Odd Occurrence in the Desert

My car busted down driving through Arizona. I tried calling roadside assistance but I couldn’t get a signal. I lifted the hood and looked at the engine. I said, “Car, what’s wrong?” The car was silent.

I looked out at the desert. I looked back at my car and it was gone. I looked all round and nothing. The temperature dropped, the wind picked up, and it started to rain. I began to shake.

I saw a big cactus in the distance. I ran towards it seeking shelter. The running warmed me.

I got to the cactus and leaned against its trunk, avoiding the needles. The wind and rain were blocked. But my clothes were soaked and I began to shiver. I soon began shaking so much that I accidentally bumped into the needles.

I looked back at at the freeway and saw my car. It was parked in the same spot before its disappearance. Smoke was coming from the exhaust pipe. I ran back to my car.

The car was running. I opened the door and got in. The heat was turned on. I warmed up and my shivers stopped.

I said, “Car, where did you go?” My car said, “I didn’t go anywhere.” I said, “You stopped and then disappeared.” My car said, “I was tired. I took a nap. Are you okay? It looks like you have some blood on your shirt.”

I lifted my shirt and saw that the cactus needle wounds were red and a little swollen. Plus they itched. I put a little spit on my finger tips and applied them to my hurts. The itching went away.

Engulfed!

I woke up to flashing and flickering lights. I looked out the window and saw the tree was on fire. I ran outside, turned on the hose, and sprayed the tree with water. The fire didn’t dim. I kept watering.

The flames were intense. But I noticed the tree wasn’t being hurt. It was like the tree was emanating a massive scrambling halo.

I shut off the water. I got really close to the tree. I put my hand in the fire. I didn’t get burned. I hugged the tree. The flames were warm.

I backed away from the tree. The flames engulfed me. I ran around my backyard and the flames trailed off me like a cape. I called myself Fireman.

A raccoon, opossum, a family of mice, and a badger ran skipping behind me.

I got tired and lay down on the grass. The animals ran back and forth over me, squealing their sounds.

I fell asleep.

I woke up in the morning. The flames were gone. Even though I was just wearing a night shirt, and my skin and clothes were covered with dew, I felt warm.

Giving the eye

I dug a hole. I got in and sat down. I liked the coolness of the earth. The silence was profound.

A crow landed on the edge of the hole. The crow said, “What are you doing?” I said I was taking it easy. The crow said, “Are you tired?” I said I wasn’t.

The crow said, “Do you see any worms?” I said I didn’t. I did see some worms. Three actually. But I didn’t want harm to come to them.

The crow said, “Are you sure?”

I said I was.

The crow gave me the eye. That’s their specialty. Plenty folk fold in on themselves and do a crow’s bidding when they get the eye.

I looked at the space between the crow’s eyes. It’s something my dad taught me. He said it’s a way to meet someone’s gaze when you think it might be too much. It keeps you from looking away.

The crow was overcome by my stare. It looked away and flew off.

One of the worms said, “Thanks, that was very kind of you.”

I said, “No one wants to be anyone’s lunch.”

The duck and its needs

There was a knock at the door. I answered it. A duck looked up. I asked what it wanted. The duck asked why I hadn’t been to the lake tossing the bread crumbs. I said I’d been busy. The duck asked what I’d been doing. I said I’d been doing a lot of things.

The duck asked me if I had breadcrumbs. I said I had bread. The duck asked if he could have some. I asked if he wanted it plain, or with peanut butter. The duck’s eyes lit up and he said with peanut butter. I asked the duck to wait.

I went into the kitchen. I came back with a plate of two slices of peanut butter bread. I set the plate on the ground. The duck looked up and said thanks.

I closed the door. I sat down at my desk and wrote about what happened.

There was a knock at the door. I got up and answered. It was the duck. He had finished the meal. He asked me what I was doing. I said I was writing about my encounter with him. He asked if he could read it. I invited him in.

He read what I’d written. He asked if I would add the part about him coming in and reading the story. I said yes.

The building that was

The building was gone. It was there a moment ago. I had been standing outside the building, washing the ground floor windows. In mid-wipe the building was no more.

No traces remained. Not even marks on the ground. In its place was a plum tree. There were ripe plums. I ate one.

Someone came by and asked about the building. They said they had an appointment in the building. I said I didn’t know where it went. The told me again about their appointment and asked me what to do. I suggested they eat a plum. They said they didn’t like plums.