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,832Please respect copyright.PENANAJdyIawsYz3
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,832Please respect copyright.PENANAppc068FB99
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,832Please respect copyright.PENANAQGfb5ZCmoJ
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAnBRwzfGllv
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA6aqNHaTWQx
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA48fatGf7jQ
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.832Please respect copyright.PENANAc0udMK0wwQ
"Okay then. First letter."832Please respect copyright.PENANASTkhVcYR7q
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAyOtecxwJik
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.832Please respect copyright.PENANAWNijBpJwXo
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAvoh656tPBz
"No, what the hell, May?"832Please respect copyright.PENANA9m9VU8CZA2
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA8cOocvMzbW
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAgQ2WZbQqzz
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.832Please respect copyright.PENANAbToqD44rCU
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."832Please respect copyright.PENANAwbuuo4ynMu
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.832Please respect copyright.PENANAgfw2frk90O
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAUtvZ6PEyDy
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAK03y4gsj4d
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!'832Please respect copyright.PENANAFcht30qnn8
David sighs, and closes the book.832Please respect copyright.PENANAugXKiP05hY
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,832Please respect copyright.PENANAP24SOKYkn0
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.832Please respect copyright.PENANAE81zFY7glp
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.832Please respect copyright.PENANAhoQ7GtgCiz
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O832Please respect copyright.PENANAC8Q4dUpSlT
sample volume: 7325kL832Please respect copyright.PENANA80tWtwrr4V
hypothesis: i am alone832Please respect copyright.PENANAAJyhoMfDgs
method:832Please respect copyright.PENANAXP04FoGxdm
-extract impurities832Please respect copyright.PENANAkFLKsNkVma
result: collected 109875L of impurities832Please respect copyright.PENANAOJMi9I3INC
hypothesis disproven832Please respect copyright.PENANAUcSjqLF3bU
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here832Please respect copyright.PENANAR7yzKXzSdl
method:832Please respect copyright.PENANASs585XSRHA
-sift and sort impurities832Please respect copyright.PENANAz6P4vxXwfJ
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities832Please respect copyright.PENANAKZ5eRLwbFX
hypothesis disproven832Please respect copyright.PENANAfbANgZZnpB
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist832Please respect copyright.PENANAlYRGBjOGmD
method:832Please respect copyright.PENANAkFYIUBeyVJ
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities832Please respect copyright.PENANAF45J5nuRRM
-place in flask832Please respect copyright.PENANAbXrduwIvnS
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANAbWq8V9x8DW
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANAw37z6wzs5s
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANA5xiSu4XOtu
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANAGqXm7eRIF0
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANA18zyRvL9EW
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANAqHZDaoAdIt
-wait832Please respect copyright.PENANAvx5KZhQvoN
-until something magical happens832Please respect copyright.PENANA3DE7uMvBmt
result: i waited832Please respect copyright.PENANAK5yfjnmxyC
result: i wanted832Please respect copyright.PENANAKraOP1fZa5
result: i failed832Please respect copyright.PENANAw7wANsYqGp
result: i hid832Please respect copyright.PENANAJbPN7mfOVu
result: i tried832Please respect copyright.PENANAV2YN6Lc3ex
result: i searched832Please respect copyright.PENANALOLyulJNXj
result: i found832Please respect copyright.PENANA7NfkxUO6Ul
result: i found something magical832Please respect copyright.PENANA3PiC6pvnFy
hypotheses disproven832Please respect copyright.PENANAPuFPPZCj5r
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,832Please respect copyright.PENANAs1Zepu0KJ9
Tuesday's child is full of grace,832Please respect copyright.PENANAywu8e1L6J2
Wednesday's child is full of woe,832Please respect copyright.PENANAInx5ZRpTnm
Thursday's child has far to go,832Please respect copyright.PENANAU4dLspMasT
Friday's child is loving and giving,832Please respect copyright.PENANAICzlCeAF4z
Saturday's child works hard for his living832Please respect copyright.PENANAo0ibldHeux
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.832Please respect copyright.PENANAD01lTzGVpO
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"832Please respect copyright.PENANA4ijOYpe4mC
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-832Please respect copyright.PENANALzxHmZGh5K
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"832Please respect copyright.PENANAloYLdmtmpc
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-832Please respect copyright.PENANAKiCNX7Qc3t
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."832Please respect copyright.PENANAZa7C6W1OAX
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-832Please respect copyright.PENANABFq2dF5qci
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-832Please respect copyright.PENANA4lfYQcVNB5
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-832Please respect copyright.PENANAfpdagD3yTC
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 –832Please respect copyright.PENANA7ECKgyO2Ly
"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."832Please respect copyright.PENANALBjBU0cYMv
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.832Please respect copyright.PENANAFYabOiipDr
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.832Please respect copyright.PENANAkdtjOHvnuK
Carolyn832Please respect copyright.PENANAuEenGbH0v1
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.832Please respect copyright.PENANAB0kClgYjcW
"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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAdKuVK01hDS
"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."832Please respect copyright.PENANAWpo4E0ELSA
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.832Please respect copyright.PENANAf8cuEqGfCp
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."832Please respect copyright.PENANALx6bFUxc0i
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAhJqPEdaO43
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA45rY6sfnsu
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.832Please respect copyright.PENANAmlcJTfRtN5
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,832Please respect copyright.PENANA0kGWVM6JA4
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.832Please respect copyright.PENANA63lfIANYk9
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAfJSDMZAl0f
Why is this, experts ask?832Please respect copyright.PENANATHQQZmmaWR
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?832Please respect copyright.PENANAmPMj1tRVul
It was decided that a study must be conducted.832Please respect copyright.PENANAKgSqZv8FIj
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.832Please respect copyright.PENANA2wdVjPpZTG
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 1:832Please respect copyright.PENANAd3rPdBsu3L
Video cameras find nothing.832Please respect copyright.PENANA4ERrbm6Wfk
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.832Please respect copyright.PENANAWwP0m0qan9
No ectograph response.832Please respect copyright.PENANAaScNZ1dXC8
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 2:832Please respect copyright.PENANAgpXS0CmRoJ
Video cameras find nothing.832Please respect copyright.PENANABZYCYfywPx
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.832Please respect copyright.PENANAInmM77ZY3Q
Slight ectograph response.832Please respect copyright.PENANASmWwnJo9Dr
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.832Please respect copyright.PENANAVwHhviCSNY
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.832Please respect copyright.PENANAH4kegqF5bJ
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:832Please respect copyright.PENANA86Q15ROjK3
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAYUDO67DepO
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.832Please respect copyright.PENANAioMd1Tmudc
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.832Please respect copyright.PENANA0B8d51B0ZP
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 4:832Please respect copyright.PENANApsukKLvaQe
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.832Please respect copyright.PENANAzZu2GWEoGM
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.832Please respect copyright.PENANAdFhyXgtIVA
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.832Please respect copyright.PENANAfo51yfbGhV
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.832Please respect copyright.PENANAin0qEJcVZj
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA8PS656upwM
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:832Please respect copyright.PENANAE12KgYGEJR
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.832Please respect copyright.PENANAFFQ1TBGniI
Audio records many casual conversations.832Please respect copyright.PENANAU2jajUZZoC
The repaired ectograph gives no response.832Please respect copyright.PENANAKnJoHX5src
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA8OJxjHrU6y
No ghost activity was found at all.832Please respect copyright.PENANAgctyIOGuvC
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAdrJdMBLCq1
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.832Please respect copyright.PENANAAwezWy95xk
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.832Please respect copyright.PENANADtrRTGMHSs
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.832Please respect copyright.PENANAHo1S20qeh4
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill832Please respect copyright.PENANAaoD1uqq9Ei
Went up the hill832Please respect copyright.PENANAw4iMSA21T9
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.832Please respect copyright.PENANAUXR5s5X8VE
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.832Please respect copyright.PENANAru7FM3s52B
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANANi1lWvMLKp
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.832Please respect copyright.PENANA3SlIqW3YYV
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANA92qJdEFa2l
Tonight is different.832Please respect copyright.PENANAsKyOqTLb3H
He has nothing left to give to the well.832Please respect copyright.PENANAFDZnQURWuJ
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.832Please respect copyright.PENANAU6acFSDFfc
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAsP3RAxd1Cr
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAYDvoTYKuip
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANArJWPBM7d4O
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.832Please respect copyright.PENANAejxgo5BqeB
He wants it. He needs it.832Please respect copyright.PENANAeBMIX0BvHf
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.832Please respect copyright.PENANAkzuOuBe2Lx
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.832Please respect copyright.PENANACNfCQqHlbG
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.832Please respect copyright.PENANAobcVcuhAMO
"Go get 'em, tiger."832Please respect copyright.PENANAdSsNuCofsI
And so a door closes, another opens.832Please respect copyright.PENANAAX93bM5nxq
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.832Please respect copyright.PENANAiHTYh2uG6c
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.832Please respect copyright.PENANAlr6Byot437
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.832Please respect copyright.PENANAupjAY1B6kC
He grasps it.832Please respect copyright.PENANASIcKFHsZPZ
"Ready?"832Please respect copyright.PENANA7mjCsW8AYh
The person answers. "Ready."832Please respect copyright.PENANAvCTfhgS07I
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.832Please respect copyright.PENANAWZVwdYyLEW
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.832Please respect copyright.PENANAPmh4FmxqiO
Silence.832Please respect copyright.PENANAdRB6LKJwiy
Everything stops.832Please respect copyright.PENANAKzluJp2fj3
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.832Please respect copyright.PENANA6r4SgT48Mt
I wish…832Please respect copyright.PENANAx5ellKh0sJ
I wish…832Please respect copyright.PENANA5zOGe9Tvzu
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,832Please respect copyright.PENANAD248970yCA
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.832Please respect copyright.PENANAZo3wNaq7Ye
-chalkboard stories-832Please respect copyright.PENANAUecbpQWQzW
its only an enigma832Please respect copyright.PENANAWbzoenj7L4
if you want it to be