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,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx9ATzCTZJR
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlpyZW3a8e
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg4yhHeV4YZ
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLjBRKQBfGs
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr2GnM6Bo3Z
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKmOqbncqur
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJasjoS5XxD
"Okay then. First letter."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT7BtklsZK4
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKPoa3phymd
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1zMpHFCEOL
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgolkF8UXh4
"No, what the hell, May?"1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnP7gbEHcBR
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjuerJoxxZ
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWzZAvYcyWK
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ29sb1CHxKH
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToxATVDrnm
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKKnsHPKjn
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFbgUvIAHgA
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrpqHeo2M4N
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!'1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWT9oqxK91U
David sighs, and closes the book.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwY82DLw1Y
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvikc4wclE6
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6OVsvkFChb
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlo9M0f0Rq1
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWYEvGSYwqd
sample volume: 7325kL1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7Ny3eE7a9
hypothesis: i am alone1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRvPzBq3JD
method:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yMt5JbPqI
-extract impurities1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDYTPWeleLf
result: collected 109875L of impurities1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bktpVbi22
hypothesis disproven1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ68QXj0RLB
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFk1soicITK
method:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsu7gAQkhfw
-sift and sort impurities1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfuf9NW0s5z
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXrv3dIrei
hypothesis disproven1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe2YiZ1WrQM
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXHBJ5Y1p2
method:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPvZTxODDwB
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxpX5OxwIj
-place in flask1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDWWddnpDh
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6yWCR3ter
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCeNHmIfOoI
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2PLXeg5TM1
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZB9Whmi76
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsD8LhQ80y
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mrmTy02hL
-wait1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpg4pCvm39T
-until something magical happens1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZ2YaEXXyg
result: i waited1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnE5ezb1iuT
result: i wanted1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCbNbirhHNU
result: i failed1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvqWgfNg1O
result: i hid1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHk0SHIRI21
result: i tried1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoSeifkJSK
result: i searched1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMzzVXCx7R
result: i found1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHeZmRQQVfd
result: i found something magical1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6AVEh4aXt5
hypotheses disproven1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3AEg6LhgF7
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNbfNlHilky
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7WupNu6lg
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPVaNNmL7p
Thursday's child has far to go,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zXnII7Ewa
Friday's child is loving and giving,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7gqLc8qwF
Saturday's child works hard for his living1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaiIA9v2Ub
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡli4JTpAdVk
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblx79Oud10
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC8ulVsB3jV
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JyCtUB6j1
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkA0VqTtow
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMixRNtNINd
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd2gGAY0MlN
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhmTDkyUVO
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡovKw0O2qac
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 –1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfbHdF6wos
"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."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsYLe3jvKn
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdWFC76XHq7
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFuQV5aue86
Carolyn1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS2E7x32nfN
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNPxXPbPyzg
"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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr3hpqUI4YT
"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."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvb1Fvlysn
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ87C5Mw0sVG
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuQYXEFhWrT
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0iKr2Dvuf
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJOfW7ydut
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ31umhnoVOq
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHKpqIZ2NZ
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexI5H5y5IF
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE8XOMs1xs
Why is this, experts ask?1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33rF0tW7ct
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjFern4O78D
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9uTADFnTIj
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKAviOfc2a
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 1:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNXwQ9V2zI
Video cameras find nothing.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxNGAIFfRL
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UWiR1SXye
No ectograph response.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnTuqkwvYK3
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 2:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrSA25P4utH
Video cameras find nothing.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDiIfE0rSsk
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhqPvYIo583
Slight ectograph response.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EztAZdEwa
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTD1ckHkxQ8
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3HJ6tQ8hd
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6tw5fpGc8S
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VzTeOun7R
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrDt5W4gUVx
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhVuppDdot
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 4:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡudOUdTbrvt
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1LUsJMiBa
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAD53WMLF7F
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvBQBjcHXg
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFU1zRaPjI
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeDJO22RQp3
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSYL98dG2K
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Xv0F0oeYK
Audio records many casual conversations.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFsyGQRlJg
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9sb017evb
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHYTP2phSyo
No ghost activity was found at all.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnOUCUvzjfl
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeJEpZi0715
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOod3nBxAPO
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy38Puu8sRn
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ91lHZA7T4g
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauRWgj6Rgs
Went up the hill1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7BNAUdhsDQ
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwajmL4Fraw
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIVv71PiuC
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9LwBPujyp
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNG6ZW8NMrA
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDxlKTcB3jz
Tonight is different.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0HEKtNu1WF
He has nothing left to give to the well.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOMz5UW539d
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCRW9P8N1C
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZ2urlJstY
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwTeVvlcJ7
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGSK7GtVYA
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVoeuLGZXg
He wants it. He needs it.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3xXznDmVZ
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlscuk5OvZF
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH65Yy8jcfF
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyYL9AqSNiq
"Go get 'em, tiger."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzW2cAft5pk
And so a door closes, another opens.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxKtHXRsbxN
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWvUJYb2aTt
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1a9w1BfGZX
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSux7H3ZsXt
He grasps it.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRoNZpeyakp
"Ready?"1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcunjZ7jsSy
The person answers. "Ready."1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3F56kj3l3j
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkbC2Z2bA4
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVANvNxCtd
Silence.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71YdsPutfb
Everything stops.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjmnvZo8QLT
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwebRpr7q2X
I wish…1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wcJmKTKIP
I wish…1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxqfkYkIcc0
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAkaWfwhlw
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.1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOhGG6RYSx9
-chalkboard stories-1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr722SJfbXX
its only an enigma1046Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4yOQ1cTOQD
if you want it to be
