CHALKBOARD STORIES
Proposition 1: It is possible to determine everything that was ever written on a chalkboard from the traces of dust they leave behind.
The hard chalk squeals in pain as the young man drags it across the board. He stops for a moment, then writes a second:
Proposition 2: It is possible to reconstruct a life from the traces they leave behind, the ways they affected other lives.
Yes, he thinks, that's it. Stretching, he adds an underlined title above the two sentences:
The Chalkboard Proposition
-date-
The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAx5cebuiijh
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAD7vSaZe9et
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1030Please respect copyright.PENANALl3D4wLv5N
On the last day of September…
"Oh, come on, you've got to tell me who you're taking to the social!" Esme titters, throwing her luscious blonde hair back with a flick of the head.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAhw6GFYi04o
"Just someone." David was an unusual person; quiet, introverted, and the secret crush of nearly every girl in his year (not to mention ones younger and older). He had well defined features – piercing blue eyes, observant, brown curls hanging over his forehead and the faintest hint of facial hair sprouting beneath his tall nose and under his chin.1030Please respect copyright.PENANABbWK6Ecflg
"Don't tease me, Dave. Give me a name." Esme pouts in what could be considered a sexual way, and a few distant onlookers wolf-whistle. It took a lot to get the self-proclaimed beauty of the school to give that face.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAehRb1OQrAT
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAgqFqVdnkdq
"Okay then. First letter."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAq2PY7YOncD
"May –" Her bottom lip sticks out even further, and she bends over, batting her eyelids. Shit, David thinks. If I don't say anything soon she's going to be undressing for me right here.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAiZTOBRIUmm
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAKY6A112IcE
Immediately, Esme straightens herself, and pulls up her dress which had casually fallen a centimeter or two during her maneouvres. "B for bitch?" She adds, helpfully. A hysterical laugh.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAfo6x3wrU7k
"No, what the hell, May?"1030Please respect copyright.PENANAu4n9Nrliu9
She puts on a young, girly voice: "It was just a joke, mummy, no need to get so uptight!" Another laugh. "Ohhhhh my god, it's Bronte, isn't it. That SLUT!" She gasps theatrically.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAkblp5S9AZx
"No, it's not Bronte. You wouldn't know who it is." He takes out and puts on his glasses and focuses on the book on his lap.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAcs66Yd7lfW
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAFy8FHQjkdO
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAx84ziWmdwr
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA86Emc65E2T
Esme's group of friends appears suddenly, as if sprouting out of the ground like unwanted weeds; dandelions, pretty at first sight, but as you blow all the frills away you see the filth underneath that spreading over your garden.1030Please respect copyright.PENANABBax6XtMsn
"Well, Dave, I've gotta go. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!" She giggles, and her friends follow suit with an irritating chord of nervous laughter.1030Please respect copyright.PENANASogd7lJMdA
As if in reverse mitosis, they form one impenetrable cloud of gossip that slowly walks away, emitting the occasional 'No way!' or 'Oh my god!'1030Please respect copyright.PENANAMtB54W7HpS
David sighs, and closes the book.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVCI1HXOSEt
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAk3M65ErFUx
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAA8MOZVdxh6
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAeqy4OIQo9p
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1030Please respect copyright.PENANAuGOoLhRr1N
sample volume: 7325kL1030Please respect copyright.PENANApG7OjGhFEa
hypothesis: i am alone1030Please respect copyright.PENANA35Uh0tdU0F
method:1030Please respect copyright.PENANA22VzdtWc2c
-extract impurities1030Please respect copyright.PENANAq24V1Eygfy
result: collected 109875L of impurities1030Please respect copyright.PENANAi2wSsHo606
hypothesis disproven1030Please respect copyright.PENANAA5XRraBU1B
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1030Please respect copyright.PENANAG3uDApOpXv
method:1030Please respect copyright.PENANAHuwDiTC6J8
-sift and sort impurities1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVyyek2Cbdv
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1030Please respect copyright.PENANAiHmW6eghFL
hypothesis disproven1030Please respect copyright.PENANASTQC3pVefJ
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1030Please respect copyright.PENANAklGLOFeKXb
method:1030Please respect copyright.PENANApCq2busI7F
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1030Please respect copyright.PENANAhgPhTkw5nh
-place in flask1030Please respect copyright.PENANAjrXJtB6xhY
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANA8XjA6DH2F1
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANA4cCKVI36Xw
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANAThnYknHBow
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANAwT1g2oahS5
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANAu09KeE9kFC
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANAQ5KrSOsWHu
-wait1030Please respect copyright.PENANA42NYUGKofj
-until something magical happens1030Please respect copyright.PENANAkva2CB4rwp
result: i waited1030Please respect copyright.PENANA2h9ZGEYo1B
result: i wanted1030Please respect copyright.PENANAiBTfFWrYYF
result: i failed1030Please respect copyright.PENANAQj8eYqPCES
result: i hid1030Please respect copyright.PENANAo09Dnz4dKH
result: i tried1030Please respect copyright.PENANAzS6uDDI0qg
result: i searched1030Please respect copyright.PENANAil7Bgb2LHD
result: i found1030Please respect copyright.PENANA1IRMOURK5s
result: i found something magical1030Please respect copyright.PENANAqliYbzRa7x
hypotheses disproven1030Please respect copyright.PENANAvsMczs2xlC
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1030Please respect copyright.PENANA7zRypbHtZN
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1030Please respect copyright.PENANA8r43NwgkD4
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAnBDg5lqfTS
Thursday's child has far to go,1030Please respect copyright.PENANANmTRXtgwGa
Friday's child is loving and giving,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAtJaesb8TvF
Saturday's child works hard for his living1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVK6wkBg3TR
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA5SYvxrk4QF
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1030Please respect copyright.PENANANQ3oEnWdVP
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1030Please respect copyright.PENANAkAkLfBuJ03
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1030Please respect copyright.PENANAEouYQhO93T
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1030Please respect copyright.PENANAqsOwgFtRI4
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAwGbqwrYOhQ
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1030Please respect copyright.PENANA7r0yp6sKA4
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVAUlNvFzmI
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1030Please respect copyright.PENANAKbW8Kb6EMU
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-
Endless, endless, endless, and they all mean nothing. Dammit. The pen has run out of ink. He reaches for another –1030Please respect copyright.PENANAISkpGTkxbe
"No need to." The author looks up at the voice, and is greeted by the figure of a young man, possibly mid to late twenties, perhaps even in the thirties. Streaky blonde hair, slightly awkward gait, but something elegant about the entire presentation. A smile. "It's already signed."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAvUpubmX0rH
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAcIQOtL2AS4
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAH0fdZbYYYB
Carolyn1030Please respect copyright.PENANAeZ7zLWt1Kl
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAJXZkECWxfj
"You don't need to. It's only a mystery if you make it one." There's an audible muttering of impatience from the people in the line, and he glances back quickly after he finishes the sentence.1030Please respect copyright.PENANArYSeAnktnJ
"The book isn't mine. I bought it second hand." He takes closes the cover, and takes it back. "I think there's a greater story in those fourteen words than what could ever be expressed in the entirety of your book."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAWegmEUP044
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1030Please respect copyright.PENANArEd8cbrBhY
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAnaWPf98LJj
The young man offers nothing for a goodbye, simply walking away; but, just before he exits the bookshop – he turns back, and gives one last smile – that happy, sad, confused, surprised, goddamn smile.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAr0Zgq6sDck
The author doesn't want to let himself believe it, but he's sure, so sure, that when the man returns home, he'll play an old record of some Shakespeare, sit by his Shigeru and with his long, shapely fingers, play the most impenetrable and so unspeakably beautiful harmonies.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAL6ssWw2b5k
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAaq4ZUU7x6Z
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1030Please respect copyright.PENANAtIWA1obl6N
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1030Please respect copyright.PENANANtwK5e3ApT
Here comes a candle to light you to bed…
It is known that ghosts do not come out in day, but only at night, or in the dark.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVE0mJJMUQd
Why is this, experts ask?1030Please respect copyright.PENANAIhYTxDYd1n
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1030Please respect copyright.PENANAVZ8VbZq4F9
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAItXtekEENm
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA7ORBncWNig
Each night, we video the cemetery, record audio in selected areas, record a transcript of all dialogue at our midnight campfire, and place the ecto-sensors around the cemetery, transmitting information to the ectograph.
NIGHT 1:1030Please respect copyright.PENANAle1BEeXB9T
Video cameras find nothing.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAUulQIbmEq3
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAQKby3Kv5it
No ectograph response.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAeFf6cmjBhQ
At our midnight campfire, we had seven people gathered around, telling stories. We came as a group of six. Once pointed out, said extra person vanished. Ghost activity suspected.
NIGHT 2:1030Please respect copyright.PENANATAVI511Mh1
Video cameras find nothing.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAuxeF4Xw7G0
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAjKrlVk4l1f
Slight ectograph response.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAQOpxzKvCF0
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA303aLXBCEy
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAqfTtOUEbzc
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1030Please respect copyright.PENANAdb79lhq2Kv
Video cameras find a group of ghosts, touching, walking through each other, but seemingly without the knowledge of each other's presence. Further study of this phenomenon is required.1030Please respect copyright.PENANArj4hzBVkPs
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA3Cl9bVRMP2
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1030Please respect copyright.PENANACcTpQoiI9r
Ghost 54 returned to our midnight campfire, seemingly trying to make contact with us. Sounds made were unintelligible. We managed to capture it: we have placed it in a cage.
NIGHT 4:1030Please respect copyright.PENANAiYERJbd5tU
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAEtoe1ZMbQ5
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAWUndSnkBqh
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA50SA4OsCEA
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1030Please respect copyright.PENANABum29CULvX
One of our remaining 5 crew members has an epileptic fit. We attempt to calm him before he morphs into a monstrous ghost before our eyes. We restrain him, and place him in the cage. We have lost another crew member.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAFzCiiJ6YxX
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1030Please respect copyright.PENANA0bRQVllscC
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAso7bmbGTwT
Audio records many casual conversations.1030Please respect copyright.PENANArqRlSn1zeI
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAKJREL7lvbw
The cage contains our crew member and ghost 54. We cannot tell which is which, as both no longer resemble ghosts, both seemingly human now.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAayE426mqqC
No ghost activity was found at all.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA6S2bhVYApA
At midnight campfire, we go back through previous footage and recordings. They have changed. Frequencies are back to normal (edited versions had to be re-edited) and unintelligible noises now resemble human conversation.1030Please respect copyright.PENANApHFDUPvhNG
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1030Please respect copyright.PENANABQNoLMafj3
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAEv2ilXCoAf
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1030Please respect copyright.PENANApu7gF9EaIp
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1030Please respect copyright.PENANAZlCOHoeLd0
Went up the hill1030Please respect copyright.PENANAZWQvPfaFXs
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA1k2Ylv8JHe
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1030Please respect copyright.PENANALp0fKUgMz7
The climb is harsh, and he recalls when once – as a younger child, perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he twisted his foot on a rock, and it never quite fully healed; you wouldn't notice it at a glance, but there's something ever so slightly awkward about the way he carries himself.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAEuftItgGnn
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA2X68KfIASz
That's what he calls it; the old, defunct well at the top of the hill – the Whishing Well. His own little private joke. And on those nights that he sneaks out of the house to climb up, he drops something precious down the well and makes a wish, then lies under the glimmering stars for as long as he dares before heading back down to his house.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAxM0ytjv9l8
Tonight is different.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAyn160H5IyT
He has nothing left to give to the well.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA5VZC0ebC6b
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAT0p57fQ8Md
He knows that this is the last time he's going to go to the well. He doesn't want to come back after this, because this – this is his final wish, the most important thing in his whole life, the one thing he wants granted.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAYskRNPLU4T
He reaches the peak, and kneels beside the stone circle surrounding the pit. He makes his wish, and as he does so, he can't help but let a few tears escape; each echoing hollowly as they splash against the bottom of the well.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAXwMMYasxS5
The sleepless moon watches over him, gliding so slowly across the sky, a guardian, a confidante, the only other that will know the wish, the light reflecting of his streaky blonde hair.1030Please respect copyright.PENANALbpAiM22pl
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAuKSHKII677
He wants it. He needs it.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAG4ZKgqhLH7
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAMzXlFYALTw
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1030Please respect copyright.PENANARQFH0hdyWR
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1030Please respect copyright.PENANApM96WRkYPc
"Go get 'em, tiger."1030Please respect copyright.PENANAhHD5Guf5Rr
And so a door closes, another opens.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAnaQk51jelu
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1030Please respect copyright.PENANALQIZbtlkeB
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1030Please respect copyright.PENANA6ODZf9S8Tj
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAZyNr3W8cmG
He grasps it.1030Please respect copyright.PENANApZ2YYPMrbt
"Ready?"1030Please respect copyright.PENANAr6EOvnFwxr
The person answers. "Ready."1030Please respect copyright.PENANASxfbngXH1I
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAtrynFmnkjb
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAP4nda23qzF
Silence.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAJ71prGtQHt
Everything stops.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAi1ZckbN9dC
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1030Please respect copyright.PENANAYQgrbLXKqK
I wish…1030Please respect copyright.PENANAWPMqh93hDm
I wish…1030Please respect copyright.PENANAxmPrXCzDpn
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1030Please respect copyright.PENANApF6pK0Zyn8
Who then was a gentleman?
I'm walking new territory now, no footsteps in the sand before me. I've thrown everything that I knew and loved to the winds, and I'm scared that I'll take the journey alone. Everything is different now, but even in those first, tentative steps, I know that however hard this will be, something magical is waiting for me at the end. And when I glimpse that beautiful thing, still so far away, rising over the horizon, I'm going to run, oh, I'll run, and I'm never looking back.
Just watch me go.1030Please respect copyright.PENANASqGPVyUnCH
-chalkboard stories-1030Please respect copyright.PENANAWx6jSb7QvH
its only an enigma1030Please respect copyright.PENANAaeb1Ag6351
if you want it to be