Chapter 1- A New Beginning Again
Intro
"What are those things..." blared a voice on the radio. Blood covered the knob and streaked downward like red icing dripping down a cake gluing the knob at max volume. The years turned the red streaks into dried powder and flakes.
"With big black wings...." the song continued. The alarm chirped powerless against the impenetrable wall of sound coming out of the stereo.
Sal stared at the airplane wing and engine dangling by a thread just above his bed. The wing covered his bedroom like a broken mother goose. He sat up at the edge of the bed, put his feet on the ground, and stood with his arms outstretched in front of him as if they were what guided his path. They led him to the bathroom; he walked in a mindless haze through the portal of a splintered bathroom door.
His pants fell to the floor in front of the toilet, his gangrenous butt hung in the cold air as water dripped onto his cheek, then a curtain of water fell on his head and the whole house began to soak in the virgin rain, falling through cracks and the exposed EnviroPlastic wood beams of his tattered roof.
A single drop fell in front of Sal’s eye, and he saw it stop in midair. The cacophony of rain and relentless static sound hitting the roof and plastic and wood throughout the failing structure thundered, then echoed, then slowly faded.
Unable to get that single drop out of his mind… out of the trillions of drops… that one drop stood out to him for some reason and he hyper-focused on it and fell into himself. He was fully enthralled for a moment A single drop of rain he thought. Over and over and over... he thought one single drop… that one.
3 hours passed. The rain came and went twice. Sal finally pulled up his pants after his unnecessary ceremony was over and then shuffled to the front door of his home.
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1
Chapter one: A new beginning again
Walking slowly down the street his expression didn’t change, as if he were a Roman statue. No pain, no worry, or sadness on his face. Only pure stoic determination. One track at a time played inside his head. Only one thought drove him… and that was to explore.
“I'm gonna find glass or Shiny rocks and metal pieces.” He thought. “I long for something…” but he couldn't remember. It was just outside his reach. A boy would appear inside his head when he thought like this, and he saw the boy just then as if he was standing in front of Sal’s face... with a thousand-yard stare.
The little boy never said anything, only kept the same relentless expression on his face and pointed. Sal looked where the boy pointed but his finger pointed in the direction Sal was headed. “I know,” Sal thought at the boy “I'm going don't worry.”
As he passed old lady Carlson he paused and thought about helping her up because She was always in the same spot, but she looked to be in a bad mood today... so he trudged on, not wanting to get involved.
Passing the liquor store then the bank, the bar, the police station, and then finally the pawn shop at the edge of town. The sun came and went for the 6th time Sal thought deep within his mind’s edges. Just out of reach of his consciousness but he noted it in the ways he could understand. He wasn’t able to explain even in his internal narration.
“My journey is almost complete! ”He thought. beaming with happiness on the inside and thought about a beautiful tune to whistle, so he imagined whistling. So familiar and comfortable. Like soft warm breasts caressing his face and the feeling of fingernails gently scratching the back of his head.
The train yard was in front of him now! His heart would have skipped a beat. Sal loved the train yard so much. Sal had so much to do there! Sal’s mind raced faster and faster. Images of trains moving so fast down the track began playing in his mind. He was enchanted with visions of crowds with big luggage, and small luggage. Couples hugging and kissing and saying goodbye. Mothers, daughters, brothers and sisters, and fathers. One father wagging their finger at rambunctious children.
A woman in a big white sun hat with the prettiest smile in the world looked down at him. She was so tall, like a giant. The vision made him feel so tiny but he never felt as good as when he saw that woman smile. Her perfect white teeth and lips could kiss all the sadness away and a voice that made angels stop and listen with bated breath.
A man in a business suit holding a briefcase walked up quickly and kissed the woman, then the man picked up Sal and held him in his strong arms, then looked at his pocket watch. Sal felt as if the man could snap him in half if the man simply flexed his arms but the man was so gentle and methodical. Sal hit the man in the face and felt bad. His tiny hand on the man’s nose made the man's face look gargantuan like a face on Mt. Rushmore. The man just laughed and took my hand while looking at me saying something I couldn’t understand but he was smiling big and looking deep into my eyes. “He must love me… like I love shiny metal and rocks.” Sal thought. And he felt so safe in that moment. Safety? He hadn't thought that word in so long. He soaked up the good feelings pouring out from the man’s vision as if funneling tremendous love through time and space. Such power and strength, just from his smile. The edges of Sal’s lips moved upward and he could recognize the feel of his face. He marveled at this curious thing happening to him.
Hundreds of people fluttered past like the ghosts they were. living on in memories at the fringes of consciousness. The man was in in front of him now and Sal was almost as tall as the man again... He saw the world move around him in a flash.
The man's briefcase exploded with light. A dark rain cloud opened up and the sun beamed through the clouds... staring into the sun he finally realized he was on the ground and stood as quickly as he could to chase after the man. He stood up and walked for what seemed like hours chasing the man... Sal looked into the sky and vacantly recognized the light was gone. All he thought about was finding the man with the smile from his visions.
Sal saw the man's coat disappear behind a snake coil of wrecked train carts, so he ran after. The man disappeared into a downed cart into the coil. He searched and searched but the man was gone. He circled back and the realization he was all alone crept over him in the ways he could recognize as a zombie.
So, he did the only other thing he could, he searched for the majestic decaying metal serpent. The pattern where it lay dying, bleeding rust onto the remains of people and things, was evil-looking but there was hope emanating from deep inside. He walked in and saw the boy pointing at bones wearing a suit. Some of the bones were missing. Half of it was lodged under a downed train cart, and the bones had a cool pocket watch just like the man from the vision. Sal asked the bones if they saw the man but they just lay there and didn't say anything. Making sure the bones weren't alive and didn't want their treasure Sal grabbed the pocket watch and explored a little more. He found a train cart full of those suitcases. There was one with flowers all over, a black one, some purple ones. He wanted to take them all but he kept looking for something that popped out. Something shiny maybe… excited and giddy with stoic love. The word Eros flashed in his mind.
"Oh! The briefcase case!" Sal exclaimed silently. On the outside his features looked the same but, on the inside, he danced and sang. If that feeling could be broadcast from his spirit, he felt the whole world would be happy with him. Everyone would want to explore and clean and have shiny things. Like the world would go back to looking like his visions when the train yard wasn't attacked by the metal snake. Happy with his find Sal began to head home for a much-needed night of rest after his long day.
The sun flew around him like it always does. He thought of it like a fly that wouldn't go away but he loved the sun. He would talk to the sun but it never replied. It just stayed looking so beautiful and shiny. The world was so shiny he thought.
Sal couldn't recall how the sun felt... Or the cold snow. He remembered cold and warm but the feelings seemed so distant. He must have outgrown the need to feel those things maybe... "aaaahhhhmmmmmmm..." he said as he continued thinking on the subject.
He saw the pawnshop, then the police station, the bar, the bank, and finally the liquor store.
Hello Ms. Carlson, he thought as he was beside her. In his excitement, Sal waved to her and the briefcase flew and hit her in the face then popped open. Thousands of little balls flew out and covered Ms. Carlson. Sal felt so bad.
He picked up every single tiny vial. He searched through her entrails underneath the pole pinning her down and she screamed and screamed like normal. He hurried as fast as he could nonetheless and cracked one of the little glass balls on accident. Then Ms. Carlson screamed like he’d never heard before and she began praying then stopped moving… but he apologized so many times…. She’s ignoring me now, he thought. “Ms. Carlson? Hello? I'm so sorry.” Sal said. “Please don't be mad. I'll see you tomorrow and see if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you.” Then he made his way home to admire his loot.
Sal navigated through the remains of his front door, just hinges and wood chips now. His room was a labyrinth of clutter of overflowing wealth. “I’m so rich.” Sal smiled. Seeking the perfect spot for his latest treasure, shoving aside radiators and stacks of old metal signs. An old Chevy sign toppled; he righted it, then realized its message was eaten away by rust long ago, a gorgeous blend of orange and deep powdery red covered the surface. He sat it down and it crumbled and broke into pieces. He couldn't help but become captivated by its decayed pieces. It was gone. The sign lived its purpose and now it was finished. Hundreds of years of living and it got to go back home. Sal sat and thought about these ideas more.
He cleaned and prepared a nice spot for the briefcase and wondered if it was even possible to be so clean… “How did the spot look so amazing? I cleaned this spot especially well. It's as nice as the places in my visions.” He made a new hobby at that very moment. Sal vowed to not only explore but to make the places he visits look nice. “Like this spot for my treasure…” he spoke out loud and startled himself. “I will leave places I visit a little cleaner than before I was there.” smiling so big it hurt his face.
Sal down on his mattress, only rusted metal springs were left. He rubbed his face trying to ease the feeling of his smile but his smile just kept on going. He began to have visions of everything being clean in the world. He didn't know how he could do it alone but he wanted the world to be shiny. Maybe if he straightened up the train yard people would see and come there again. “I want the metal signs to say things again. His sign was so beautiful. The beautiful texture. The beautiful rot that he saw now but its shiny beauty was different. He felt the same awe in his soul when he thought those words.
The way time eats and absorbs everything and the never-ending presence time casts on people. Sal remembered time deep inside. He longed to feel time but he just couldn't describe it well.... He couldn't remember How it felt or what it looked like but he knew the feeling. It's like smelling color he thought… eh that doesn't make any sense.
He laid there thinking and his favorite song came on the radio. "I'm going down to the greyhound station..." blasted the voice from the on the radio. Sal loved this song so much. It reminded him of the train station. He lay in place and bobbed his head to the tune of the song for a moment. The song was over and he still bobbed his head to the tune. He sang along, “Start talkin’ again when I know what to say….” He yelled the lyrics at the top of his lungs trying to out scream the radio… even after the song was over.
The lone alarm blared as if to challenge the radio once more, but its sound was a grain of sand to an ocean. Sal sat up and put his feet on the ground.
Fresh rain fell on the home everywhere but his room. Sal imagined taking a deep breath and filled his lungs full breathing out and coughing and spitting up black stuff. He headed for the bathroom pulled down his pants in front of the toilet and stood there. The cold air nipped at his butt, so he pulled up his pants, walked to the door, and smiled. Feeling the sun on his face with vacant recognition of thinking on the subject.
Mr. Johnson stood on his lawn next door. “Good morning” yelled Sal. Mr. Jonson turned his head and smiled with a big red grin or was it a grin? Sal thought. Just as Mr. Johnson began to sprint over to Sal... “Someone got some energy.” Sal said as his neighbor dove through the air catching Sal by the throat with his teeth. Mr. Johnson flew wildly through the air and landed on his head breaking his neck and sheering his head halfway off.
Sal stood and Mr. Johnson stood up. They locked eyes. Mr. Johnson had dangling down at his back he frantically looked for his prey but lost the scent and he stumbled away.
“Have a nice day Mr. Johnson!” Sal thought and halfway waved his hand.
Sal thought about what happened and laughed on the inside. Sal has some kooky neighbors he thought and his inward chuckle turned into determination. Train yard! He thought. “Aaaaarrrrrrrr” slipped out of his mouth.
Another beautiful day. Sal thought as he made his way through his city once more. The dark overcast clouds began releasing the treasures they collected onto the city. As if they were telling Sal “I found these just for you, come find my treasures.”
