Ice

Some days just go too quickly
They start cold and solid wrapped in plans
The plans fall apart- they don't unravel
They melt like ice on a heated day.

The plans become fluid and drip down my life.
The freedom cools who I think I am -
It ignites who I am .
That inferno leaves me exposed , vunerable, raw.

I hide that.
So why can you see it?
You called to me in pain.
I thought to cool the blistered places.

I planned to be the cool water running over your scorched fingers.
You planned to be the ocean embracing me,recognizing our sameness.
Celebrating our uniqueness- the ice becoming the ocean.
Your greedy tongue found all of the drops. None were lost.

Those drops healed you. I bank my flame tonight. Fire in ice-I am always whole.
Tommorrow will be different. The ice will be new and inpenetrable once more.
I am ice, but ocean frozen is iceburg- Primal flame hidden in your core.
Ice to ice , fire to fire, breathing the air of Life . Both based in Earth.

We are eternal . Forever the same. Constantly changing.
Existing before we knew we did.
We awakened to find it there.
Ice to ice, fire to flame , a strange dance to which we alone know the steps.

The Smell of Roses Part 4

Jackie headed towards her hair appointment. She parked the car in the spot nearest to the door. The air felt cool as she entered the salon. " I have an appointment," she announced. The teenaged girl glanced at her briefly "Name?"

" Julie Kincaid"

" Thank you Julie. If you will have a seat , Amy will be with you in just a minute."

Jackie sat on the red vinyl sofa next to a young mother with two children. The younger of the two, a small boy with very curly hair and wide eyes , watched her carefully.

" Its his first hair cut" the young mother explained. The air smelled of hair spray and chemicals for permanents. " I hate cutting it but everyone thinks that he is a girl so my husband said it had to be done. "

" I cried when I took my kids for their first haircut- THEY were fine. Me? I was a mess."

The other woman knodded appreciatively. That first hair cut was like cutting the cord all over again.

"Julie?" A young woman of about twenty-five appeared at her elbow. " I am Amy. " Amy had pink hair cut into a modified shag. " Come on, lets get this done." Jackie followed her to the nearest shampoo station. Warm water spilled on Jackie's scalp- the minty soap was expertly massaged through her locks by Amy. This was followed by conditioner . The Jackie and the towel under her neck were guided upwards. Seconds later, Amy was trimming up Jackie's short hair cut, making it look professional and tight.

Jackie paid for the salon treatment in cash.She got back in the car and headed south on Commonweal Ave towards the mall. She picked out a grey pinstriped suit with camisole top and paid for that in cash. Then she picked out a black leather envelope type brief case. Again, cash changed hands.

" Can I send you a followup customer service questionaire ? It will get you 1-% off of your next purchase when you return it. " College student working part time was what Jackie supposed the young eager sales girl to be. She had not been so stylish in her college days. The youunger woman's chin length bob accented her angular face beautifully. Her light mocha skin betrayed very few acne scars. Good skin, good teeth. Jackie nodded her consent.

" J-U-L-I-E K-I-N-C-A-I-D. 1534 Fleming road ...yes, that is the right zip code. " She thanked the young sales clerk and returned to the car, locking her purchases in the trunk. Moments later, she was back on Commonweal, headed towards her next destination .

The Choice ( a serial work of fiction) Part 13

The ride back to the house seemed shorter than the ride had been to Duncan's. I noticed that I was very aware of time when ever my uncle and I were together. That the minutes scurried across my skin like spiders.
We both started to talk at the same time.

" This is more complicated than I had thought that it would be."

"How long have you known Elizabeth? "

Deep breath. "That's right , boyo, stall, stall ,stall" I thought .

" So is it too complicated for you ? Too complicated for me to stay? " I peered at his dashboard green tinged face.

" No, I still think that we can make it work."

I thought of the issues raised at Duncan's. " So how do we go about finding a house keeper that won't blackmail us?"

" I think that we had better start with going through that list of houses that you drew up last week. Can you start calling and make appointments for us to see them?"

"Starting when?"

"Tommorrow afternoon" He reached into his pocket and handed me a cell phone. " My number is programmed in there. " I looked at the phone. It was a disposable. "There are about 300 mins in there. I figured it was better than having anyone track us through bills. You might want to call Maria as well. Let her know that you are okay but don't worry her. No specifics. "

I dropped the phone into my pocketbook.

"Duncan's number is on this card. Memorize it but do not program it in. ANYTHING weird- or you do not hear from me after we have set up a time to meet- Call him from a public phone not the cell. "

"Then what, do I eat it ?"

" Tear it up and flush it down the toilet."

I look astonished at my uncle. I returned my glance briefly. " I mean it- ANYTHING changes. Call there first then me to tell me how it is being handled. There are people at Duncan's to manage these things. Hopefully ,we also will get to a place where we can depend more on ourselves."

We pulled into the darkened driveway. My uncle led me out of the car and to the porch. He entered the house first, as he had done the day that we had arrived ,snapping on lights here and there. He called me to come in. I followed quietly , going into the kitchen to make some tea. I placed the classified by my cup .

" Can you come here , please? "

My uncle moved unnervingly fast next to my elbow. " Which ones should I call?"

He looked seriou for a moment, then circled about five listings.

" Make them as late in the day as possible," he explained "early eveing is better still." I nodded as he circled the ones that he thought to be the best. " Choose in the order that you think you would like - pay attention to information about schools and stores. You are going to need both. What are your options for public transit - you know the routine." Looking up , he noticed tha tthe sky was lightening gently.
" How thoughtless of me! I have kept you up all night talking about our new fascinating lives. Get some sleep and leave me the information about the houses on the phone. "

I sipped my tea as his cool lips brushed my cheek. Tommorrow , I would have my work cut out for me. Tonight , I felt like ELiza Dolittle- I could have danced all night. What was this strange shadow world into which I was going? I had a feeling that I would soon find out.

The Choice ( a serial work of fiction) Part 12

The meeting was surprisingly well organized and short. I had been so absorbed in the events of the evening including the story that Marya had begun, that I had not realized until I waited for my uncle on the porch , that it was raining. That it had been raining for sometime for the street was wet. I waited for the car to pull to the front. My uncle had gone out the back door ,after instructing me to the front. Duncan and Elizabeth had accompanied him .

" So , what do you think?" I looked at the speaker. He was a young man, slightly taller than myself. His jacket was a soft charcoal wool blend. His pants were darker still. He was clean shaven. His eyes focused intently on mine. " I mean, its quite different for you. NOW, I mean..." He looked down for a minute and I caught my breath.

" Now? How do you mean?"

" Its your first time here, right? Aren't you Andrew's niece? He hasn't been around long either but seems to be well liked. " He looked down again. His chestnut hair was long enough to touch his collar.

" Yes. I am Rae. As you say , its all so new. I wonder what I will think in the light of day. Still, everyone seems to be very nice. But some of them , they seem to be waiting for me to SAY something- and I don't know what it is that I am supposed to say." I looked down at the cement porch floor.

' First times can be awkward. But yours seems to have gone well. Duncan is a good host. " He turned slightly at the approach of the Volvo's headlights. " Well, Madam," reaching for my hand-kissed it gently and stared directly into my eyes. "Your carriage awaits." He did not release my hand but lead me off of the porch , down the stairs and to the passenger's side. He opened the door. I slide in and absently clicked the seat belt.

" Thank you. Good night? " I offered and the door started to close. " Wait, I do not know your name."

"David"

" Thank you , David. " The moment felt anticlimatic- I felt like a child on my way home from summer camp caught in her first kiss. Which was silly - because we had not.

" Good Night, David " intoned my uncle from the driver's seat. At that he stepped back. The mood had shifted but I was not quite sure how. Only that my uncle had reestablished authority . David turned back towads the house and we pulled out of the driveway turning towards home.

The Choice ( a serial work of fiction) Part 11

" It was after one of A-dam's raids that he happened to wander outside his normal range.He found himself alone-neither the entertainment of the previous night nor his friends were near him. It was humid. He was thirsty and sweat stung his eyes. His foot caught the crook of an exposed root and he fell to the ground. He went to rise, making sure that no one had seen his clumsiness. Ahead of him , he could hear the sound of water. Examining himself carefully- he found that except for a few scratches which bled and a bruise on his right knee, he was unharmed. He rose to his feet once more and continued on towards the water. He roughly brushed away a swarm of small almost invisible insects that framed and reframed his face and eyes. He heard a sound in the nearby water , moved forward slightly and listened. If it were an otter- he would trap it. He could use the pelt to trade . It was not an otter. It was a woman, a woman that he had never before seen. She was gliding through the water as if she were an otter. She had hair the color of blood when it dried. Her left arm bore markings of some kind which banded all the way around her upper arm. Her skin was more pale than his- and her eyes were luminous and green. She stopped her swimming momentarily and listened. Had she heard his breathing in the nearby bushes and trees where he had paused? Perhaps, for she swam slowly towards the far side of the deep sapphire colored pond. As he started forward in hunter style, not wishing to scare the prey - she swam more strongly, purposefully. She HAD heard him. He moved quickly down the hill, across the rocks and sand - into the water. He could see that she was young. Conquering her would be his joy and challenge. She was dressing quickly as he passed the halfway point of the pond-she saw him . But, she confused him for she did not show fear of him. It was more like the aversion that he, himself ,practiced when avoiding skunks. She watched him and timed how long she had to disappear. She grabbed a long small bundle from the shore, adjusted her clothing and proceeded up the hill behind her, the dark green brush hiding her path . He could see her movements for a short while as the bushes appeared to part to allow her to pass. He lost her departure briefly as he arrived in water shallow enough to walk the rest of the way to the shore . He listened- there was no sound. He moved forward into the vegetation, and found the tiny path that the woman had climbed so quickly. He smelled the air around him- nothing. His hands parted broad leaves looking for hiding places- but if there were the places, there was nothing hiding. He checked the radius of the area- there was no sign of human life except him. It was quiet-far too quiet. Perhaps this was a place of ghosts as in the stories told to him as a child. He moved forward yet again- anger motivated him. He was better than all of this- how dare the woman not just simper at his feet as the daughters of his own village did when he took them away. He began to push up the path and through the trees and bushes angrily. They did not part for him but seemed to conceal and block his path from his prey. Above him , a lone crow cawed mockingly- it felt like a hard slap. When he found her, she would pay for this insult. . " Marya stopped here and looked at me. "Not quite the story as usually presented, is it?"

" No," I replied " Is the woman Eve?"

" Stories , like lives reveal themselves as they will and as we will to live them." She looked up, " I think that Duncan wants our attention."

I started to object but she brushed my objections away gently. " The story is too long to tell in one night. You will be back" She stood. kissed my cheek . I turned and found my uncle at my elbow.

He smiled. "I knew that you would find Marya fascinating...and she is right, there WIll be other nights. But Duncan wants to speak with us about security . Things change all of the time . We must adjust to the cirumstances as quickly as possible. Its what keeps us safe." And with that , he led me into a large room filled with padded folding chairs. Dark crimson against industrial grey. A large poduim stood at the far end of the hall. Behind the podium , there were four men- all well dressed. They looked as if they could be successful anywhere. Duncan was the first of the men. His jovial manner subdued by focus on business at hand reinforced his request that everyone find seats and come to order.