet, because of your forgiveness, is withholding a bitter retort to a small child whose heart would have been shattered by those harsh words.”



An elephant seemed to be sitting on my chest and an ice-pick stabbing deep into my heart.  It hurt so badly I couldn’t speak.  I choked.  I heard a wet rattling gurgle in my throat.


The Voice murmured, “One last soul touched by you.”


Steel fingers settled on my chest.  The pain disappeared.  All became honey-light.


The ghost of laughter was back.  “Boot Camp is over, good and faithful servant.  Now, the adventure begins.”



One life well lived is long enough.

46 comments:

  1. Wow, Roland, you got me with this one. Excellent writing for FOOTPRINTS. "Now the adventure begins..." I'm sure it does.

    Thanks for penning this story for WEP's last challenge of the year. Thank you too for being so consistent in posting. You are valued.

    I hope you're not too run off your feet over the holiday season. May you stay safe.

    I wish you a Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year and hope you'll continue writing for WEP in 2020. We have some great challenges planned.

    Denise

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    1. It's been a long journey from the times of the Romantic entries to these flash fictions, hasn't it? It has been my honor to journey with you and my other friends.

      I'm glad you enjoyed this one. It surprised me as I wrote it. And yes, I will be out on wet, cold roads
      night and day this holiday season. Cross your fingers for me all right?

      May your Christmas and New Year bring you only happy surprises! :-)

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  2. An end, and a beginning, we can all aspire to.

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  3. So Powerful! I've got teary eyes and a full heart. Beautiful!

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  4. This one really resonated with me. I love how he forgiving and kind he was up to the end of his life. So many choose to be cruel, but kindness can spread so much farther than we think. Thank you for sharing this!

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    1. I have always felt that if we would just make kindness a way of life, we might become catalysts for healing without realizing it. I am happy it touched you. :-)

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  5. This is a really beautiful and touching piece. I was thinking that the protagonist seems like an angel and I was right.
    I struggle every day with hateful thoughts directed at myself, about how ugly I am and how useless my compromised body is. I resonated with the protagonist's assessment of himself and thought that he was truly beautiful.

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    1. His loving heart and insistence on being kind all his life despite being without reward made him beautiful, right? You are beautiful, Cie, in ways you do not realize. Healing Christmas to you!

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  6. Hi Roland,
    one kind word may change a person's destiny. A smile can filter in to a person life and break through darkness. I loved the way you pointed out that small acts of kindness can change people and many times we don't even know it.
    A beautiful piece of writing.
    Have a very Merry Christmas and a great crossover into 2020.
    Shalom aleichem,
    Pat G

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    1. Thanks for liking my flash fiction, Pat. Over and over I have been the recipient of acts of kindnesses both large and small. I know how much they can turn a person around from dark to light. Healing Holidays!

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  7. I love the interplay of good and evil - well done.
    I kept going back to one sentence, not certain if this was your intent: There was a strange blur in front of me, and I hushed in a painful breath.

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    1. Mortal eyes cannot see the Divine directly so the ill man could not see the Angel move ... but like with the wind, he could see the consequences of those movements. :-)

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  8. A truly beautiful piece. It gives hope to anyone who doubts there reason for existence. A little kindness goes a long way, and the reward not of this lifetime but in the next.

    Congratulations! You've paid homage to the prompt with perfection!

    Have a wonderful holiday season, and the brightest of New Year's!

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    1. Thank you, Yolanda. I tried hard to blend the spirit of the prompt with the spirit of the season.

      I have a fondness for ghostly Christmas tales as my BEWARE THE JADE CHRISTMAS will attest ... as my short story, BROTHER TO LIGHT & DARK, from my A SAMPLER OF SHADOWS. :-)

      I think each of us can become catalysts for health and healing with just the smallest of kindnesses.

      May your holiday season be truly wonderful. :-)

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  9. A dream-like, surreal story of kindness and acceptance... and their reward.

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    1. Thank you, Olga. I believe Christmas is a time when the surreal is more accepted than at other seasons, don't you?

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    1. If you liked it, Rebecca, then it did its job. :-) Merriest of Christmases!

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  11. 'One life lived well is long enough.'

    You really made me feel this line. Though I am, I have to confess, of the opposite camp. 'One life is a poor allowance' is more my thing :) But you suspend that disbelief with this flash.

    Faith, good and evil, kindness, acceptance, self worth - all huge abstract concepts made alive in tiny ways that resonated - kudos!

    Wish you a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year 2020.

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    1. Since life is shorter than we would wish, I guess we just have to make the most of what we possess of it, right?

      Your words made my morning, Nilanjana. I am happy my words touched you ... that is all we authors can hope for.

      May your Christmas and New Year be healing and happy! :-)

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  12. As usual, you've delivered a one-two punch that leaves the reader dazed and thinking. Only a single breath to separate us from our ghosts and our next great adventure. Only one life. Live it well and with kindness. A lot to consider. A stick to the ribs tale. Thanks, Roland.

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    1. A "stick to the ribs tale." I like that. You gave a lift to my day, Lee. Thanks!

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  13. A unexpected tale, on how even the smallest act of kindness ripples outward. Well done, Roland.

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    1. I'm happy you enjoyed my take on the prompt which springs from my faith in the healing of small kindnesses. :-)

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  14. Mr Evans frightens me - much as Scrooge did. As you say, fellow Roland, " “He has to live with himself 24 hours a day. How can I not feel sorry for him?” Yet, your writing evokes something darker - your choice/use of words like 'slithered'. But you can uplift us too: "a ripple of random acts of kindness". The psychical side of carbon footprints.And that perfect uplifting ending; the'ghost of laughter' brings me back to a great writer like you.

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    1. I like to think that we evoke kindly amusement from angels by our almost seeing truly but missing the obvious entirely! Merriest of Christmases, fellow Roland :-)

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  15. The butterfly effect of even our smallest actions leaves a trail... our footprints. Nice interpretation of the prompt. Very cool idea.

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    1. We leave footprints with our hearts I believe, Tanya. :-)

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  16. Thank you Roland for this interesting story on death and beyond. Trial run ? Would be good to think we have a second chance. This is all we get I’m afraid so better make those footprints count. Love yourself first, then hope to leave pebbles for those you love to follow ... home.
    Merry Christmas and keep writing down landmarks on your way. Very entertaining and thought provoking.

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    1. Remember my last line? One life well lived is long enough.

      Not a trial run by any means, but simply training for the service awaiting us when we reach Heaven.

      We muster out of Boot Camp here what awaits after Death is rather warm climes! Merry Christmas, Susan!

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  17. It's no secret that I adore angels, but even without that element, this is such a wonderful story. An end as a begining, choosing to be kind, and affecting people around the world; suo much here to appreciate. Great take on the prompt. Nicely done.

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    1. Toi, I'm glad you enjoyed my mysterious angel, Darael. :-) I always have believed our kindnesses influence more than we believe. I'm happy you liked my take on the prompt! Merry Christmas!

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  18. So much spiritual truth you've written. Beautiful! I love that you brought in an archangel. Happy Holidays and a Happy New Writing Year!

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    1. Darael is an Angel Provocateur, but instead of enticing a mortal to do evil, instead he urges them to sow light in dark places as he does slyly in my BEWARE THE JADE CHRISTMAS and RAZOR VALENTINE, set in 1946 New Orleans. May your holidays be special and your New Year even better! :-)

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  19. Hi
    Indeed, kindness and love are the only things that must find resonance. You gave some very inspiring and beautiful lessons in this piece.
    Sonia

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    1. Hi back Sonia! I tried to touch the heart in this little tale of mine. Thanks for liking it! :-)

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  20. There is so much contained in your eloquent writing - I love the way you explain the kindness effect - how we affect people in unknown ways, whether by harsh words or kind words.

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    1. Thanks for liking this, Sally. At Christmas when we are swept up in busyness, we need to remember that the best gifts we give are pieces of ourselves to hurting hearts, right?

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  21. I love the idea of life being just boot camp before the real adventure!
    Plus, I really loved the "guarded" statements.
    Nicely done!

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    1. Tyrean, I'm glad you liked the "guarded" condition. :-) I've always thought of it as being watched over by an angel.

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  22. What a wonderful story. I love the way you used the pay it forward concept with footprints. I see the connections now. So simple yet so huge. Beautiful. You made my heart smile.

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    1. And you made my evening, Juneta, with your comment. :-) In the darkness of life, we can sow tiny seeds of light, right?

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  23. Hi Roland - I've been meaning to get here to read ... what an amazing story and yes I could almost see him and understand from the times with my mother and my uncle. But you've woven a great story ... really 'delightful' to read - cheers Hilary

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    1. I am so happy you enjoyed my tale. A bit of it came from my own time in the hospital those last times. This is my last WEP entry. Thanks for making it by for it. Happy New Year, Hilary. :-)

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