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,1060Please respect copyright.PENANADtM89SQxsp
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1060Please respect copyright.PENANA0MSfcvMaSa
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAFtznRg5mya
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAHdXEql59bc
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAG3iaslJbPD
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAq6LaSxVtgR
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAYSUHchB0o0
"Okay then. First letter."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAElFZqQKlHG
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAbBHjjam3FY
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1060Please respect copyright.PENANApRyRjqndPq
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANApV4ciH2weZ
"No, what the hell, May?"1060Please respect copyright.PENANAhR8qrrmtOi
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANApYqIFHNE8O
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAKre0ailgtl
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAa8DrMLiJC0
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1060Please respect copyright.PENANANmbQa88td6
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAjVqloS5Uan
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA8bseJsPbeH
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAcrYnAkiLDe
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!'1060Please respect copyright.PENANADvx5lAIwqC
David sighs, and closes the book.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAFgep33rWGi
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAEwTPJIqXI6
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAZJ73WMQfyv
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA238skHg5Dy
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1060Please respect copyright.PENANAuAACrf7nQH
sample volume: 7325kL1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkDviFqi7Js
hypothesis: i am alone1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkwWl1c87Fj
method:1060Please respect copyright.PENANAgYMGLERiTB
-extract impurities1060Please respect copyright.PENANA4iEU6pKj6F
result: collected 109875L of impurities1060Please respect copyright.PENANAKmX6mj3cWm
hypothesis disproven1060Please respect copyright.PENANA8lMjt1Ael2
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1060Please respect copyright.PENANAGhSO3BQO7L
method:1060Please respect copyright.PENANAOJnPEm1NP1
-sift and sort impurities1060Please respect copyright.PENANAzXUfgYPHu0
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1060Please respect copyright.PENANACy7Q79uy2Z
hypothesis disproven1060Please respect copyright.PENANAxUg9ir3R6k
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkDijmM9OVw
method:1060Please respect copyright.PENANArSrTgwyphc
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1060Please respect copyright.PENANAWKeOQVGrIp
-place in flask1060Please respect copyright.PENANAythsE7m6Ot
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANACdu1lhmQRg
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAJppxOpmht8
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAhaEdDEnaFP
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAg95t2R1b4x
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAYyuYSKvJrM
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAECiNLUR4DH
-wait1060Please respect copyright.PENANAF35ct5DiGe
-until something magical happens1060Please respect copyright.PENANAR0xpBailac
result: i waited1060Please respect copyright.PENANAWXE2rEWvQK
result: i wanted1060Please respect copyright.PENANAX1Eqav49b7
result: i failed1060Please respect copyright.PENANAhiEX0CkG9C
result: i hid1060Please respect copyright.PENANAAdQJfTxHeq
result: i tried1060Please respect copyright.PENANAB2Jj7m1ziB
result: i searched1060Please respect copyright.PENANAwfirKMjuc3
result: i found1060Please respect copyright.PENANAulHgOvDxTH
result: i found something magical1060Please respect copyright.PENANAS9eRviMkJU
hypotheses disproven1060Please respect copyright.PENANA9UbAc7NxAl
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAiwwaYcNcKI
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAtQsgttIy9r
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1060Please respect copyright.PENANA9Kfcbicew5
Thursday's child has far to go,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAzIBGbuG2LR
Friday's child is loving and giving,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAKzSzDeimCM
Saturday's child works hard for his living1060Please respect copyright.PENANAk3wg0lEoKj
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAxn5b0fe7WS
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1060Please respect copyright.PENANAnt9WlQLnLz
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1060Please respect copyright.PENANArqP70kftXe
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1060Please respect copyright.PENANApuSguvSrgD
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1060Please respect copyright.PENANAXjcYDI41mX
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAloX1UhudQw
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1060Please respect copyright.PENANA6AsX6zaCFi
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1060Please respect copyright.PENANAjngi3svRwE
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1060Please respect copyright.PENANAKnDxFHVcNq
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 –1060Please respect copyright.PENANAZxMGnOh6IN
"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."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAZaiLoPHTlL
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAIQnu83b3yC
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA7AI31Dxa5P
Carolyn1060Please respect copyright.PENANAEnLSj38yrU
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAtsE3CBK8jX
"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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAoFuLeINNX5
"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."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAByHRcHbKhO
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA10DrmRRHqb
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAppCgICnFbl
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAvVeHE8FRWC
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANANmfTCbFxHJ
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1060Please respect copyright.PENANATn6Qh63jqn
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAHKpmRuW2z8
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAOOhkgVK2NR
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA6gQJavSIN3
Why is this, experts ask?1060Please respect copyright.PENANAR8HfsKTYhS
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1060Please respect copyright.PENANAcdR8hJzmPm
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAV3hekRV3Ge
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1060Please respect copyright.PENANABx2ybGDHBE
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 1:1060Please respect copyright.PENANA7MTHyzFr6H
Video cameras find nothing.1060Please respect copyright.PENANArUr68iid26
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkBZMy2cJRW
No ectograph response.1060Please respect copyright.PENANALnvPOFYRqx
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 2:1060Please respect copyright.PENANATm8L6dXu5t
Video cameras find nothing.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAzk92md0U4M
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAzlLyapdUh0
Slight ectograph response.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAXcWW8CcSKu
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAt5zjtdxWy0
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1060Please respect copyright.PENANArDP11OCLMH
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkRTgTQNDb4
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAEFwv7Vicx8
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkGQ53sVqlj
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAJWXO76qU9A
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 4:1060Please respect copyright.PENANALKooPWMIOn
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAdEO4FOcuoT
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1060Please respect copyright.PENANATNGImg7rLq
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA1VvrDUfahm
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA2U5mdvldrp
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAlAhFjoViTG
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1060Please respect copyright.PENANAj5wVyFhLgR
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAtus9BUNMqa
Audio records many casual conversations.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAvRUQZPc7u4
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA1U9fthRUsh
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA5mkWRmcbjK
No ghost activity was found at all.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAI4V3AnJMbf
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANADvXhUoceUG
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkUaHou1Nh9
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAm6l81np4f0
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAH96BbSXX4J
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1060Please respect copyright.PENANAxJYsChPhZh
Went up the hill1060Please respect copyright.PENANAnf236l4VTH
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAW09A7H7CsN
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAqRRE0CMysB
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA1n9THLEeGP
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAy3eJUUD9KW
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAcljSUrmcJQ
Tonight is different.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAccOMoVdidK
He has nothing left to give to the well.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAz4cpOK7Vbh
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAK9Q2ZqQbfc
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA5qpJJNLjWF
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAMKiAj1PhP9
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAgQs45gCqg8
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAtRf3ZoLqnF
He wants it. He needs it.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAPm34K1hL5U
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1060Please respect copyright.PENANACrku5z7OCJ
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1060Please respect copyright.PENANANX8eFCxEBZ
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAVv1zdFsyLE
"Go get 'em, tiger."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkhjc2p1DX5
And so a door closes, another opens.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA0fkdLp72Ga
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAkxrAmj5Tt0
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAiWmqHg56OO
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA9ac3GbdFqv
He grasps it.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA4RSSdevKe8
"Ready?"1060Please respect copyright.PENANAsyjw3NT9ZM
The person answers. "Ready."1060Please respect copyright.PENANAV2SHPE16QV
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1060Please respect copyright.PENANA34ugTqWO4N
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1060Please respect copyright.PENANACrBUKCpJU2
Silence.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAww4Pyci3tC
Everything stops.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAuAEsQvwU8B
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAYS1DBzBQAK
I wish…1060Please respect copyright.PENANAEfg4Oz3co8
I wish…1060Please respect copyright.PENANApbGdJzeoPA
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1060Please respect copyright.PENANAYvBHjzwtif
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.1060Please respect copyright.PENANAm0xbrKxTaj
-chalkboard stories-1060Please respect copyright.PENANAxhuBX76BYf
its only an enigma1060Please respect copyright.PENANA4V8L5HQPJW
if you want it to be