Monday, November 12, 2007

Entry #32

The One
by Katherine Napier


My body is so numb I can barely tell I'm awake when I see the house.

The satchel has hung from my neck all night, as if the fraying fibers were tied to my soul. When my parachute first caught this tree my arms instinctively grasped the bag to my chest, but now my arms are swollen and dangling from the harness, no longer able to help my neck bear the weight. What was 35 pounds might as well be a ton now that the sun is rising, but with the light comes hope. There is a house.

A man opens the front door, scans the morning sky and, just before he sees me, turns back into the house. He returns with what I am sure are binoculars and I know I will be saved. I try to call out, manage only a bird startling croak, and as I watch the man he watches the bird fly toward the day. He raises what I now see is a camera and captures this restless dawn at the moment I realize I have succeeded.

The words of the prophecy cry out in my head, and I know this is the man Jason. Soon, he will stumble upon his destiny as The One, and she shall live again.

10 comments:

Beth said...

I absolutely loved the whole thing until the last paragraph. I feel like a complete dunce, but I was right with you until that point and thought this so absolutely original, so cute, and then "The One" and destiny. I can be so thick-headed so if you'd take the time to explain it, I'd really love to know.

Sarah Hina said...

I don't know, but Jason had better get ready. ;)

I love the absolutely original setting here, and the desperation of your character. I, too, am curious about the ending, though I don't mind some ambiguity.

Very unique, nicely written take!

Chris Eldin said...

I think this is funny.
Am I missing the point?

Abhinav said...

Makes a very good use of the modernist story writer's tool- the present tense! Amazing!!!

The Anti-Wife said...

You started off strong, but somehow you lost me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your comments all. I almost didn't enter because my Office crashed (no word count) and I've been stuck in a motel for 3 weeks while they work on the house I rent and other chaos.
Then I thought how nice it was to be in Jasons moment when he took that picture, which made me think of how funny (ty church lady) it would be to stick something absurd in Jasons tree just outside the perimeters of the photo. That's the only explaination I can offer.
Katherine

SzélsőFa said...

It was the 'she' in the last paragraph that made me confused, but otherwise it is funny.

Jaye Wells said...

I agree with the others. It's funny and a clever take on the photo. It's the last paragraph that seems to come out of nowhere--almost as if it accidentally got switched with the ending of another story. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.

Precie said...

What a great unusual perspective!

Anonymous said...

Hey, do I know that guy? If so, this is the first time I've been in a story (at the moment I snap the picture, no less). Very cool!

I really liked the description in the second paragraph.