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,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1qhYD7dWy
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHY7pKRp9gX
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIZRzg3iI7X
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0UH6A0oR5J
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pt5fTxYjb
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsIN8ZJ7803
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrJqwwWyxJ8
"Okay then. First letter."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYVZxFa9XYn
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHduHRi1B05
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pevbBxZoM
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbU5bLqbVSf
"No, what the hell, May?"1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvtfRFi1DkK
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcflehzsJdA
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡloDLvhRHPi
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDDF05UJUR
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg6FtBStGNw
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJBK9BubeTz
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7ek5jz2lQ9
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPeGDuxUds
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!'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvVplf6mLR
David sighs, and closes the book.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzsBXu2crAN
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4CX7GTBQx
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwqMUMbhhc
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamhIv2dsEr
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcFq0awkyIw
sample volume: 7325kL1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFiA5D3lU8
hypothesis: i am alone1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Dauvk9VzY
method:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDC4pdnndEE
-extract impurities1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoDFg4T84m
result: collected 109875L of impurities1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDW5WvLe0fj
hypothesis disproven1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiD9h6g5oQZ
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8g734GyR1
method:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ozetDaMzH
-sift and sort impurities1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutmDKIR5Vq
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWm3HWgYkYB
hypothesis disproven1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTpZBZpnPvO
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlAg4OeoVWR
method:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoHdtMC6QUG
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBAZNOzV67h
-place in flask1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqsdiOjysP
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfnCulywto
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kj1Wed9rb
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHSTr6DooUi
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQy2d66s1Pz
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLv9Vz2PEdk
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwO8d3F4BC
-wait1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG5b5tbakFH
-until something magical happens1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODsSRo0onz
result: i waited1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2u3u3b9bAT
result: i wanted1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkomLmqGI7L
result: i failed1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadQiZvIe58
result: i hid1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqCXRJbdajS
result: i tried1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBH2vkf9llc
result: i searched1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAOyBSMfvh
result: i found1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4O9L432MSW
result: i found something magical1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4klAHSBds
hypotheses disproven1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYHJIXIRBtD
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpC9RmtZ5e
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OeZys6Pnl
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSamIukKgj
Thursday's child has far to go,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaWs9N07REk
Friday's child is loving and giving,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzAgocvmXtJ
Saturday's child works hard for his living1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOkGrS8k2H
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygOBrONy20
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH5XtBmFadi
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeaUmrow7QT
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc2aewqe6J6
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡos9gSLl1CO
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA21LxrZLfw
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXdoiXAt04D
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ068Z2puqTJ
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiexUj9Bp3u
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 –1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzwwhHvF1Uk
"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."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpfubASuBIb
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHpOKKPW8WL
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EJU8hMRqO
Carolyn1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSVA7gYuOIZ
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaPQ8LPRue
"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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTdU016oMT
"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."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPGG4n7MLE
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WyY9zRRrB
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CRxajr99o
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu8zDbk8U53
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqAm4UJTBV9
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCT4NrLsG3
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxTHa4TAM6y
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Kk98EapLF
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJHNbwAAQQ
Why is this, experts ask?1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NYHk9M5H7
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡafvUQkooM9
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeBDaMNG8o5
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgDKHTyxkU
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 1:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACurlrp20G
Video cameras find nothing.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNDM7UOCwJ
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwbBxjM1Gl
No ectograph response.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSU0iddEu0N
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 2:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9i8w2qmFM
Video cameras find nothing.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT5CwZBBBUQ
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdLy3xgRuUQ
Slight ectograph response.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpN0xssNUrs
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQeQLw56kpo
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsTu8JQKHfk
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojP9VqoArD
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpQoY7FVPq
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5RgR6ANlc5
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8HBwJe27b
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 4:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc4UF6GHAA9
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8yIN9XROT
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtNGal2HIsl
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqk7UyxZHAH
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwI1Yzt5OR
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX1Ne8YbXs
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfyEum1Lwys
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5D7r3VOlK6
Audio records many casual conversations.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZwI2DKuq4
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk8lxxSfRn
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP1Ia9XcD31
No ghost activity was found at all.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2jJd4FbAn
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyWSbAZtkP
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjq3QEfhuc
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgTvEn1kik
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ23GyQBBIr5
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmynQJRGxA
Went up the hill1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ZgCxvt0dc
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DDPU3YcfW
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYmly5VfeJc
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsPA6UVwMue
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡocssRqSknC
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJgEnelo8h
Tonight is different.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3UwWh7ZRnX
He has nothing left to give to the well.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVybwNF6gE
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlBjXHEOeu2
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlLpzBIfSUP
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CDV7FTgzh
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡARegSfDocx
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFjMirBp1G
He wants it. He needs it.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnq5gbTzdGR
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkV1p6NyCWQ
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7G6FR7sQW
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIQhlUQOTW
"Go get 'em, tiger."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeuBW75ez4
And so a door closes, another opens.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtuHKSXrOv
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiRtmCX5qm
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ970FUfeNta
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQg8wkwF03
He grasps it.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoYK9KMZ5hJ
"Ready?"1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogs47tWc9V
The person answers. "Ready."1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVblXEa5dqK
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb1uoGmnk8F
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhkeeGOvdh
Silence.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMznkElJSUn
Everything stops.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFnDShvQU4A
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF6nk914pVS
I wish…1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIJVUKrGnq
I wish…1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4fellu4ae
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBOjd55vgUi
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡry1CyUtYon
-chalkboard stories-1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR0a6UdvwC
its only an enigma1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSMLcreHQ2
if you want it to be
