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,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAcIwsBrAM
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGC2weLe83
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRiBVLOZ3aI
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWhbtLvsYB
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeGghtVL0Cf
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXop9EXcMe
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5pFxMrFJ8T
"Okay then. First letter."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSht3FHEOR
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf6ZAt2W104
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuok5xd7RLf
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5iDwbZnxV
"No, what the hell, May?"1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZ38KMtFAv
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNlBslcbFX
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gYMV5Sl4y
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xHHKZaCaY
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUpADv2tTcm
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIWKF2b4dJ
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrY9D76O1Jf
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRPN2e0hQeh
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!'1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ03hqLq2FE
David sighs, and closes the book.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcTIX7muuMW
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXE7nawfkW
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJC6HE3S9K
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3ijvZ6zBGO
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QgRY3Lbdx
sample volume: 7325kL1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHbeT7UyDa
hypothesis: i am alone1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVjumSmlgn
method:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqm9ByHx4Qq
-extract impurities1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0NgOop07V9
result: collected 109875L of impurities1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyVXrMgdys
hypothesis disproven1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWQ5DxugIuW
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpb7H1R49Jv
method:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4vjXXQYeMI
-sift and sort impurities1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡciNHO0qCkR
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhL19JaJDD
hypothesis disproven1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeMaEjGgSV7
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf5pEwos5Zi
method:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoupt1Q9zxO
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTDx3nOtKxB
-place in flask1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQTHC9g6i9
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡitXA3nixN1
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡghyhRpWcFA
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKhaT3rtUc
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg1GCi8hWMp
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oYuKEKWPj
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh01sZxO2vV
-wait1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZahinckih
-until something magical happens1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2X6tDCIptC
result: i waited1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXScIgiyz8t
result: i wanted1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFH8hjIqII
result: i failed1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWDyaBaXs0
result: i hid1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfEfRd6BJj
result: i tried1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEUnIX9YMkb
result: i searched1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJQ8jU3RNDp
result: i found1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJXNl6mHRke
result: i found something magical1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR5WUBTpqP4
hypotheses disproven1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBdpFSQScL
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3Qzarfd3i
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9hMyLBlY6
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4zCmQ3c7of
Thursday's child has far to go,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVitUu4PR47
Friday's child is loving and giving,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN6t059flKh
Saturday's child works hard for his living1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUDZ0aU3Q8
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZVmMQ4Hok
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXEY0TZPVy
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxd0ESiE2PL
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyBi4Y1Sh23
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJGsEl8gv9k
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKbzyeDB5b
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWUQ0e31i9W
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtmurF9KjY
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlkBIbHafBX
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 –1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYYRwL0xbY
"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."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvNb9Vu90u
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbOSHkjLBpF
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5DcAcP4dsq
Carolyn1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaHyXFgcN7u
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxU4QrhA4ab
"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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIEDg5LoIV
"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."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4l3MpgQ3yc
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Snaz01bbc
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡylcDOzDYB5
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDvsbQLahP
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT6JgUyFSNC
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhggrmai79
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhA7xGoxy8
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzobBxZdKp2
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrMaU4rPxpa
Why is this, experts ask?1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡturnXVAwpg
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ivpQZHHld
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ43dekh5Dr5
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZjtW5z0Fx
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 1:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2EBAIvKTG
Video cameras find nothing.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBcRQ8Lnqw
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWCqMuvi5M
No ectograph response.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZL4xYAR4Vv
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 2:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMI0w1xqT4Z
Video cameras find nothing.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfWJ1igVbW
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Yf8iYcar1
Slight ectograph response.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF9Fh6VJTmb
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡclBaeikpeH
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYUjzCBpo5
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIkXoTEgJlX
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVWoRiuGym
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN8FqPfJd2I
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOFaTvMB7W
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 4:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEorb8dAssI
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcpc3T9N1pT
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5fYX4C2Ji
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhouSx6Ey9
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnj40keb2b
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmFqfOb1SY4
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpWFwzZfBMZ
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7nlBr2oHDH
Audio records many casual conversations.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9mOsr0dPXz
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlluLFSS0NS
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1pEsMM7Vn
No ghost activity was found at all.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQ9pmJNVFZ
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8QJKktTO4a
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqPqnWqbSTy
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8W1B6auo0
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRq2LFb1H4
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1WolWye7S
Went up the hill1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH9xsY9jZnV
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1pTFJI7VyK
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6PL3jvmyuy
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbE69EyRU0L
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6RZ7F70Mh
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPUDEGfJpm
Tonight is different.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGMjqBLfOH9
He has nothing left to give to the well.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡglj9hYxOYq
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3IjpjTqqQU
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzUqmtka8z
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaeYcTAORYJ
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdklJrI1UUd
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfIsiaPhTC
He wants it. He needs it.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXPBHLEfRzu
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkw5oaAwlH
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡry8gkXzrGy
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtqXOmZmVJf
"Go get 'em, tiger."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFihwrhv8q
And so a door closes, another opens.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3Fp9VleI7
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6I769QAiA7
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHpKghAf55
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl8wNFgqPu9
He grasps it.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8IiXe98VRK
"Ready?"1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwct9fcfZRw
The person answers. "Ready."1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaVl2zNyaX
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVlsNvCF29H
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtrNTCcah88
Silence.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPs5W3E42t
Everything stops.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkxsawhd9XG
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9F8NeceAsO
I wish…1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspqhYF6jXU
I wish…1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLbRD5l7sf
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDanBLfn9K
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.1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFlGXgLBLoh
-chalkboard stories-1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAkeeNRW4K
its only an enigma1082Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZTeV3oFd6Z
if you want it to be
