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,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoQN3Lc4gtr
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbqWwBnFMZF
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjywMg2Xcnj
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ArFhfd5MW
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWChSu6mZZ
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡny3TnbDPdu
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XwaxM5AxB
"Okay then. First letter."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7G8tM8Zcp
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgwx9uBQ5J
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSGApOXY2Bs
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtWJ236y5oW
"No, what the hell, May?"1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm3q3IJxUvR
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf3aYhDsd8n
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYjF9x8ISr
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJSTQ4ew8g
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYcaOX9MhP
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Jk1XT4fjC
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvPcM3UbMaq
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZZSlubgdS
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!'1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIUruAARK9
David sighs, and closes the book.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VU3wJYCO8
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmK7YVlvRam
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRfi3EwjjpF
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0cbZNkQPh
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMowk3stmBX
sample volume: 7325kL1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3nqPHWmwk
hypothesis: i am alone1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv9tScIvWbg
method:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsqmn5NF1xD
-extract impurities1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz17z77PCZ2
result: collected 109875L of impurities1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhxr3V4lO4J
hypothesis disproven1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjYjB3iw52f
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtfF1RcZuSl
method:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9DQhSKYsp
-sift and sort impurities1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyl6s7fahqq
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcfAk8sec4
hypothesis disproven1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4pDTONcnS
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoqqrBA2nYa
method:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6VW14TpUK
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8oVzibjxoI
-place in flask1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuR4Iy3Vh4M
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizq2K5mfqk
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4Okt7lzoC
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzopZvTV80
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnkGPkVMms
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRTq4v0xH0
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIBL8Znioo
-wait1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnASLk8R8Un
-until something magical happens1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDlgvES7dXq
result: i waited1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLgLeliqbsh
result: i wanted1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbsByhfaXl
result: i failed1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQWOT61jbj
result: i hid1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbl4LBFsVP
result: i tried1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ51CgisXoHs
result: i searched1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczjHesLp70
result: i found1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPD7TrhFGHS
result: i found something magical1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdJaYWyoSLy
hypotheses disproven1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJyQtdf1CMf
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbB7DXf7mS
Tuesday's child is full of grace,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxwbv7o3fv7
Wednesday's child is full of woe,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrWZ0NpQtoi
Thursday's child has far to go,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SOcgtucOg
Friday's child is loving and giving,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oeBzaamT1
Saturday's child works hard for his living1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYsC7dytX29
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9U7FEVBtqU
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY3G7uPaRAh
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYJIXIBQQez
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEoGE7rcLcr
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmF6aXb61Vk
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7WWN7LvXGW
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFshzCQgxEO
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvH58NRIzH3
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqKrW3TFlZ
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 –1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2VBvuxx6Z
"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."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBqrZBul3Xy
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2WRdQ0GyPN
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTFZkUNShnX
Carolyn1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJCipRRMSPW
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL2SokxpwZX
"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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9xyHK3t8t7
"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."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVU6t3xCgW
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJndemzYjTz
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8xOy0NJLU
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTayIGGNyeg
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY67XOvdu0H
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJd1oabslX
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzml9fvK5lZ
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbbiwtfjso
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7kgQi4H8g
Why is this, experts ask?1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MqDlsuiya
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkvtseUA0yi
It was decided that a study must be conducted.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4xNHO20Jc
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeapMCjrzZg
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 1:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXW53n41nD
Video cameras find nothing.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLeTsOFhLw
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXtKv5J34U1
No ectograph response.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqhRh4OYLig
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 2:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvB6zlrvNOb
Video cameras find nothing.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRb4nv77xz7
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCjJNqkqB6
Slight ectograph response.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbDhPOiKZkc
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Fhuo6bnwT
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXErZKVYS1
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwH0us3faX7
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcMfYsS4HxO
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMhdFCBMYl
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUhuwqBEXs
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 4:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJIziw9S0S
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsD1N6KVFCE
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPzklnknkG
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7MdRvPTAVI
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNA0mTZIQv5
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlm3UiefHbj
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMT0eIBpr0X
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHhlPHSIwv
Audio records many casual conversations.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq3IW8yyY4V
The repaired ectograph gives no response.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡecz4JHWgLe
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlD6nbyOUI8
No ghost activity was found at all.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKzskdykTr
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RJnQ1rK5y
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEC3gtSG6V
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMy0XQOmFs
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3RlB6Zn1X
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4u4yQZ9Ost
Went up the hill1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7dk5jGJxtZ
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQKwGVbfQy
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv26hBTJoAD
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVhNEoNlAe
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhbKERzff8V
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeRed2z1pXj
Tonight is different.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbofJ52xoDS
He has nothing left to give to the well.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk746sNgXhp
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdSwhvtOq0i
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSy8pSSRqkR
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWE97Fx07g6
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf4iLfP2DsV
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡutrEc5meoW
He wants it. He needs it.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgqGkbK71pk
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2QlfMyMSN
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKSTPSuQKK
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGiWbVJMb8l
"Go get 'em, tiger."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT3ZWx4T9vA
And so a door closes, another opens.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0vs3Ug2jIW
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7iKT9y0JP9
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwo6E6zVUrN
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQWijFsET2
He grasps it.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzCeF8kGlD
"Ready?"1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDb1ETEeELc
The person answers. "Ready."1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2KlymTzc2
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaON7QR8EjW
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhF9L6Wf6E
Silence.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKTZrurP7S
Everything stops.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtH9mT2p0kG
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlaUqLrGqd9
I wish…1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9KWGkVKM4f
I wish…1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpA5BP4KXM5
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6ORRmvUn7
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.1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFK3Z0ttsWp
-chalkboard stories-1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qX3NBqNwa
its only an enigma1047Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCLgEtHUBKR
if you want it to be
然後按「加至主畫面」