Stars that Shined

I was in a cloud. The whole town was in a cloud. As I strolled to the Power Outlet Mall countless water droplets flew down my face. A car whizzed past me exceptionally fast considering visibility was limited to about 15 feet. I heard Johnny Rock’s “Purple Haze” blaring from the car. Something slammed against my face. I pulled it off and it was the newspaper. Ether Maitland was on the front and center of the paper. I chucked the paper out of my hands as I looked at the date. It read 1/11/13. Roughly an hour later I stepped inside the outlet mall. My whole body shivered as I entered a flashback.

I bumped in to Ether spilling both coffee and guacamole all over his pristine white polo. He smiled right after chuckling at me as I stood distraught.

“Hey don’t worry about it man. I have plenty more shirts at home just like it.” Ether said with a grin spreading across his face.

He reached out his hand. I couldn’t help but notice the sparkling ring on his finger. It had the year 1967 on it and the initials KHS. I shot my hand out shaking more than I would like to have been. We clasped hands and a sparkle in his eye made my heart warm.

“Don’t speak much do you? Figures. So many people in this town don’t talk because they’re afraid they are going to say just a little more than they should’ve. Me? I’m not like that. I’m not afraid to speak up and talk about what’s actually…”

I gasped for air as my shoulders were being shaken vigorously. I began blinking rapidly to try and regain my spacial awareness. I was at the strip mall.

“Hello? Frederick are you alright?”

It was a friendly voice, but I still couldn't make it out. A man dressed in all blue stood before me. His eyebrows were creased and his mouth was turned down. Angst spread across his face as he waved his hand in mine.

“Frederick?”

I looked up and smiled as I saw a single bright star twinkle in the sky the same as the night I met Ether Maitland.

Blog 4

I took one step outside and immediately had to rush back in. In that brief

moment, an ice cold breeze blew up my sleeves. My body shivered all

the way back to my room. I grabbed my winter coat with grey and orange

horizontal stripes and started walking back out the building. In the lobby I

slipped on both mittens and my coat and swung the door a little too hard.

Each step I took I would make a slightly different boot print in the snow. It

wasn’t too deep or too thin, the perfect sledding snow. Despite the winter

wonderland, there were hardly any kids scattered throughout the streets.

As I turned onto Magnolia I heard a screech and a high pitched scream. It

was Marshal Mecher creeped up on the sidewalk. I trotted over to him.

His face was a greenish white as he stepped out of the car. We discussed

our blackouts as we walked back to the Maitland’s garage. I glanced at

him occasionally to see how he was doing and his face was just as pale

as earlier.

“With all that’s happening it doesn’t feel right?” he said. I shook my head

as a crisp wind blew the warmth from my body. I remembered I was

talking to Marshal and said, “It doesn’t feel natural. It wasn’t a coincidence.”

As we walked into the garage Marshal stopped. His jaw dropped and

is arm lifted up. He was pointing at me. Or was he?

“Look.” I turned around after he said it, but to my surprise I saw nothing.

Marshal shakily grabbed my arm while still looking past me.

“Mr. Evans… is right there. He’s bleeding! We need to help.” His voice

was raising and his eyes darted back and forth.

“Marshal I don’t see anything.” I grabbed his arm and led him up to his

room two floors above mine. I laid him down and left. I looked down at

my hands and they were shaking as much as Marshal’s were. Everyone

in this town is losing it just because of one man’s death.

The Mask

I glanced hesitantly at the double doors that led into the police office. 

The mask was in one hand while my other hand was clenched creating 

crescent moons in my hand. I started towards the door, but my feet 

started shaking. The world felt as if it was melting around me. Someone 

grasped my shoulder with large fragile hands. My body melted into their 

arms as my sight started to fade. I was out.

“Hello?” a distant voice mumbled next to me. I batted my eyes trying to 

regain eyesight. A large man with a shiny white head looked down at 

me. He was wearing a police suit and I noticed his name tag said Paul.  

“Well hello there. Are you alright sir?” Paul said.

I shook my head with my hands rubbing my eyes. “Um...I’m ok thank 

you.” The man extended an arm and said, “Let’s get you inside.” I 

grabbed his arm as he pulled me up to a standing position. My knees 

were still shaking, but we managed to get inside.

He looked me up and down specifically focusing on my hands that 

wouldn't stop shaking. He said, “What’s your name mister?” and I 

replied with “Frederick.” Paul had a worried look that washed over me 

too. “What’s that you got in your hand there Frederick?” I looked down 

and noticed the mask was still tightly gripped within my fingers. He 

stretched his hand out once more and touched the mask. I jerked away. 

He took soft steps moving towards me and put his hand on the mask. 

“Can I see that for a second?” I said, “Ok, but I need to tell you 

something.” Paul nodded and I dropped the mask in his hands. “A man 

was in my apartment last night.”

Paul started writing on his pad as I spoke. “I don’t know what he was 

doing or why he was there, but he was there.” Paul squinted his eyes 

at me and asked, “What else was he wearing besides the mask?” I 

closed my eyes and imagined the room. “The man had on an all black 

suit and rubber gloves. He jumped straight out of the window when I 

opened my door, but when I reached the street he was gone. Do you 

think this could’ve been something with Mr. Evans death?”

Paul stared at me for a minute not wanting to answer and said, “Thank 

you for your help. We will call you if you have any more questions.

Fate

The loud thumping of a bass drum throughout the town intrigued me as it did to many others too. I had seen flyers of the upcoming concert, but never looked at it them too intently. I glided towards the sound, while it intensely got louder and louder. Once I reached the amphitheatre, I stepped inside and glanced to my right. There was Betty. She glanced my way and immediately raised her cheeks into a smile. I out lashed my arms and embraced her in a hug. I haven’t seen her in...I don’t know how many years. We sat and talked almost the whole night just like old times sake.

As the concert came to a close so did my conversations with Betty. I walked through the amphitheatre back to the Maitland. The crisp wind blew my dark brown hair softly across my face. I stepped into the elevator and it carried me up to second floor. While I was walking to my floor I saw that my door was slightly cracked open. I softly tapped it and it creaked all the way until hitting the stopper on the adjacent wall. There in front of me stood a man in an all black suit. He jumped as soon as he saw me and covered his face with a gorilla mask. I heard six loud footsteps and then the sound of glass shattering across the floor. I stood there and crept towards the window, but once I got there and looked out all I saw was the quiet road of Maine Street.

I gasped for breath as a shiver sent chills through my entire body. What was he here for? What did I do wrong? I raced down the steps and out onto the sidewalk to find the mask covered in blood. I climbed back up to my floor and saw Mr. Anderson standing across the hall. He looked me straight in the face with his bright green eyes and shiny bald head and said, “You can go and blame it on a simple twist of fate.”

Through the Rain

The day started off perfectly. The soft tapping of rain on my window eased me to peace
as I nestled my head under the pillow and pulled the blanket up to cover my whole body.
I tried to avoid the fact that I had work in 25 min, but my alarm went off again and I jumped
out of bed with 20 minutes left till work. The oozing flames that fell from the shower ran over
my back for 10 minutes till I stepped out. I snatched a banana and a bagel from the pantry,
and drove to work.

I drove for ten minutes going out of town passing the crystal clear water the local quarry holds
till i got to the warehouse. My company is People's Plumber which I started just a year prior to
this. Today there seemed to be an unlikely number of visits for me and Bill, one of my plumbers.
We visited the cinema, theFunhouse, Big Mama's Cafe and even the fire station. As the day
went on the rain subsided, but the clouds lingered.

After work, I picked one of the droopy white roses off of one of the flower pots that were outside
the fire station and, I left to visit the cemetery where my mom was buried. She passed away two
years ago on this day. Driving back into town, a deer sprung in front of my car causing me to
swerve which turned my 1994 Saab 900 turbo convertible straight towards the quarry. I slammed
on the breaks, but the rain had picked up again and I slid down the hill leading to the water. I
grabbed the steering wheel with one hand and the other reached for the rose sitting adjacent to
me on the passenger seat. The car slowly screeched to a stop with an inch between my car and
the water. I took out the keys and stepped out of the car with caution. The wheels weren’t moving,
but the car started creeping towards the water which left a ripple expanding across the quarry
larger than the ripples the rain left.