DINOSAURS

What if dinosaurs still roamed the earth? My nephews said we would all be dead, because they would eat us. I think we would simply be trampled…

Dwarves carve their homes out of the mountains. Humans would have to adapt this building method as well.

What if John built his house down by the river? This would be like the pig who made his house of straw. A dinosaur would go down to the water for a drink. Oops! John no longer has a house. Dinosaurs, like so many other animals, don’t care about Human constructions. If John is lucky enough to be alive after the dinosaur has destroyed his home, has to spend his savings on a new home. If John had done like the other dinosaur-surviving Humans and lived in the mountains he would still have his home. The bigger dinosaurs have no reason to climb mountains, and, if they did, they wouldn’t smash a mountain.

The mountains would be very crowded. Can you imagine stuffing six billion people into the mountains? Maybe the solution is underground. No more amber waves of grain.

What if Kelly decided that underground farming was for the rabbits and planted wheat out on the plains? Oh so like the pig who built his house of sticks, it is not a good idea. A herd of dinosaurs could travel through and destroy the wheat. Kelly would cry herself to sleep that night.

Humans would be forced to live in mountains and underground. Dark and dreary, they wouldn’t go to the beach, play baseball, hunt deer, or grow crops. Most Humans would never see sunlight. Laws would be passed preventing anyone going to the surface. Young people would rebel against their old fashioned elders, and insist on going topside.

Life would not mirror what we see on The Flintstones. The world would look empty.

On the other hand, The Jetsons would be a distinct possibility as we try to reach above the dinosaurs.


Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2009

PERFECTION

"You can't just make everyone perfect, Rachel," said Isaac. "some people are born with disabilities, so those around them can learn from their experiences. "

"But they are happy now."

"They were happy before. They had each other. They loved each other. They learned from each other."

"You're not going to change her back are you?"

"You are concerned?"

"No, but it would be difficult to understand why their suddenly cured daughter has reverted to what she was before."

"No. I won't change her back, but not because of confusion, but because of love. I couldn't do that to them. It would tear them apart."

"Really? Why?"

"Do you remember when you were mortal?"

"Yes. I was born and then I died a short time later. Susan only held me once."

"Then what did your mortal mother do?"

"She cried, for a very long time. I never could understand why. I got what I came for, then went back to Father."

"Did it ever occur to you that she loved you?"

"Of course she did. I was happy. Why wasn't she?"

"You just don't get it, do you? Mortals forget over time. They don't remember what eternity is like. They can't see it like you and I do. Many of them believe that their mortal existence is all they have."

"Susan cried because she didn't know I still existed and was happy? I find that hard to believe."

"Your life was so brief you didn't have time to forget. That is why I am allowing you to remain here with my children. Learn from them."

"But don't make them perfect?"

"People need their imperfections to become more than they are."

"But, if they were perfect, then they would be more than they are."

"Trust me on this, Rachel. Use the resources they have available. Don't just fix them because you can."

Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2009

The Show Must Go On... A Space Opera

Everyone told me it would be a once in a lifetime experience to travel. This just goes to show that you shouldn’t make life decisions based on other people’s opinions. Today was just another example of how utterly fouled up my life has become.

I just received a stellar-gram from my wife today. Commander Marsh told me to wait until after the party to read it. Did I listen? “NO!” My wife informs me that in my absence of eight months, three weeks, and four days ago; she has given birth to my bouncing baby boy. He has curly red hair (like mine), a birth mark on the tip of his nose (like mine), and very large feet (like mine). She says she was hoping he would look more like her. My family has such dominant genes. She says didn’t sign up for this kind of shenanigans and she’s had enough. She was done.
I thought maybe this might be just another one of those syndromes you read about when women go through a birth of a child. Post Partum depression or something. What can I do from all the way out here? She knew that this was what I went to school for. I couldn’t just leave my post. There was nothing that I could do. How do I explain to her that this job hasn’t been a bed of roses?

I spend most of my time trying to keep the women off my lap, removing their fingertips from my hair… isn’t that enough? I am constantly juggling between work and home. She doesn’t even consider how difficult my job can be here. Of course these are things I don’t dare mention to her. What about me? What about my feelings? I am constantly trying to satisfy the needs and keep up moral of my co-workers. I am certain she doesn’t realize how difficult it can be getting supplies out here. It is a logistical nightmare. When I get flustered and upset; I often find myself being laughed at …. NO ONE takes me seriously! What does she want me to do drop everything and just fly home? Like that is even an option.

Just last week, I was reviewing my program with one of the female staff members. She told me she just found out her fiancé changed his mind. He wasn’t going to get married to her. He was going to marry his sister. I gasped, she went on to tell me he had been living with her and his parents for the last eight years. With his fiancé being absent he has decided he didn’t want to wait for children and a family so the wedding was off. He is going to marry his sister. I was horrified, for her. Embarrassed even, she finally explained that the brother sister duo were only brother and sister legally. She was adopted by his family at the age of eleven years old. It was still awful in my eyes. I tried to console her; I told her I would show her a trick or two. She thought I was trying to make advancements toward her. What a horrible thought. I’m married I profusely explained. She said I waved about like Kermit the frog. She said she could never work on another program with me again.

Two weeks ago one of the senior staff nearly killed a crew member for removing his plate from the table before he was finished with his meal. He said that the crew member was only after his Winkie Cakes.

To make things worse yesterday, while running on the treadmill I was given a very graphic offer of an evening rendezvous with one of the grease monkeys of the motor pool. It gives new meaning to the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.

This place is a nightmare. I don’t want to be here anymore than she wants me to be; but, I am under contract. I thought for the mega money offered with this job it would be a piece of cake. No one told me these people were so strange. No wonder the money was so good.
Here I am. All I can keep telling myself is that it is only a twelve month tour. I can survive. It’s almost over, but, what if they extend me for doing such a good job. What if they see I am the only sane one here? I have kept up some pretty good disguises. She’s mad at me because my son looks like me??!! What can I do about that?

That’s it! I exclaimed. I ran over to the escape hatch and just as I began to pull release arm. Commander Marsh placed a hand on my shoulder and said, “Son don’t, you’ll kill us all”. I let go of the handle and sat down where I once stood.

Commander Marsh took me aside and said that he could put me on the next shuttle out if I could pull myself together. He reminded me, “There was no one to blame and that seeing me again would bring my wife such great joy”. He said. “I had done my duty with dignity and pride.” I felt a surge of renewal. I knew I had my duty to perform; just one more program. The commander had renewed my sense of duty and he understood. I’ll do it! It will be the greatest show in space. No, I didn’t have any elephants, or cannons, or acrobats; but no one will ever perform as well as I will. Who could blame the first clown in space for being upset? I was proud; my newborns son destiny was the same as my own. We could be the first father son act in space. No matter what, there is no denying that bouncing baby boy is my son. From his curly red hair, his oversized feet, and the red dot on his bulbous little nose. I am proud to be his father, and I am going home. We are clowns and I know that my son and I will carry on the family legacy. From this moment forward just as my father’s father taught him; I will teach my son. We will perform with the same energy and pride as I do today. Everything will work out ok. She loves me and she will love our son. So here I go… I fluffed up my hair, gathered my balloon animals, grabbed my juggling balls and entered the room. "Folks," I hollered, “THE SHOW MUST GO ON!!”

Alisa Lucas - Aka. Max Lucas
"The Show Must Go On..."
[Space Opera-Short Story]
Copyright © 2008

SPACE

Space. There's too much of it. A few more black holes might get rid of some of it. I suppose people need somewhere to live. Sigh. More galaxies it is.

WOOSH

What the...?

What is that?!

It's smaller than a planet, but a planet doesn't move that fast. I have to check this out. It's Hollow. Ah, a window... I think. It's shut. Hmm...

Woa! This air makes me dizzy. There's stuff in it. Slow down. Take slow deep breaths. Adjust. Take in the oxygen. Ok. I'm fine.

Now for some exploring. Where does the warmth come from? A hole in the ceiling. I wonder where it goes...

What's that? It's a person!

"You're not part of the crew."

"Crew?"

"How did you get here?"

"Through the wall."

"The..."

"What's that?"

"Captain! We have a stowaway!"

"Who are you talking to? What's a stowaway?"

*Bring him to the second deck conference room.*

"It's a lady, Sir."

*Bring HER then.*

Where is that voice coming from?

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"To the Captain."

"What's a Captain?"

"Don't be stupid."

Stupid about what? What is he talking about? I don't understand people. I guess Father is right.

Little room. I don't like the feel of my feet pressing into the floor. That's better.

"What?"

"Your feet aren't touching the floor!"

"So? The door's open. Do we go through?"

"..."

Why isn't he moving? I'll just push him. Oops. Too hard.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Er... follow me."

He's so awkward. His feet hit the floor rather hard. He should stop turning to look at me. He bumps into a wall every time. Maybe if I walked beside him.

No. That's worse. I'd go in front of him if I knew where he was going.

"In here."

Table. Chairs. Nothing of interest here.

"Captain," why is his arm up like that? "This is the stowaway, Sir."

Oh, his name is Captain.

"What is your name?"

"Rachel."

"Why are you on my ship?"

"Ship? Oh! Is that what this is? I was just working, when it sped by. I wanted to know what it was. What does it do?"

"It travels through space to many different planets."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because we want to learn about other worlds."

"But, why the ship? Why not go without it."

Why is he laughing?

"That's impossible. We have to travel in something. We can't just go through space like it was air."

That's hard for me to imagine. I've always been able to go wherever I want. No bounadries. People really are different. Father is right.

"May I stay on this ship?"

"You have a choice?"

"I can leave if you want, but I would like to stay and learn about you."

"Leave where? Space? You'd die!"

"That would be impossible. May I stay?"

"What can you do?"

"Many things."

"Let me rephrase. What can you do that would benefit the crew and the ship?"

"What would be of use?"

"Our doctor is in need of a nurse. Do you know anything about healing people?"

"I know the anatomy of a person, and how it is supposed to function. As for the healing, I have never tried, but I am confident in my capabilities."

"Jacobs."

"Yes, Sir."

"Escort Rachel to Medical."

"Yes, Sir."

I wonder what medical is.

*Dr. Jones, I am sending Jacobs down with a lady I want you to examine.*

Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2008

SILENT DAD

The front door slammed open. A group of Elves, Gnomes and Dwarves ran through the house, killing as many people as they could; men, women and children.

Death enters the house. He found a Dwarf slitting the throat of a child. Death cut him in half with his scythe. An Elf shot arrows in the backs of those that were trying to run away. Death killed him. A Gnome thew a young boy out of an upper story window. Death eliminated him. Another Dwarf slashed his way down the hall. Death slashed him. Other murderers inflicted as much damage as they could. Death sought them out.

He cornered the last murderer. "Why have you killed my children?"

The Gnome refused to answer. Death killed him.

Death did his duty and separated the spirits of the murdered from their dead bodies. He said "Goodbye" and "I love you" to each one.

Life entered. She screamed at the sight of her slaughtered children.

Death told her what happened. Tears streaming down her face, she went outside and fell to the earth. The ground rumbled and shook. A large hole formed.

Death, and the children still living, brought out the dead and placed them in the hole.

Life dug her fingers into the earth. The ground covered the bodies. Grass and flowers sprouted.

Life collapsed and sobbed. Death knelt beside her and sobbed with her. The living children joined them.

=====

My aunts say it was just a dream, but the images are so clear I wonder if they are telling the truth.

I lean over the soup pot and stir the contents. I hear his quietly shuffling feet on the stone kitchen floor. I watch him. His movements are wooden as he sits down at the table. He isn't really looking at it. He always looks straight ahead into nothing. He never says anything. He never does anything. He never goes anywhere. I want desperately for him to speak. What would he say? I want to cry for the words he never says, for the feelings he never shares.

I dish up a bowl of soup for him and give him a spoon. He eats listlessly, while I serve myself. I sit across from him. I can't eat. I have to know.

"Dad." His eyes flicker ever so slightly and shift to mine. I have no memory of ever calling him that. My aunts have told me nothing of his relationship to me, but I know who he is. The word tastes strange in my mouth. I swallow. "Why don't you ever speak to me? Don't you love me?"

His blue eyes are penetrating as they look into mine. I try to penetrate back. I see sadness, pain and that quiet softness that is his alone, but he is very far away. I can see him coming back into himself, slowly at first, but coming faster and faster. When he is fully there, his eyes light up. He clears his throat. "Yes, Qeria, I do. I am sorry. I have been very busy." His eyes start to dim again.

"Dad! Wait!" He stops and comes back. "Busy with what? Can I help?"

He thinks about this for a minute. I have never seen him so lifelike. It is shocking, yet relieving. I don't want him to leave again. "I have been doing my duty. No one can help with that."

"What is your duty?"

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Have your sisters told you nothing?"

"My sisters? I don't have any sisters!"

"No sisters? Ariara!"

Aunt Ariara rushes in. "Dad! You're here! What happened?" He's here? He's always here! Isn't he? My aunts Dotia and Elemie enter the kitchen with the same question.

He looks at each of them sternly. "Qeria has no sisters?"

I have never seen my aunts so flustered before. They "um" and "er" and look at each other, but refuse to meet Dad's eyes.

"Well?" he asks.

"We told her we were her aunts," Ariara mutters.

"Her aunts? Why?"

They shuffle their feet. "Because, we're so much older than she is. It was weird saying she was our sister," says Ariara.

"Especially since we look older than you," says Dotia, "She's only ten!"

His eyes are momentarily hard before softening again. "Your older siblings said the same thing about you. History repeats."

"Dad, where's Mom?" I ask.

"She's coming," his eyes dim momentarily, "with your brothers."

"Why don't they live with us?"

"You will know soon enough," he says.

"Did you and Mom break up?"

He smiles at me. "No. We love each other too much for that. We have been together even though we have not been with you."

"Where have you been? What have you been doing?"

"You didn't tell her. Why?" he asks my sisters.

"We thought it would be better if she didn't know," says Ariara.

"Better for whom?"

"Know what?" Why didn't they just say it?

He pulled me in close so I would see only his eyes. His eyes. Blue. Old, even though his face was not Eternal, with many endings. I gasp. "You're Death!"

He nods.

"And... and Mom?"

"Life."

"It was real."

I drop to the floor, shocked. My au- sisters are yelling. Dad ignores them, picks me up and sits me on his lap. He doesn't say anything, he just holds me.

I was right. The truth is scary. Not boogieman scary. A different kind. What am I? What will I become? Will I age like my sisters? Or will I be ageless like my parents?

"You should have told her," he says.

=====

Boys are so noisy. I have never lived with my brothers before. Kofer, one of my younger brothers, runs through the house, arms spread, pretending to be a Dragon. Mom smiles at him.

It's weird having her around, but, then again, it's weird having Dad around too. They act as though they have never been apart. They say they haven't.

Dad disappeared two days ago, then walked in the door with five more sisters and two more brothers. Mom did the same, bringing three more brothers and one sister. Dad says there are more. I currently live with twenty siblings, with more on the way, not including the twins still in Mom's belly.

New rooms to the house appear every time siblings arrive. The living room is enormous. Dad grabs Kofer, and, calling to the others, carries him into the living room.

“Alright everyone. Quiet down,” says Dad. The furniture is covered by my siblings. There are so many. Janue, my toddler sister, sits on Mom's lap. Dad continues, “We need to know what you can do. We have been a family divided because we were attacked.” He holds up his hand as voices fill the room. “We thought we would be safer if we split up, but many of your brothers and sisters are not here.” He pauses. “I had to visit them officially.”

This causes quite a stir. “We need to test each of you. We need to know what abilities you have,” says Mom.

“Why?” says Ariara.

“We are going to fight for our family.”

The tension is broken by seven more sisters and five more brothers walking through the door.

=====

It is my turn. I don't know what I can do. My older sisters never let me do much magic. They said it was for my protection. Mom takes my hand and we move from one point to another in no time at all.

"Can you do that Qeria?"

"I don't know. I've never tried."

"Go ahead and try now. Just think of where you want to go."

Before I have time to think of anything else, I am standing next to Dad. He is working. We are in a Gnome city, with bodies piled up in the streets. Many of the Gnomes are crying. I tug on Dad's cloak. He turns to me, his eyebrows rise. "What are you doing here?"

"Mom told me to think of where I wanted to go and I thought of you. Where are we?"

The Gnome city of Herion. I am stalking the streets."

"Why?"

"It's expected of me when there's a plague."

"Is that all you do, is stalk?"

"No. I do my regular work too." He swings his scythe and a spirit leaves its body.

"Can I try?"

"No. This is my work."

We walk in silence for a few minutes.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"How many siblings do I have?"

"Currently? Or altogether?"

"Both."

"There are two hundred and eighty six currently living."

"Two hundred and eighty six! I haven't even seen them all!

"Many of your older siblings are married and have families of their own. Remember, your mother and I are immortal. We have lived on this world since the beginning. You have many brothers and sisters who have simply died of old age."

"How many altogether?"

"One thousand and eight. The twins in your mother's womb are 1009 and 1010."

A thousand children! I stop and stare and Dad. He stops his stalking to look at me.

"What number am I?

"One thousand."

"How do you remember us all?"

"As Life and Death, your mother and I know the names of every person who has ever lived."

Mom appears. "Death, have you seen... Here you are Qeria. I was worried."

"I wanted to see Dad."

She smiles. "We have another child that can travel as we do."

"Can they all?"

She shakes her head. "Not since our first."

"Who was your first?"

"Time."

"Oh. I'm the only one since her that has been able to travel like you?"

They nod.

"Does this mean I'm immortal too?"

They shrug. "Maybe," says Dad. "We don't know."

"Why not? You would know if anyone does."

"The Creator likes us to find these things out ourselves," says Mom. "Come. Let's go home and let your father get back to his stalking."

I take her outstretched hand and we return home. I might be immortal. I don't know whether to be excited or sick.



Elizabeth Williamson Copyright © 2008