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,823Please respect copyright.PENANAZpoLbjiA9q
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,823Please respect copyright.PENANAntp7fZLPTr
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,823Please respect copyright.PENANAGlM6q51dI8
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAhLtQ0HlOt1
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAd3X5AGpjJG
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAHdh2T6fJYI
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.823Please respect copyright.PENANAeILm2WOSVH
"Okay then. First letter."823Please respect copyright.PENANATLCxsvn42R
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANA24U8nLHXxF
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.823Please respect copyright.PENANA7Kq5CPsRqR
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAUmDb2CZd8s
"No, what the hell, May?"823Please respect copyright.PENANAk3imMV8aMk
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAFLS7f2eY5M
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAN4pGqvBGvf
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.823Please respect copyright.PENANAKEdGBEbBtC
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."823Please respect copyright.PENANAPybJhFE9kD
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.823Please respect copyright.PENANAxTfFrLiVBr
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAVdbSDWcRhp
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANArg7kjKfhlc
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!'823Please respect copyright.PENANAai6TJBs9dj
David sighs, and closes the book.823Please respect copyright.PENANAnezeROdoMu
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,823Please respect copyright.PENANACiL3KFy1og
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.823Please respect copyright.PENANAqqU0MuM8H5
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.823Please respect copyright.PENANAMxrwYuSd2Q
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O823Please respect copyright.PENANAdDgIGMev5T
sample volume: 7325kL823Please respect copyright.PENANANhSAZBqo9r
hypothesis: i am alone823Please respect copyright.PENANAgXMCJNJwW4
method:823Please respect copyright.PENANAD7dPVXUgbx
-extract impurities823Please respect copyright.PENANAQhMByDbuTh
result: collected 109875L of impurities823Please respect copyright.PENANA2veSCScDyY
hypothesis disproven823Please respect copyright.PENANAt7fBFWx7AC
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here823Please respect copyright.PENANAsSgCmiodsP
method:823Please respect copyright.PENANAlW0wKSH3WE
-sift and sort impurities823Please respect copyright.PENANAagKFQvAyh5
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities823Please respect copyright.PENANAKWar1ppS6e
hypothesis disproven823Please respect copyright.PENANAaHPdw5dG4H
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist823Please respect copyright.PENANA4CPohKN52f
method:823Please respect copyright.PENANAZIgdyV3XFP
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities823Please respect copyright.PENANAjVMc7UhXAC
-place in flask823Please respect copyright.PENANAYQuDVlKga4
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAJGFIfFOB8x
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANA39skfa4I2b
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAOhKjC3C3aY
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAu9jJsaS5NF
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAfhTDB0IHT9
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAyBgtVXlhfn
-wait823Please respect copyright.PENANAUyLqrgLwwS
-until something magical happens823Please respect copyright.PENANAsvdOEkXhBd
result: i waited823Please respect copyright.PENANARpSl6l6PO1
result: i wanted823Please respect copyright.PENANAatH1zMnpmR
result: i failed823Please respect copyright.PENANA1sSbnDW87H
result: i hid823Please respect copyright.PENANAVfMOaTxDPj
result: i tried823Please respect copyright.PENANAZEUHq455pi
result: i searched823Please respect copyright.PENANA2A5d6F7n0W
result: i found823Please respect copyright.PENANA3rlSB2o6xp
result: i found something magical823Please respect copyright.PENANATMRBsLETQt
hypotheses disproven823Please respect copyright.PENANAK47DnILYG5
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,823Please respect copyright.PENANAShAb2b1wvR
Tuesday's child is full of grace,823Please respect copyright.PENANAPglOeTrSTC
Wednesday's child is full of woe,823Please respect copyright.PENANAoeBy2T27uM
Thursday's child has far to go,823Please respect copyright.PENANAjec3mL4St8
Friday's child is loving and giving,823Please respect copyright.PENANAgJd66z4i04
Saturday's child works hard for his living823Please respect copyright.PENANA32JTvHsgJi
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.823Please respect copyright.PENANAyJ0UwXHzJb
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"823Please respect copyright.PENANARhnsZUXC9Q
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-823Please respect copyright.PENANAQUtdlvonkl
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"823Please respect copyright.PENANA2myfSmYvQR
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-823Please respect copyright.PENANA3YEHj2kKUo
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."823Please respect copyright.PENANACjduZWHwnD
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-823Please respect copyright.PENANA6FhJ4jWVf8
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-823Please respect copyright.PENANAc0JPz2bcHw
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-823Please respect copyright.PENANAeckk1pdLNn
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 –823Please respect copyright.PENANAuBz4q8foig
"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."823Please respect copyright.PENANAZWV7GzQcVu
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.823Please respect copyright.PENANAFFdMAfk7aq
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.823Please respect copyright.PENANA6LTwmBWYOp
Carolyn823Please respect copyright.PENANAKJta0NpEuI
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.823Please respect copyright.PENANA9Y7HkIRh0v
"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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAdAcqGEe8bx
"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."823Please respect copyright.PENANALiKRluaPBC
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.823Please respect copyright.PENANAj9ZF5VloIM
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."823Please respect copyright.PENANAIX3aCQj2B1
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAoOG6lL4UK9
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAr5Hlirb7wt
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.823Please respect copyright.PENANA8jN7xPEPpX
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,823Please respect copyright.PENANAnP8LefuirH
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.823Please respect copyright.PENANAJwFLZEehWp
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAsh4o8PXotn
Why is this, experts ask?823Please respect copyright.PENANAZbV3DLSEn2
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?823Please respect copyright.PENANAor0NjN0hta
It was decided that a study must be conducted.823Please respect copyright.PENANAQOTefHPUDc
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.823Please respect copyright.PENANAtIpN6Z1YfL
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 1:823Please respect copyright.PENANAiLR1kgKNEE
Video cameras find nothing.823Please respect copyright.PENANAp1R8tl3VSk
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.823Please respect copyright.PENANAS5qrzDsLPS
No ectograph response.823Please respect copyright.PENANAqRfvnqNMGD
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 2:823Please respect copyright.PENANAeRWGhmEt8k
Video cameras find nothing.823Please respect copyright.PENANA0W0yLnHi31
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.823Please respect copyright.PENANAgxtTgcoN0g
Slight ectograph response.823Please respect copyright.PENANA4qlyqAiD1j
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.823Please respect copyright.PENANAB1ON4BlMIh
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.823Please respect copyright.PENANAX5wPb04Iv1
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:823Please respect copyright.PENANA2Q9OHhJdSg
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAGsQK2d2nrB
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.823Please respect copyright.PENANATYU9GkrVWv
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.823Please respect copyright.PENANANcImfm7nOV
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 4:823Please respect copyright.PENANA5zBz2TnnY4
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.823Please respect copyright.PENANA1wzpZOsVC0
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.823Please respect copyright.PENANAlRl4FIOcna
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.823Please respect copyright.PENANAgL9mh8sZcR
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.823Please respect copyright.PENANAwY73FrJR0F
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANA1QmWOq7R8r
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:823Please respect copyright.PENANA3EyNOGcnmx
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.823Please respect copyright.PENANAh1nFpL5doq
Audio records many casual conversations.823Please respect copyright.PENANA3muK7gw8oc
The repaired ectograph gives no response.823Please respect copyright.PENANAYMjGw2utDk
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAZPo5W37umC
No ghost activity was found at all.823Please respect copyright.PENANAKBxp3RoiTV
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAjnyegswHwv
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.823Please respect copyright.PENANAxn7geNutnq
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.823Please respect copyright.PENANA692QkbhRMo
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.823Please respect copyright.PENANA0L1Ig7Lvze
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill823Please respect copyright.PENANAKdgiAazYtc
Went up the hill823Please respect copyright.PENANA3FbVeveQ4N
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.823Please respect copyright.PENANAN2np9nwEgd
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.823Please respect copyright.PENANABBNA4RIG8Z
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAb7ANJmnZHU
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.823Please respect copyright.PENANAhthtX9Fypa
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAZzvwsqHr5a
Tonight is different.823Please respect copyright.PENANAU1ko28yJAd
He has nothing left to give to the well.823Please respect copyright.PENANAKvf7hY42QN
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.823Please respect copyright.PENANAnox8wKUsIv
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAK6kpvUnIKQ
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANA1kXkRUnrqg
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAHHFHyWn94h
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.823Please respect copyright.PENANArkOaxbMdYx
He wants it. He needs it.823Please respect copyright.PENANAWn0l89rhUI
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.823Please respect copyright.PENANAJ0clkLrmP1
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.823Please respect copyright.PENANAb2QV8ezbo4
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.823Please respect copyright.PENANA9qRl2JD1ms
"Go get 'em, tiger."823Please respect copyright.PENANAhGAuDxJNbf
And so a door closes, another opens.823Please respect copyright.PENANAsQ2nDBGMnA
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.823Please respect copyright.PENANAJNxLYZUCHM
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.823Please respect copyright.PENANAV7MzSKbVTZ
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.823Please respect copyright.PENANAKzqSv8JeGG
He grasps it.823Please respect copyright.PENANAfI8W4DDpYv
"Ready?"823Please respect copyright.PENANATYKktRryEN
The person answers. "Ready."823Please respect copyright.PENANANX55iVZfQI
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.823Please respect copyright.PENANAmHxCvQyy5n
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.823Please respect copyright.PENANArKIAL79TSG
Silence.823Please respect copyright.PENANAoZQgehUvY7
Everything stops.823Please respect copyright.PENANAdEzc8iZ8hp
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.823Please respect copyright.PENANAIcUW7qVdSo
I wish…823Please respect copyright.PENANATn8JMbZuUQ
I wish…823Please respect copyright.PENANAEGUl7CDv6S
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,823Please respect copyright.PENANAm6pS68lDH5
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.823Please respect copyright.PENANAVz25dPjDP0
-chalkboard stories-823Please respect copyright.PENANAZNGH92QQ04
its only an enigma823Please respect copyright.PENANArI7PKy9DV1
if you want it to be