Bwah! That sounds so like my brothers when they were teenagers.

Heh, cute, Kalshane.

Gah, deb. Bet the utter chaos and the number of people leaving aren't entirely coincidental. Something about rats, and sinking ships. Anyway, it just sounds totally inept. Saying "yeah, we know about the problem" when it's a "problem" that would take 30 seconds to fix is completely unacceptable.

I guess I'd have to claim this one as biographical, in the general sense that most teenage boys are like that. I certainly was, both with the messiness and the sleepiness.

My mother took a picture of my room once for posterity's sake. The highlight, amongst all the clutter, is the lone sock draped over the power cord for the alarm clock.

Heh. Kalshane, that one's fun.

Liese, I've given up. I'm just going to keep writing them their fourth book and try to attain some #%%$#$^^$^% zen.

Or not.

Cave? Huh. Must cogitate.

I read that as copulate. Obsessed, moi?

I read that as copulate. Obsessed, moi?

Zen through multiple orgasms works fine for me. Either way, must see what pokes its head out of the cave.

must see what pokes its head out of the cave.

Huh. Guess I've been doing it wrong all these years.

Darkness

Down, down, deeper and down....

This is where the monsters live.

Close your eyes, lost, panicky sweaty hands trying despeately to find the wall, but you can't. No hope in hell, and hell is where you are, maybe, needing light, finding none.

You always thought memory was a well. Turns out you were wrong: it's a hole, with things you made yourself waiting behind every invisible turn, teeth and claws and the pain of what you had and what you lost, and the sunlight you can never find again.

Down, down, deeper and down. This is where the monsters live.

Bible Stories

Moses, so the Bible tells us, retreated to a cave when he was overwhelmed by stress -- Israelites threatening his life and so forth. If a great prophet fled for shelter when it got tough, why should I be any stronger?

The Bible goes on to tell us that God showed up at the cave and put Moses' worries into perspective with a display of nature's raw power -- winds, earthquakes, fire. And then God asked Moses what he was doing there, hiding in a cave. The implication being, disasters will come, despite whispered wishes and fervent prayers; there's no stopping that. But after the fury dies down, then what, God asks, are you doing?

Hide during the distaster, by all means; keep yourself safe. But don't keep hiding when it's past.

So what, then, am I doing?

Caves

The time of year is coming when I go out at night to seek the caves of shadow. The turn of the old year drags me out.

I'll put on my darkest clothes and go find the dark sides of buildings, where the corners block the streetlights and hide me from the passers-by. I'll silently watch them, mulling absently on why I'm not like them, staying in the light.

If I'm lucky, the moon will keep me company, and my eyes will adjust to the lunar light, making man's light garish.

The seasons play with my mind, but I like this one, when I lurk in darkened nooks and watch the herds wander by.