Watching the rain

The rain trickled down like steady beats on a drum. Joe stared out through the window, sipping a cup of coffee. The coffee mug was old, blue and had the words “Bee Gr8 today” on it with a cartoon bee flying by. The tan walls of his apartment were mostly bare save a decorative wall tapestry that he bought from china town last time he was in the city.

            Joe grimaced as he struggled through with a headache, he hoped watching the rain would help him relax. Next to the window was Joe’s work desk, a simple wooden desk with a laptop, a mess of papers and several empty cans of soda and beer. Next to the laptop was a picture of Joe’s girlfriend, Mercy, she had raven black hair, and dark eyes. She was the light of his life but on that day, it was raining.

            Joe hadn’t heard from Mercy in weeks, the anxiety and stress of life was rolled all up into a bundle with the worry he had for Mercy and that bundle nestled itself in the base of his skull in the form of a headache. After all the phone calls were made, email checked and alcohol consumed, the only thing left to do was to watch the rain and hope for the best.

            There weren’t any books with instructions on how to deal with worry and potential loss, Joe never learned anything about his situation from school, his parents never told him how to behave in times of crisis and stress. Joe had to improvise and travel unprepared at the trouble ahead. Like a traveler with no shoes, Joe was exposed and unprepared for a loved one to go missing. The possible outcome and scenarios would play over and over in his head. What if she was dead, lost, kidnapped or what if she just left him for another man and moved to a different city without telling anyone?

            To hear her voice again would be a mercy, a reprieve from the psychological torture that Joe put himself through. Joe would jump when he heard his phone ring and at every noise that sounded like the doorbell. He would see Mercy’s face in the faces of strangers as he walked through town and every time he smelled her perfume he felt a sting in his heart.

            The rain slowed to a stop the sun wasn’t out but the rain had stopped. Joe set his coffee cup down and let out an exhausted sigh. The doorbell rang and Joe’s heart skipped a beat. He looked up to at the door and waited. He had been tricked by the sound of the doorbell before and didn’t want to get his hopes up. The doorbell rang again. Joe wasn’t expecting anyone and while he felt silly for holding out hope, he hoped the person at the door was Mercy returning to him.

            Joe walked quickly to the door, his heart racing. He was so excited to answer the door and see Mercy standing there waiting for him. Then he remembered all the times he answered the door and it wasn’t her and so he tried to temper his excitement.

            Joe gripped the doorknob and turned it. He opened the door. “Mercy!”

The Window Tree

A gentle breeze blows in through the open window. The old-fashioned windowpane opened inward, it opened like a small door and the wind was causing the windowpane to tap gently against a kitchen chair. Small gusts of wind rustled the sheer silk curtain and caused the wooden windowpane to sway. The windowpane and the lining was painted white and the wall color resembled a cup of coffee with only a dab of cream in it.

 

            The window was part of an old, country house, it was well maintained but had been built over a hundred years ago. The land was peaceful and folks never locked their doors and on a nice night, would leave their windows open, windows free to sway in the breeze. The breeze rustled the curtains like leaves on a tree, the window pain swayed like branches and the cool spring air could be felt inside the house just as easily as it could outside. The wood that built the house and the wood from the window used to be a tree, multiple trees made up the house. Trees that all had a history of their own before being cut down and since the day that the trees were used to build a house, the wood of these trees gathered even more history. Time leaves its mark on everything in this world, alive or not. When the window was still a tree, it had one of its branches fall off in a storm. The Window tree was the home for a family of birds, a group of squirrels and more bugs than any human would care to think about. The tree had life of its own, but was also apart of the great web of life, woven together with all things.

 

            Now the tree is a window, this is not good or bad, it just is. The wood is not considered alive anymore but it still served a purpose within the woven web of life. The window had been built, painted, fixed, repainted, slammed shut and left open to blow in the wind. The window had a notch on the bottom corner where a young boy was testing how sharp his knife was. It was a little knife meant for whittling and cutting tangled fishing line and apparently also used for cutting a little slice into the wood of a window when no one was looking.

 

            A window doesn’t have memories and wood isn’t alive but the history of the house and the trees that came before it should give you pause. It is important to stop, even for just a moment, and think about where things came from and ponder the stories that a window or house might have ‘seen’.

 

            When going to an old house many people might think, “I wonder if anyone died here”. Instead it is important to ask yourself “Who lived here?”.

Joseph Stephens and the best Christmas Ever part 1

            It was the eve before Christmas and it had been raining all day, the air outside was chilly and the skies were all gray. Joseph Stephens was in his kitchen with cookies to bake and it had not snowed all day, not even a flake.

            Joseph Stephens’ house was lined with Christmas lights that sparkled and shined brightly out against the gray skies and dim light of day. The smell of pine trees and cookies added a comforting aroma to the air. Joseph and Jaye had been listening to Christmas music, relaxing, finishing up last minute gift-wrapping and cookie baking. Joseph noted that when Jaye was visiting he would run out of cookies ten times as quickly.

Joseph and Jaye sat on the floor next to the Christmas tree as they placed the last of their gifts under the tree “hey, so I was wondering…” Joseph started to say as he turned to his friend. Jaye was noticeably eating another cookie. Joseph wasn’t sure where that cookie even came from because the cookies they baked were in the kitchen and neither of them stood up in the last half hour. “Yeah?” Jaye asked with his mouth full of cookies. The pointed end of a star shaped cookie was sticking out of his mouth. Joseph chose to ignore that. “So, yeah I was just wondering if you heard from Old Man winter since you bashed him over the head last month” Joseph asked. Jaye slowed his chewing but didn’t stop. He had a thoughtful expression as he tried to remember. “Yeah, I think I remember him saying something about no snow for Christmas because he was annoyed with me” Jaye said. Joseph sighed. “Maybe I can talk to Old Man Winter tonight and see if he will make it snow for tomorrow. By the way do we have any more of those cookies left?” Joseph said. Just as Joseph asked, Jaye was in the middle of taking a cookie out of his pocket and was about to eat it. Joseph looked at him, then at the cookie. Jaye slowly moved the cookie to his mouth and then ate the whole thing in one bite. “No, we just ran out of cookies” Jaye said with a mouthful.

            Joseph stood up and went into the kitchen to get a snack. “If I cant have cookies maybe I will have some coffee or hot chocolate” Joseph called back as he rummaged through his cupboards. “Ooh! Whatever you make, make some for me too!” Jaye called into the Kitchen. After searching through the cupboards Joseph checked the refrigerator. When he opened the door to the fridge he spotted a pumpkin creamer left over from Autumn. “hey I found some pumpkin creamer, I think Patches left it here. Pumpkin is kind of a winter thing too right?” Joseph called into the living room. “yeah, Totes! Brew up some coffee and lets take a trip to flavor town” Jaye called back.

            Joseph started his coffee machine and looked at the bottle of pumpkin flavored creamer as he waited. He remembered trying it in the Fall and he remembered how fresh it tasted. It tasted like it was made with real cream, sugar, spices and fresh pumpkin. Only Patches would bring something like that with him. soon the coffee had finished brewing and Joseph poured two cups of coffee, both with pumpkin creamer.

            Joseph walked into the living room with two cups. He saw Jaye holding a cookie out, offering it to Joseph. “I just found this in the side pocket of my hoodie, do you want it?” Jaye said. Jaye was wearing a green hoodie and often kept food stored away in its large pockets. “it was in a plastic baggie, so don’t worry” Jaye added with a laugh.

            Joseph sat down and took the cookie “thanks man”. Joseph took a bite of his cookie and then washed it down with a swig of pumpkin coffee. As soon as the flavor hit his tongue his eyes lit up. The creamer tasted even better than he remembered. Joseph and Jaye both looked at each other and nodded with big smiles on their faces. “This stuff is magical!” Jaye said. “yeah man its so good!” replied Joseph.

Joseph looked at his tree and smiled, the lights sparkled so brightly with Orange, yellow and red lights. “Wait…didn’t we use Christmas lights?” Asked Joseph. “And weren’t the trees bare?” Asked Jaye. Joseph looked outside and saw that all of the trees that lost their leaves had returned but with their fall colors. Christmas lights and decorations still covered houses, trees and street lamps but everything had an autumn look and feel to it. “Its like an Autumn Christmas” Jaye said as he ran outside. “Maybe that creamer really was magical” Joseph said as he followed his friend outside.

            Outside the air smelled of woodsmoke, the ground was damp with fallen leaves and rain. the light rain sprinkled down on their heads. The trees were in full autumn colors, the lights were white, yellow, orange and red. The creamer made the two friends see autumn everywhere they went and they would see autumn colors until the magical effects wore off. “This is the best!” Jaye cheered. “this is great but I hope Christmas day looks like Christmas day. “Don’t worry! Winter will probably help us with that. I mean he cant stay mad forever right?” Jaye said with a laugh.

Joseph Stephens and the trouble with Winter

            Joseph Stephens sat in his car as snow gently fell to the ground. The car was running and Christmas music was playing on the radio. Joseph was waiting in a parking lot alone, just him and a bag of fast food. Joseph peeled back the paper on a large burger and took a bite.  The taste sensation that filled his mouth was extraordinary, the savory flavor of meat and cheese mixed with the sweet flavors of ketchup and pickle. After one bite Joseph knew he was a changed man. He took another bite, then another, each bite as wonderful as the last. Joseph looked through his frosted driver side window and saw Jaye Williams walking toward the car. Joseph was waiting for Jaye and wanted to get out of the car and greet his friend but the burger called to him. Joseph took another bite. It was impossible to resist. The burger was so good that Joseph felt compelled to eat it, the same way someone wouldn’t be able to stop kissing someone they loved. The two lovebirds knew they would have to depart but every kiss felt like fireworks and ‘just one more kiss’ was never enough.

            Jaye knocked on Joseph’s window and Joseph turned to see his friend and then waved. Joseph unlocked the passenger door and Jaye climbed into the car. Joseph had ketchup on his face, empty burger wrappers in his car and a feeling of shame in his soul. “So what is up my homie?” Jaye said, making sure to enunciate each word. Joseph started the car. “Not much man, just waiting for you” Joseph said hoping that Jaye wouldn’t ask him about his burger experience. “Sorry it took so long, you’d be surprised how many weird looks I got when I asked for Christmas clothes for my hamster. At least I was able to find the decoration we needed” Jaye replied. Joseph and Jaye almost never spent the holidays together but due to a strange stroke of luck they had been able to spend both thanksgiving and now Christmas together. “Sweet Turduckin Christmas this is gonna be the best Christmas ever!” Joseph said as he backed out of his parking spot and drove off.

            Jaye was staying with Joseph for the holidays and they both decided to go all out and decorate like madmen with a mission. As soon as they arrived at Joseph’s house they set to work hanging Christmas lights and making eggnog, which is the second best nogg just behind Pumpkin nogg. While Joseph was trying to balance on the later Jaye did his best to steady the ladder, that was until Jaye got bored and they began banging the ladder with a hammer because it sounded funny. “H-hey, how about some eggnog. You should go make some” Joseph called down. “You sure you don’t need help out here?” Jaye said sincerely. “yeah, I am fine. You go on and start the nogg a’brewin’ “ Joseph replied as he did his best not to fall off ladder.

            Jaye went inside to make Eggnogg. As Joseph was working on string up lights a hard wind blew and shook the ladder. Joseph clung to the roof as the ladder shook under the force of the wind and was eventually swept away. Joseph fell but grabbed onto the rain gutters just in time. The rain gutters cracked and Joseph lost his grip and fell two floors to the ground. Just before impact a winter wind grabbed Joseph and gently set him down. Before Joseph could say “what was that” a well-groomed blue and white skinned gentleman appeared out of nowhere. He wore a large coat, had a white beard, blue and white skin, black eyes, dark blue winter boots and a stylish winter hat. “Old man winter?” Joseph said sounding skeptical. “That’s right my boy! Winter is here for another wonderful season!” Winter cheered then put his arm up in the air to emphasize excitement. “What happened to you? Usually you are cranky and have anger problems also you drink in excess and chase off Autumn. Autumn actually left town a little early just so he wouldn’t have to fight with you like that one time you and he fought so hard half of the city almost was destroyed” Joseph told Winter. Winter let out an old man chuckle as he remembered the good times. “Oh ho ho, yes indeed I remember that. I am pleased to say I have given up booze and have been working on my temper. I am a new winter” Winter said with a smile.

            As Joseph was talking to Winter Jaye came rushing out of the house. “Old man winter! I am tired of your shenanigans!! Feel my wrath!” Jaye shouted and then swung a sledgehammer down and smashed Winter over the head with it. At that very moment Jaye remembered that Winter was immortal and probably wouldn’t be knocked out even by a sledgehammer, the searing pain made Winter instantly enraged and Joseph wondered how Jaye was able to get into the tool shed and find his sledgehammer.

            Winter screamed in pain and then took a deep breath in and blew out as hard as he could. The full force of winter winds was aimed at Jaye and Jaye was thrown backward. He sailed through the air half frozen and immediately regretting his decision. Joseph jumped in front of Winter “Its ok Winter, remember your progress? Ok? Also remember you weren’t always the nicest guy and Jaye didn’t know you were working on being a better person” Joseph said. Winter started to calm down but was still angry “Yes, you are right. I will leave though, I can’t risk being set off again by your friend” Winter said as he barely contained his rage. A cold wind blew over the area and Old man Winter was gone. After he disappeared snow began to fall from the sky, but only over Joseph’s house.

            Joseph looked over at Jaye who was upside down, half frozen and stuck in a tree. Jaye smiled and gave a thumps up. Joseph nodded and then sighed. Joseph helped Jaye out of the tree and into the house. The two friends then made some hot chocolate and sat in front of the fireplace to get warm. The fire crackled and the two friends sat in silence.

            Jaye finally spoke up. “Ever think…” Jaye was about to say but then Joseph interrupted. “…How hard it is to balance life, work and relationships? How after a while you see time, emotional energy and physical energy as commodities or currency like money, something to save up, spend and budget? How, no matter how much you yearn for the past you can never recapture it? Yeah I feel like that too” Joseph said all in one breath. He replied in day dreaming voice as if he was just airing out his thoughts and not actually talking to Jaye. “Uhh..What?” Jaye said finally. “what?’ Joseph said as he snapped back into reality. They both stared at each other with quizzical expressions. “What was that thing you just said?” Asked Jaye. “Oh, sorry, I was thinking about a hamburger I had today” Joseph replied.

            The two friends sat in silence for a while. Then Jaye looked outside to see it was still snowing “Want to build a snow fort?” Jaye asked. “yes, I really do” Replied Joseph. The two friends always preferred Autumn and missed it dearly but winter had its own good side and despite all of the trouble with Winter, Joseph Stephens and Jaye Williams were determined to have a great holiday season together.

Joseph Stephens and Winter's fury

            Joseph Stephens sat in his house shivering. It seemed like an eternity since his good friend Pumpkin Patches left and winter came along.

Old man winter was an unpredictable fellow, coming on strong and inviting himself in and lazily lingering into months that didn’t even belong to him. He was a jolly fellow in the holiday season but by January he was more like the drunk uncle that wont leave your house after a Christmas party. Joseph Stephens knew all too well, both the drunk uncle AND the persistence of Old man winter. “Isn’t it time for spring? It is march after all” Joseph said as he shivered. Winter was asleep in the rocking chair using his blue robe and slippers. His long white hair ran down to the floor and tangled into the rocker as it went back and forth. “Oh yes, I should be going. Just another five minutes” Said Old Winter.

            Outside of Joseph’s house was a timid little bunny. “E-excuse me. I think Easter is approaching and I-it should be nice and green for the spring.” Said the little furry brown bunny. Spring tail the rabbit was basically a talking rabbit that made flowers grow, but every time he tried to revive the flowers Old Man Winter’s cold air breath would make the flowers retreat back into the ground. As winter slept cold air would escape from his mouth as he exhaled. Spring would never arrive if the silly old king of winter stayed.

            “Ok, Winter wake up!” Joseph said jostling the old King of the snow and ice. “Who DARES?!” Shouted Old man winter. He stood up quickly and cold air blew in every direction. Cold air followed Old man Winter, when he slept it was chilly, when he was awake it snowed, when he was angry it made blizzards. Snow began falling inside and outside of Joseph’s already drafty home. “I will go where I please and when I please!” Said Winter as his voice became that of the howling wind. His appearance changed from that of a sleepy old man to an enraged Wizard who had power of the elements. Springtail the Bunny retreated into a hole under Joseph’s house. If Spring wasn’t going to stand up to winter, Joseph would have to. “That’s ENOUGH!” Joseph said and he pushed Winter with all of his might. Old man winter stumbled backward and hit his back against the wall. This jolt brought him back to his senses. “Oh…I am sorry Joey. I didn’t mean to lose my temper again. It is good of you to let me stay at your house. I-I should leave” Winter said sounding ashamed and a little dazed. “tell Spring I said goodbye and I’m sorry” Winter added as he collected his things and put on his fuzzy blue winter hat. A knitted hat that said “Winter #1” on it.

            “I will, goodbye and sorry for shoving you” Joseph said, though he wasn’t really sorry. It was just better to stay on friendly terms with the seasons because they come back every year.

            A rush of wind blew through the house and then went out the window, taking Old Man Winter and all of the snow with it. “You can come out now” Joseph said. Spring Bunny poked his head out cautiously. “R-really? Thank you Mr.Stephens” Said Springtail. “Don’t mention it. go do your thing and spread the Spring season. And maybe try to be a little braver around Winter” Joseph replied. Springtail nodded and smiled. Then hopped off. Green grass and flowers sprung up behind the magical little rabbit, then a warm breeze blew through the town. The smell of freshly grown flowers and rain floated through the air. Joseph smiled, took off his sweater and went inside. It was finally spring, he would enjoy the pleasant rain, the cool breeze and the sunshine while he waited for his chance to see Pumpkin Patch again in the Fall.

Nathan and the Haunted Forest (Part 1 of 2)

            In the land of autumn and maple lived two young men. Stephen the goat farmer and Nathan the candy maker. These two were the best of friends and enjoyed their lives in the ever-lasting beauty of the autumn forest.

            One night while Nathan was closing up his store he spotted a piece of candy on the ground. “I don’t remember dropping this” he said. He picked up the candy, unwrapped it and ate it. The flavor was magical to say the least. It was some kind of super refined maple candy and was better than anything he had ever made or tasted in his life. His eyes went wide and he looked around to see if there were anymore. It was strange because he was the only candy maker for miles, so it must have come from a traveler and dropped out of a bag.

            To Nathan’s excitement he spotted another candy. “Sweetnesss!” He cheered and pounced onto the next piece of candy with cat like agility and excitement. Normally Nathan and Stephen would tell eachother about everything, especially if it was amazing mysterious candy, but Nathan was distracted as he kept finding more pieces and ended up following a trail. If he stopped for even a moment he would have realized the candy was set up as a perfect trail that was leading him right into the haunted forest.

            This forest was dangerous to everyone and people from the autumn forest would only travel through the Haunted forest in groups and it was only one night a year, Halloween. On the other side of the Haunted forest was a joyous land were it looked like Halloween every day! The town was called Hallows end and had the biggest and best parties every year.

            It might have been October, but Halloween was a few weeks away. So the Haunted forest was dark and didn’t have any guides or lights posted through it. Nathan followed the trail of delicious candy very intently, then the candy trail ended abruptly. Nathan frowned as he chewed a mouthful of Maple candy. No longer fixated on candy, he had time to look around. He realized immediately that he had walked right into the haunted forest and the exit was nowhere in sight.

            Nathan let out a long sad sigh as he continued to eat the candy he had collected. Before Nathan could have time to ponder his fate a freezing cold wind blew through him and a large shadow moved quickly through the air. It moved like a giant bird but made the rustling sounds of a cloak in the wind. Then within a blink of an eye the Grim Reaper floated in front of Nathan. Death guided the dead to the after life and generally looked really cool with his skull face and flowing black cloak and hood.

            “Are you here you here to kill me?” Nathan asked as he winced, making a face like he was about to be punched. “No…to use your terms. It is not, how I roll” Death said, its voice was deep and echoed through the air. Every word it spoke gave Nathan chills. “I’ve never said tha-“ Nathan started to say. Death put a single bone finger up to his mouth “Shhhh-Shuh-shuh-shuh“ Death shushed. Nathan stopped talking. He didn’t think this is how an interaction with death would go.

“How do I put this, I am just waiting for you to die. It saves time to follow you around” The Grim Reaper said. “I do not want to scare anyone away or make monsters think I am guarding you, so I will disappear for now but will remain close. Just give a bone chilling scream when you’re about to die” Death said then disappeared.

Nathan walked through the Haunted forest on high alert. He wasn’t about to let anyone get the jump on him. The forest was full of black and dark gray leafless trees. They were all twisted and looked ancient. When a cold wind blew the branches would sway and creak. Leaves rustled on the ground making it sound like someone was always behind Nathan and wolves, owls and crickets called into the night.

Nathan walked and walked until his feet began to hurt. Just as he grew too tired to walk anymore he noticed a small cottage up ahead. It was brick, with wood smoke drifting gently out of the chimney and warm lighting coming from the windows. The cottage was decorated with flowers and looked like the most inviting place in the whole world. “Hot-dog! Everything is coming up Nathan!” Nathan said then ran up to the house and knocked on the door. He hoped that if there was someone living in this forest than maybe they knew a way out.

A kindly old man and woman answered the door. “Hello?” the woman said with a sweet voice. She reminded Nathan of his grandmother back home and felt more at ease the more time he spent talking to her. “Hello, I am lost in this forest. Do you know the way out of here?” Nathan asked. The elderly man nodded and smiled.

“Oh yes, my husband seems to know. But you look so tired. Why don’t you come inside and rest while my husband gives you directions” The old woman said. Nathan was skeptical and had already walked into big enough trouble. “I really…better be going” Nathan said hesitantly. The old woman noticed candy wrappers by Nathan’s feet. “Do you like maple candy? I got a whole bag down in the basement for storage!” The old woman said. Nathan’s eyes lit up. “Oh you do?! I’ve been eating this mysterious maple candy and have been trying to find its source” Nathan said with a smile as the old couple led him into the house.

“Oh well my husband does all the shopping, but I am sure he would be happy to tell you. He does so love to talk and tell his stories…” the old woman said as Nathan and the old man went inside the house. The woman gave a quick look back and forth and then went inside the house, slamming the door shut.

The next sound that could be heard was the door locking….