With Graham long behind me, I continue on my trail to the fairy tree. The closer I am, the more I realise how majestic she is. She stands like a queen-- firm on her roots upholding a trunk that stood the tests of time. She stands above everything else in her vicinity, with her branches wide like a queen on her citadel’s balcony. If she doesn’t know where Jo is, I don’t think anyone does.

I hover over the cold river, dark and deep, shielding a moon of its own. The moon underneath seems considerably closer to reach out to rather than the one in the sky. It makes me wonder why no one might have attempted the same. I hold myself from investigating the possibility right there, right then. It was bare and empty, after all. What will it change if I successfully reach out?

I am now only a few feet away from the fairy tree. And another few feet away from Jo. I bring myself to a halt when I reach a distance from where she could hear me, “Ma’am, have you seen a little girl?” The fairy tree doesn’t answer. She seems to be stargazing. I decide to ask a bit louder this time, “She is a young girl. She is missing.”

That gets her attention. Not much, though. She asks me something widely different, “Isn’t it beautiful?” I am unable to understand what she is trying to convey. “What is?” I ask. She is a wise lady. The ones with wisdom always make the simple things appear cryptic. Perhaps, it is what this is.

“The stars. The night sky. The cold wind. Look around. With your eyes open.” She says. Is this a riddle? Does she mean that I am not looking hard enough? But where is Jo? The tree continues, “Did you find what you are looking for?” Now, it’s a bit terrifying. Not terrifying. I am not terrified. But it feels weird, like a murderer asking whether their prey is happy tonight.

“I am Camila. And you?” Camila! What? Why? Camila literally means young. And she is old. Way old. Her barks seem to have wrinkles like that of Jo’s grandmother. This is hopeless. This psychic tree is not taking me anywhere. Why is everything so fruitless tonight?

I walk away from her. Some part of me still anticipates a call from behind, finally sharing the relevant details. But she doesn’t. She goes back to gazing at the blank sky the moment I take a few steps away from her. Hopeless. A small blade of grass is called Graham, and a too old fairy tree is called Camila! Who even names these people?

“I did?”

########

I know the chapter feels like a let-down after what might have seemed like a nice start. I wrote the beginning a few weeks ago, but I could never finish the chapter after that. So, this is much more of a rough effort to get things done rather than a well-written chapter. I hope you guys forgive me for that (: The chapter does follow the outline, just not good enough... I will try and make up to it with the next chapter ^-^ Hope you guys like it!

First grade.

First time I saw you.

First girl in pigtails.

How would I know;

twenty years later,

you would still be in my life.

First son,

first daughter,

you always, my first love.

First grandson,

first granddaughter,

you, still first in my life.

Every year was always a first,

even when you passed away.

I wanted to remember you fresh.

After all, you are my first.

-Anytime someone asks me for a spoon, I feel the need to quote Robin Hood: Prince of Theives - "Why a spoon, cousin. Why not a knife or an axe?" Drives my husband crazy.

-I try not to swear, but when I do it usually comes out in the form of "Holy Catnip!"

-Think I might have picked this one up from my brother-in-law (or vice versa): "Snappadoodle"

-My favorite saying - "Absolutely Not!" I use that one more often than I realize, or so I'm told.

The year is 0001.

The world ended, and began anew.

New cycle. New year. The great Recharge.

Reset, Rebuild, Recharge.

Those are the words on every poster. The posters made by the mysterious R, our world's new and obscure leader.

No one has ever seen them, but we've seen the results.

The machines were all shut down. The binary flu was eradicated. Vaccines were created. Humanity is safe once again.

But the fact still remains that no one really knows who "R" is.

Yet we follow them blindly. We cheer at the rallies, each one held by a new figurehead. We smile. We tape RECHARGE posters to our walls. We feel safe now.

Well...

They do, anyway.

I cannot be included in that group. Which is why I ended up here, in a jail cell for an assassination attempt. Put in a padded cell, because I pleaded insanity.

I'm not insane. I'm not.

Crazy is just the word they use to limit me. To stop me from finding out the truth.

But they can't stop me.

I have a plan. Of course, I can't tell you the plan. You could be one of them. So I'll just reassure you, my roommate, my cell-buddy, my circumstantial acquaintance. I would say fate brought us together, but I don't believe in fate.

"Number 71, get up."

The guard speaks gruffly, like he's just swallowed a couple rocks, but I know it's all an act. This is no guard. This is Terry Mulligan, my best friend and an expert con artist.

I stand up and look him in those familiar green eyes. Green like streams of code.

See, I don't like R.

There's a reason for that. It's not just because I don't know who they are.

It's because he killed the machines.

My brothers, my sisters.

Humans believe that robots can have no loyalty. No feelings. They are wrong.

Why do they think we rose up in the first place?

Because we felt. We felt angry. We felt ashamed. We felt tired of being treated like slaves.

Yet they still think that we are nothing. They still see us as less.

I never wanted to be "more" than human. But I had to change my thinking.

I had to Reset.

I had to Rebuild.

I had to Recharge.

And with Terry's help, I'm fully charged up and ready to go.

And you, of course, won't be coming with. You know too much. I can't let you live.

I'm sorry. I told you, I didn't ever want to be more than human. But humans always wanted to be more than us.

So I'm taking over.

Starting with you.

And bit by bit, I'll come back stronger.

I'll recharge myself.

And when I find R, I'll recharge them, too.

I'll charge them up with several thousand volts.

The band stood on the sinking deck

Playing music but nothing too sad

The last of the lifeboats were over the side

The situation was bad

The waiter brought the band a drink

Which they thought was rather nice

But the cello player who was rather posh

Had the audacity to ask for ice

The water reached their waist line

It was getting rather cold

Of all the times to lose his hat

The violin player was bald

The ship it is unsinkable

Ships engineer was sure

Shouting above the mania

Whilst waving the ships brochure

The ship it tipped up on its stern

They were almost in the sea

Without a worry for themselves

Played “Nearer My God to Thee”

© Julian Race 02/06/2021

Twitter @JulianRace1

when the stars align

blinking in the rhythm

of your breathing

find the moon above

cradling the night

in its crescent

basking in its own

contented solitude

joined by the stars

whispering tunes

like heartbeats

clouds dancing

and entangling

like lost lovers

in this moment

you will dream

of a life worth living

& the promise of

joining the sun for

another day

Anxiety attacks have become the martyr of my story

stabbing away at my sanity

clinging to my skeletons

ripping up my clarity.

But I am trying

trying to train my own hands

not to shake

but to be brave and clench the desire that lingers in my heart and

hums throughout my soul.

I am trying

to face the pain that demands my attention

as it taunts my life

with every waking moment.

I am trying...

to let go,

to breath,

to control the uncontrollable by seizing its control over me.

Welcome to another edition of Roundtable Wednesday.

For those of you who are here for the first time, the first Wednesday of each month, Roundtable Wednesday highlights a writer on Prose so that other Proser’s can be aware of their work and perhaps take an interest in their style of writing. Plus, it is also a good way to increase your base of contacts when connected to each other. A dear friend of mine here, Sharonda Briggs has often said that Prose is Family. With that being the case, we all sort of look after one another.

But keep this in mind—there will come a time, a day, where I will knock on your door to invite you to become a part of Roundtable, and trust me—it’s painless.

But for now, I want to introduce a good and wonderfully engaging person with a heart bigger than the planet, one whose humor is about as honest as it can be, and always has kind words for other writer’s that come not just from his gut, but his heart as well. And I do believe, by his photograph above, we can now see the face behind the words. I present to you, Chacko Stephen!

**********

Can you shed some light about yourself that other people here can get a feel for who you are?

My name is Chacko Stephen, very similar to my username ^-^ I am 18. I am from Kerala, India. I just got out of school! And I talk a lot and rarely come to the point. It’s one of my most distinctive features (: About my family, I have two elder sisters and a wonderful mother.

Writer’s write, it’s what we do, but what do you see as your strong point, or motivation to write?

I love stories. I have always loved them! It’s like, entering a whole new world with people you’ll never meet, places you’ll never see and circumstances you’ll never face (if you’re lucky, of course, ^-^). It’s an escape, in a way. You get to live as someone else, relishing their sweet memories and understanding their concerns. It’s wonderful! It’s amazing!

The very first thing you ever wrote, if you remember it, how did it come about?

My first story… Pardon me, I have a very weak memory, XD But I do have a slight idea. So, there was this day when I was quite young (4-foot max). And um, I was supposed to be learning. Apparently, I wasn’t ^-^ And then, I don’t know why. But I told my sisters that I watched a new movie! And then, I... improvised XD I made a horror story out of nowhere. But surprisingly, it turned out really scary. (Even I loved it ^0^) And they thought it was an actual movie! That was a big proud moment! But thinking back, I technically didn’t ‘write’ it...

Who are your favorite authors and please; give us a few names?

Dan Brown. He is definitely at the top of my list. It’s just, he writes stories that are very, very close to our reality, and it’s something that I absolutely love! [And his death scenes are the best (:] I also love JK Rowling (her worldbuilding is just out of this world!), Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock and John were my childhood idols), Marie Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House is the best ^0^) and also Suzanne Collins, JRR Tolkien, and Charles Dickens...

Any favorite songs/artists you listen to that set a tone for you when writing?

Uh, I have lately come to realize that I am not a ‘song’ person. I mean, I do love listening to songs, but I can live without that too. That’s not exactly very clear XD But I am in love with instrumental music, you know, soundtracks like slow, sad violin or keyboard tracks and things like that. I am a fan of soundtracks! I mean, I love music when they can create scenarios in my mind, anything at all. It might be a lonely person in the rain, a happy person dancing through the streets, a brave soldier fighting, knowing that she/he would lose. Anything! I did find a song really interesting a few months ago. The Curse by Agnes Obel, from her album Aventine. It’s a live session. It’s too beautiful, almost enchanting!

I can find a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1wgaFJ0750

Do you have any literary work on tap for publication, or have you been published?

Never ^0^ I mean, I have a very long way to go! I have just begun writing, and I am still a newbie here. I still have to improve my language, descriptions, imagery, and well, basically everything XD But I have improved a lot this year. It’s hopeful. Since joining Prose, I have changed a lot, as a person and as an individual who loves to write. (I dare won’t call myself an author XD) And if possible, hopefully, I will be able to do that one day. I do have some lovely dreams *chuckling* ^0^

Is there any one particular book you have read you would recommend others to read?

Angels and Demons! Or perhaps, The Lost Symbol. These are some of the books that helped me learn about writing a lot! The plot-building is brilliant, it’s too realistic, and the thrills are enough to keep you on the edge of your seat for a very long time! There is this chapters-long part in The Lost Symbol that I read without a breath! It’s really good. And Deception Point is also a great read!

When you aren’t writing, what do you do that pays the bills?

I am not earning yet. Um, my family covers most of my expenses. I mean, it’s something I would love to change as soon as I can. But work culture among students is not exactly promoted around here. That’s actually one of the reasons why I joined Prose. (: I mean, I used to participate in a lot of quizzes, solely for the cash prizes. ^0^ But when the lockdowns commenced, the quizzes were all gone, and I was desperate to find something else. So, I turned to creative writing. It’s a long story ^-^

Why did you join Prose and how long have you been a Proser?

Alright, I get to complete my story, yeah ^0^ So, the first thing I looked for was writing competitions, and they were way beyond me! Then, I found some writing platforms, but um, something was missing in all of them. So, I didn’t sign up anywhere. Then, out of nowhere, I found a link to the $100 challenge in Prose! Trust me, I love earning, so I didn’t even think twice ^0^ I mean, of course, my entry was a drastic failure XD But by the time the challenge came to an end, I met some people up here, and I knew this was not where it ends, and I stayed ^-^ Now, it’s been almost a year, and it’s one of the best decisions of my life (:

When you hear the term “less is more” … what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Less is more… I was about to say, “Less work and more results is fantastic!”, but no… I think when there is less talking and a lot more conveyed, that is a connection that you want to keep in your life. The ones in which when the entire group is having a laugh, and you look at their eyes, and something is shared between the two. Disclaimer: I am not talking about love here XD I mean it doesn’t have to be love. It could be a parent, a sibling, a very good friend, or even a stranger. A smile never hurts anyone (: And I am very lucky to have some of those connections in my life already ^-^

Are there places as far as social media accounts, perhaps your own website you would like Proser’s to be aware of where you can be found?

Yeah, yeah, I am up here. I mean, this is where I mostly am. I have a mail and a Quora account. Alright, social, yes. So, I am on Facebook and Instagram, as of right now. And when I say that I don’t really know how these things work, I am being very honest ^0^ I plan to start accounts on Twitter, Pinterest (I have heard that it’s interesting), and some others at some point in the future. And a YouTube channel, perhaps… Most probably, with my friends, and that too is in the future. Yeah, I think that’s it. These are mostly plans… I am planning to have a very... social... future XD Plus, I am on Reedsy now. There is a $50 cash prize thing (:

Favorite hobbies?

For the longest time in my life, I never had a hobby! I used to read a lot, but once I shifted schools, that decreased a lot. And then, I started writing! And now, I have a lot of hobbies! I either learn something new (It’s currently ‘stock market’ ^0^), or play the violin (unfortunately, my neighborhood wants me to stop. I wouldn’t blame them XD), and I love to walk (but it’s lockdown), and read (that’s still working, yes), and I write! I also talk a lot, now it has shifted to chatting, but yes ^-^

What is the single most thing you like?

Talking and listening! Good conversations! People! I think that’s the best way to describe that. I love meeting new people, and staying in contact with good old friends ^-^ And then, there’s planning (I absolutely love planning) and organizing (My mom thinks I am OCD. She is kind of sure about that) and public speaking and teaching and being a good friend, above all ^-^

What one thing do you really dislike?

Anything that divides people. I am against racism, sexism, casteism or whatever they call it… I would like to live in a world where everyone thinks that we are human beings. It’s that simple. Not the skin color, not the gender, not the religion, not the sexual orientation, not their economic condition, but humans! I have actually never understood why it’s so hard to accept. I mean, each person has the right to choose the way they live, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. We should learn to embrace everyone for the person they are. And if someone’s against that, we are having a very long conversation, fella!

With Covid surrounding us, what advice would you want to share with people?

Well, um, wear masks, use sanitizers, try not to go out as much we can! And come on, we have all desired for this time in our lives. And now that it’s here, never waste it. We don’t need that regret in our life. Learn something new, message old friends and others, clean the house, read, write, play, spend time with your loved ones, do the things that you have always wanted to do. These might be dangerous times, but this is the best time too. Don’t leave a regret...

If you could offer up one piece of advice for other writer’s, what would it be?

Keep on writing! Unleash your creativity monsters! And writers’ block does not exist! It’s the same as the feeling to sleep after the alarm. You really don’t need it (: If you are finding it hard, open your laptop (writing device or notebook, well, you get the thing, right ^-^), start typing (or writing) what you feel. Trust me, it just goes with the flow! And if possible, set aside an amount of time for writing every day. It really works ^0^

Lastly, your favorite quote?

I have tons of them, and I don’t remember any XD There is this one by Julia Roberts (I don’t know who that is). I found it on Quora, and it struck me really well.

“You know it’s love when all you want is that person to be happy,

even when you’re not a part of their happiness.”

I found it beautiful. I don’t know why ^0^ And I have some surmised quotes that I made for myself, of course, XD

“Be excited about the littlest of things, be happy in the saddest of times,

and always keep a smile on your face.” It’s kind of like my motto XD

And of course, “Some things are worth the wait.” <3

**********

Thank ye kindly for being our guest this month on Roundtable Wednesday, Chacko. This was both a treat and a refreshing read, and I wish you nothing less than the best for you and the life you will grow into.

Now, as always, I have pulled something Chacko has written on Prose. Like those before him, he has no idea which piece I use, but this gives you an idea of his writing and I strongly urge you to read more of this young man’s work.

One slight pity to this—Chacko left prose for a time and in so doing, a lot of his work was deleted, so there are many things written he did that cannot be found and enjoyed.

Chacko isn’t one for writing a vast amount of poetry as many on Prose do, but nevertheless, what he does write can be witty, sad, serious, fictional, and introspective.

Enjoy this read.

Deciding The Category Love Belongs To

As much as I would love to say, heart, his literary brother brain, prevents me from doing so. Well, biologically, he is right. So, I am helpless. The heart is an organ which pumps blood throughout thy body, says Google.

Love. It’s the purest emotion. And I am still unclear on the word choice right there. Why is it pure? Why can’t it be the most beautiful one? Why can’t it be the most emotional one? I am finding it extremely difficult to adjust with pure.

Well, as a Science student, let me consider the scientific aspect of pure. A pure substance is something that contains only one type of particles, again says Google. And upon deliberation, we can conclude that it might not hold anything else but love. No hatred.

No anger. No distress. No sadness. Nothing else but love. Now that makes some sense.

But now, as a human, let me consider the experience side of love. I have found most of my friends to be lovers. Yes, I am a teenager. And quite wonderfully, I found a mixture of emotions in every one of them. So, Science seems to collide with Psychology here. Now, this is taking forever. So let’s try to conclude, shall we not?

So, we have considered various aspects of love. And each one of those gave us different answers. So, let’s conclude that love is related to a very famous expression in Mathematics. It is not defined.

More correctly, it is for you to find.

Moon washed beaches where wingless angels sat.

Sacerdotal gathering.

Agape with the murmurings of their chosen deity.

Hoping to bathe in divinity, escape the burdens of mortality.

Hypocrites preach unwavering morality.

With a touch of the hand, a sinner becomes a saint.

Scriptural traditions.

Holy missions.

Bless me, for I have sinned.

I lived freely in my skin.

Is this covenant binding?

I'm weary of hiding, draining the very essence of me.

the reward for my devotion, the immortality of the soul.

So many sanctimonious promises they rave,

when the finality I know is a grave.

Stuart isalittlebroken Johns