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,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAkGN1jZUgRP
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAs558UBheAn
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1033Please respect copyright.PENANA8eTCyL32Zy
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAuHWOtRTNp3
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAqbdSj4CHjl
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANASOqV12PPYO
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAxU06daWmry
"Okay then. First letter."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAygARS54HFG
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA6KiDdJpks3
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAqv7D6nlVRc
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAA9GZDsfzv3
"No, what the hell, May?"1033Please respect copyright.PENANAzEOm4mGUbg
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANABxVSqGzpKt
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAAoH2RyySpt
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAvD7VEcYZ5S
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAZ4WXf8nLfN
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAAFfg47UFC9
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAmKvsypqyEC
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAwgcZpbKeGY
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!'1033Please respect copyright.PENANAe4MQGNGYXw
David sighs, and closes the book.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAVc4RwMuI1M
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1033Please respect copyright.PENANABLQkN9KElD
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA3VHNkNR4Xt
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1Fy5IWhdLT
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1033Please respect copyright.PENANA70flcH4GvQ
sample volume: 7325kL1033Please respect copyright.PENANAFw6kSGQe4N
hypothesis: i am alone1033Please respect copyright.PENANALnQej0JbJB
method:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAxvDmowUlXO
-extract impurities1033Please respect copyright.PENANAm8f3K5fCYD
result: collected 109875L of impurities1033Please respect copyright.PENANAwnaFs2Bk1M
hypothesis disproven1033Please respect copyright.PENANABljSdwDLgD
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1033Please respect copyright.PENANA0Remx6mrzQ
method:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAFTc86jUDvu
-sift and sort impurities1033Please respect copyright.PENANAzd2aWKbwzP
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1033Please respect copyright.PENANAn9AZfE58vi
hypothesis disproven1033Please respect copyright.PENANAU1lKjKJgmV
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1033Please respect copyright.PENANAt97uxJxUPb
method:1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1M3RowSZTC
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1033Please respect copyright.PENANA0n5Qdpqs6N
-place in flask1033Please respect copyright.PENANAC8Bi82WSIM
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANAb3JgMINGir
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANAwteeirYASR
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANA5qOuNRt23v
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANACQvVS5sRD3
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANAcH92NR1cyy
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANA9uC1CfT6SJ
-wait1033Please respect copyright.PENANAyEt2N1dzxe
-until something magical happens1033Please respect copyright.PENANA7lSJOQx6nK
result: i waited1033Please respect copyright.PENANA0rtZvYir7K
result: i wanted1033Please respect copyright.PENANAcaALyDSmVN
result: i failed1033Please respect copyright.PENANAjN6ZZSnDfQ
result: i hid1033Please respect copyright.PENANATiElPHBbR5
result: i tried1033Please respect copyright.PENANAJDBiCgIzrr
result: i searched1033Please respect copyright.PENANA5FwU0diSwS
result: i found1033Please respect copyright.PENANAM5JkbDF2mj
result: i found something magical1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1UucEZhC2J
hypotheses disproven1033Please respect copyright.PENANABhAtwKpW5G
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1033Please respect copyright.PENANA3NId0VVSQq
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAS4MMWWzAgc
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAO2eBRdvW7f
Thursday's child has far to go,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAnwNrHWlfbK
Friday's child is loving and giving,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAJnq1V3cKlF
Saturday's child works hard for his living1033Please respect copyright.PENANAuyEsGVRGWJ
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAGBUKvciAmn
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1033Please respect copyright.PENANAlkPEuTX3g5
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1033Please respect copyright.PENANAkbEcFQ3qGI
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1033Please respect copyright.PENANAhrQnFYiluT
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1033Please respect copyright.PENANAcPYG3BlylR
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAkNYXFjxvuN
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1033Please respect copyright.PENANAKBgCWov2UT
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1033Please respect copyright.PENANAwMmI9w5zQF
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1033Please respect copyright.PENANADEdxkt4rvg
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 –1033Please respect copyright.PENANAjJUKZw2tp7
"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."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAEY5mLnr6JG
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAyWfwEWfAcq
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1ckIS0liEI
Carolyn1033Please respect copyright.PENANAwZd8vIvmY2
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAts7bNQY4Zd
"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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANARj2uoCUbSY
"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."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAZbCIvG8yix
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAE6tQtNdeBX
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1033Please respect copyright.PENANA9CWYfSYuB1
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAXbHDPFKRiv
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAAXBadZirm8
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAnlotINdBbZ
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAvyHzSBTBBM
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA8yWvNAbayC
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAg7IUJypeWl
Why is this, experts ask?1033Please respect copyright.PENANAErfNFZQ9EI
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1033Please respect copyright.PENANA5P9BYZBmn5
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1033Please respect copyright.PENANANfr7zxcqSV
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAzW9GUkLi07
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 1:1033Please respect copyright.PENANALsKhCJZQ3E
Video cameras find nothing.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA9f73XM9jkG
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAdjGZY3gpYz
No ectograph response.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAGLKkW01pAO
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 2:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAoDqHwvn8Nt
Video cameras find nothing.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAITsjvOpa2z
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAq25nncrYsK
Slight ectograph response.1033Please respect copyright.PENANALyetVwhiR0
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAH3lg2qpn1L
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAZXQVbHtU5H
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAShEqIh5uJf
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAaRmvjHj0mX
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAeVcVSd9itU
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1033Please respect copyright.PENANACXXhphen9A
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 4:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAo8yfYnm2Eo
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAMeOm1jFlXk
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1033Please respect copyright.PENANADMLDhNlOEa
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA2VfRzzvJPm
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAxYdLicVmAW
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA4FCqHrcBlW
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1033Please respect copyright.PENANAEdpG2xBIfS
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAF5eddC2E3h
Audio records many casual conversations.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAqTGpit1p8c
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAoEiV4Z0lGH
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA6c9ualiQYr
No ghost activity was found at all.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAjSTboGwv3E
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAikoU2fQsX1
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAbq4ZXEZM4Y
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAO5yeKyZWWD
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAAsgAYeqk02
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1033Please respect copyright.PENANA8WNlnNjfws
Went up the hill1033Please respect copyright.PENANA4wNQYW5AHH
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAKK66djOIpK
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1033Please respect copyright.PENANADMpAodsOrZ
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAIpjNTVrz8a
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAWLyIzVUzMv
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAh3HUNlqGtt
Tonight is different.1033Please respect copyright.PENANARc6U3TBPKb
He has nothing left to give to the well.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAdg8EDJCa3R
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAeiaRjGQyMG
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANARef2aHzLBq
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAlJOnNODXVn
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1pjK2RUAiy
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1BECDwAtMT
He wants it. He needs it.1033Please respect copyright.PENANASK8YpffAOy
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAxmIMCdyc2D
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1zC853O5A1
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAROz7clK2Du
"Go get 'em, tiger."1033Please respect copyright.PENANAD4gPi8ZUKx
And so a door closes, another opens.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAxTOngHSU2K
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1033Please respect copyright.PENANADrKjtGpEa5
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAjXBaX5XgbB
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAuD0bcA1zfC
He grasps it.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA1HlC3zoNqx
"Ready?"1033Please respect copyright.PENANAmlrAbFI2VB
The person answers. "Ready."1033Please respect copyright.PENANApySOfdKaNo
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA6UW6xPoRH5
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA6A570anjCx
Silence.1033Please respect copyright.PENANAyEigwBauRd
Everything stops.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA0a0LG0tixd
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1033Please respect copyright.PENANA40H4d7H8hK
I wish…1033Please respect copyright.PENANAdesgWdtlht
I wish…1033Please respect copyright.PENANA095732lLZx
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1033Please respect copyright.PENANAhKHHSsYsIw
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.1033Please respect copyright.PENANANbFZu2fXNa
-chalkboard stories-1033Please respect copyright.PENANAKtIjm7LtPa
its only an enigma1033Please respect copyright.PENANAeqwjoelcxW
if you want it to be