CHALKBOARD STORIES
Proposition 1: It is possible to determine everything that was ever written on a chalkboard from the traces of dust they leave behind.
The hard chalk squeals in pain as the young man drags it across the board. He stops for a moment, then writes a second:
Proposition 2: It is possible to reconstruct a life from the traces they leave behind, the ways they affected other lives.
Yes, he thinks, that's it. Stretching, he adds an underlined title above the two sentences:
The Chalkboard Proposition
-date-
The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24M8LcloNF
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ259NuVuVdG
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1b4O4103l
On the last day of September…
"Oh, come on, you've got to tell me who you're taking to the social!" Esme titters, throwing her luscious blonde hair back with a flick of the head.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaR9wOFcEE
"Just someone." David was an unusual person; quiet, introverted, and the secret crush of nearly every girl in his year (not to mention ones younger and older). He had well defined features – piercing blue eyes, observant, brown curls hanging over his forehead and the faintest hint of facial hair sprouting beneath his tall nose and under his chin.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmOFDuRjRKW
"Don't tease me, Dave. Give me a name." Esme pouts in what could be considered a sexual way, and a few distant onlookers wolf-whistle. It took a lot to get the self-proclaimed beauty of the school to give that face.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHvgFd0qaEp
"May, I'm not going to tell you that." He sits down on the grass oval and opens his chemistry book.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHK4jtT9pt5
"Okay then. First letter."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCF2H0FC8F8
"May –" Her bottom lip sticks out even further, and she bends over, batting her eyelids. Shit, David thinks. If I don't say anything soon she's going to be undressing for me right here.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzznKjX97cK
"Okay. It's an B." He sighs.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw3YdTzJt8T
Immediately, Esme straightens herself, and pulls up her dress which had casually fallen a centimeter or two during her maneouvres. "B for bitch?" She adds, helpfully. A hysterical laugh.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBeYaTKt2Hb
"No, what the hell, May?"922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbwxBm4JM5y
She puts on a young, girly voice: "It was just a joke, mummy, no need to get so uptight!" Another laugh. "Ohhhhh my god, it's Bronte, isn't it. That SLUT!" She gasps theatrically.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6GtAUCu8z
"No, it's not Bronte. You wouldn't know who it is." He takes out and puts on his glasses and focuses on the book on his lap.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LUhh3QXk2
Esme smiles conspiratorially. "You're quite the puzzle, aren't you?" A more sophisticated person might have used the word 'enigma' instead.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuW6TMXQ2yr
David looks up. "Only if you want me to be."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwuzFEUllR
"Haha…" He can tell she doesn't understand him, as he expected. No one would.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvOPAKoP7Le
Esme's group of friends appears suddenly, as if sprouting out of the ground like unwanted weeds; dandelions, pretty at first sight, but as you blow all the frills away you see the filth underneath that spreading over your garden.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgJA5Ad6wXm
"Well, Dave, I've gotta go. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!" She giggles, and her friends follow suit with an irritating chord of nervous laughter.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3nhOEeHw1a
As if in reverse mitosis, they form one impenetrable cloud of gossip that slowly walks away, emitting the occasional 'No way!' or 'Oh my god!'922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwq56jXnMIP
David sighs, and closes the book.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lqVtyfUCT
He can't concentrate now.
-impurities-
There was a crooked man and he walked a crooked mile,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGi384536w0
He found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked stile.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCvjjsT3rz
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBV1W3oGLxq
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
sample: H2O922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzovsKAhh0g
sample volume: 7325kL922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPQPcYxCML
hypothesis: i am alone922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOA3Shy6SI
method:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zHNTRK4TZ
-extract impurities922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc3ViWy0hqC
result: collected 109875L of impurities922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPVj4YCc8mj
hypothesis disproven922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LHhl89P87
hypothesis ii: i am alone, here922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGufSQJpHl2
method:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcNr3Ni1HV
-sift and sort impurities922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscKPLU81Jc
result: collected 809550mL of relevant impurities922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ10tAlFhyE
hypothesis disproven922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEZFTpeTll
hypothesis iii: magic does not exist922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgiZYpD5iPI
method:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LCEpXJRK7
-collect 2mL of relevant impurities922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWG7nKWHpDT
-place in flask922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzP3ZFAY7i
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhcquCqt4z
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8ratSATQg
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbteRgYCWJO
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHEYegsonf
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXdwUrMw9X
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSV61ddgkI9
-wait922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSlXdWWawP
-until something magical happens922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkxvF18954
result: i waited922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO0m9trwGp0
result: i wanted922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIUjUSpkCUL
result: i failed922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBBIP6TTcW
result: i hid922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsoEHPhtYTg
result: i tried922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tGu5ropED
result: i searched922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzehyeNlmux
result: i found922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQtHKT30ZUx
result: i found something magical922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfqn88CN4hF
hypotheses disproven922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rQZMpwe1d
i am not alone
-sign here-
Monday's child is fair of face,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLPJvA0I4Y
Tuesday's child is full of grace,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYLoVhpAGjn
Wednesday's child is full of woe,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpht8iePDVU
Thursday's child has far to go,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBb33SqKamA
Friday's child is loving and giving,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW5ydGscUqf
Saturday's child works hard for his living922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs55Qyc7GvB
And the child that is born on the Sabbath day…
The author signs the book, another thank, another person. The line goes on.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvIPbePTcK
"The name's Gretta. I'm your number one fan!"922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDGmvzcuT76
To Gretta, my number one fan. -sign here-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrEtih5yRGE
"I really loved your book. It touched me so much. I've had similar issues myself…"922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazWGyz1JA2
To quote a cat meme: 'Hang in there!' Don't give up, Jacob! -sign here-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoXTdC3AYUo
"What an honour to meet you! I'm lost for words."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNO3SiK1mz
To Kyle, my number one fan. -sign here-
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMjncawsZbt
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD6yHI2Ebr
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTmQr1i2HDP
To (name), my number one fan. -sign here-
Endless, endless, endless, and they all mean nothing. Dammit. The pen has run out of ink. He reaches for another –922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL32174OjSO
"No need to." The author looks up at the voice, and is greeted by the figure of a young man, possibly mid to late twenties, perhaps even in the thirties. Streaky blonde hair, slightly awkward gait, but something elegant about the entire presentation. A smile. "It's already signed."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBKa97SrjUg
The author opens to the inside cover, and sure enough, there's a signature there. It's not his own, though.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT7X7QR3R4
This is for you, Hector. I want you to know that I'm sorry.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVwxCtcIED
Carolyn922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOCovrS6Zy9
"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand –" The author is interrupted by the young man.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVfEAmBq4F
"You don't need to. It's only a mystery if you make it one." There's an audible muttering of impatience from the people in the line, and he glances back quickly after he finishes the sentence.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLiUBrcFZv
"The book isn't mine. I bought it second hand." He takes closes the cover, and takes it back. "I think there's a greater story in those fourteen words than what could ever be expressed in the entirety of your book."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGdNdfQ8dn
The author finally sees; and – for a moment – for an eternal, deathly moment – he wants to cry.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBBOaDdTJfX
"Yes…" He manages to form the word. "…I agree."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgxCyfvExa
The young man offers nothing for a goodbye, simply walking away; but, just before he exits the bookshop – he turns back, and gives one last smile – that happy, sad, confused, surprised, goddamn smile.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2jKajPoB8X
The author doesn't want to let himself believe it, but he's sure, so sure, that when the man returns home, he'll play an old record of some Shakespeare, sit by his Shigeru and with his long, shapely fingers, play the most impenetrable and so unspeakably beautiful harmonies.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXc0WG1aQki
The clearing of a throat brings his attention back to the person in front of him.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3KHK2wvEJS
To Samantha, my number one fan. -sign here-
-ghost 54-
"When will that be?" say the Bells of Stepney,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOL3FQd9qvd
"I do not know" say the Great Bells of Bow.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRgIwmk04yW
Here comes a candle to light you to bed…
It is known that ghosts do not come out in day, but only at night, or in the dark.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9C0kMZwad9
Why is this, experts ask?922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeThfXwgbs
And why is it only occasionally that ghosts are found in groups?922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWbpJbaoyp
It was decided that a study must be conducted.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGfXMTi8wQ
We stayed at the Crawley Cemetery for five nights, with video cameras, audio recording equipment, and an ectograph.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25eAHAQD2s
Each night, we video the cemetery, record audio in selected areas, record a transcript of all dialogue at our midnight campfire, and place the ecto-sensors around the cemetery, transmitting information to the ectograph.
NIGHT 1:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqdLL5noGNo
Video cameras find nothing.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrDJ0EP61U
Audio finds only the faintest of whispers.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4i3FHFLo2
No ectograph response.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhNSMPErlu
At our midnight campfire, we had seven people gathered around, telling stories. We came as a group of six. Once pointed out, said extra person vanished. Ghost activity suspected.
NIGHT 2:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0cBrm9JMcI
Video cameras find nothing.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVQ5NKmlHl
Audio records crying at a frequency unnoticeable to human ears. Had to be edited.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfDC3fQ3Ki7
Slight ectograph response.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE2k87tLx2u
At our midnight campfire, we sensed a presence, 5 foot 4 inches tall. One member of our group panicked, and bailed from experiment.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvYGpvl4u4k
The presence feebly tried to morph into a replica of a human body, but the image collapsed.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq0XrMoZByj
We have christened the presence 'ghost 54'.
NIGHT 3:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OuL3atG3V
Video cameras find a group of ghosts, touching, walking through each other, but seemingly without the knowledge of each other's presence. Further study of this phenomenon is required.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdbhNjUmUPU
Audio records multiple prayers being said through the night. Again, frequency had to be edited.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQD1IyiWzWt
Ectograph gives huge response. Large ghost activity in area.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITYw7dyCUe
Ghost 54 returned to our midnight campfire, seemingly trying to make contact with us. Sounds made were unintelligible. We managed to capture it: we have placed it in a cage.
NIGHT 4:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1S06jpOrVV
Video cameras record images of horrific beings, humanoid but monstrous.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaQ9DlfiuD1
Audio records unintelligible noises. This phenomenon requires further study. Possibly an attempt at communication.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZL47yXTXu
Ectograph spikes, has buffer overflow. Line of activity goes off the top of graph before the machine breaks.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqUdRd4Ogyf
We repair the ectograph during our midnight campfire.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Opp6nDein
One of our remaining 5 crew members has an epileptic fit. We attempt to calm him before he morphs into a monstrous ghost before our eyes. We restrain him, and place him in the cage. We have lost another crew member.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISbNy4gPlQ
Ghost 54 is silent.
NIGHT 5:922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWPt2ZuOseW
Video cameras show many people walking around the cemetery.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡek9b72Dpt6
Audio records many casual conversations.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiW9FUowPA
The repaired ectograph gives no response.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAn5AlXXit
The cage contains our crew member and ghost 54. We cannot tell which is which, as both no longer resemble ghosts, both seemingly human now.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbFrNBiaL6I
No ghost activity was found at all.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8bJyfpFIX
At midnight campfire, we go back through previous footage and recordings. They have changed. Frequencies are back to normal (edited versions had to be re-edited) and unintelligible noises now resemble human conversation.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1h9i430mNY
We congratulate ourselves on our unusual findings.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡklLTwlw0Nw
To celebrate, we watch the footage of ghost 54 being placed in the cage.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzyXbYaAre
We are surprised to see in the recording, us placing a perfectly healthy (and struggling) human into the cage.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQFivSq3vHk
The footage has not been tampered with.
This phenomenon requires further study.
-whish-
Jack and Jill922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBoadHzdtx
Went up the hill922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iICppB0py
To fetch a pail of water…
The hill is silent, serene – peaceful, he wants to say.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfkiC2d8zA4
This is his place, where he can lay the storm of thoughts rushing about inside his mind to rest.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNqvoezRT4L
The climb is harsh, and he recalls when once – as a younger child, perhaps 11 or 12 years old, he twisted his foot on a rock, and it never quite fully healed; you wouldn't notice it at a glance, but there's something ever so slightly awkward about the way he carries himself.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2X8WYoagg
But he still does it, perhaps once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less, because of the Whishing Well.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡydT6BQjhRO
That's what he calls it; the old, defunct well at the top of the hill – the Whishing Well. His own little private joke. And on those nights that he sneaks out of the house to climb up, he drops something precious down the well and makes a wish, then lies under the glimmering stars for as long as he dares before heading back down to his house.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiDydUi159
Tonight is different.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpdopV9ZRN
He has nothing left to give to the well.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy20y6eTEDT
Or, perhaps, he has everything to give.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ16EUiLGqyc
He knows that this is the last time he's going to go to the well. He doesn't want to come back after this, because this – this is his final wish, the most important thing in his whole life, the one thing he wants granted.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3Fy6bAS4C
He reaches the peak, and kneels beside the stone circle surrounding the pit. He makes his wish, and as he does so, he can't help but let a few tears escape; each echoing hollowly as they splash against the bottom of the well.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbT6ObTQ13
The sleepless moon watches over him, gliding so slowly across the sky, a guardian, a confidante, the only other that will know the wish, the light reflecting of his streaky blonde hair.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzdSOhN6Qq
He opens his eyes. The wish is over.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH1I9UaGSwJ
He wants it. He needs it.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6Ayn6DVur
With a sigh, he walks back down the hill.
The next evening, his parents are crying.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzq1YpzTJFA
"We're proud of you, son, no matter what." They're smiling, but they're shocked as well, shaken.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbfDkf5tYEU
His dad, eyes red, pats him on the back.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cXq2VNf2r
"Go get 'em, tiger."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6MLoQWwNmf
And so a door closes, another opens.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ78Cq4P1z8p
He walks out, a half-hearted goodbye, a see you soon, and they watch all the way as he walks down the street.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBU3gIOYN3
The thirty minute walk gives his time to think about what's going to happen, to him, to them, to everyone they know.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz7juWeLdSj
He reaches his destination, and there, a slim, quiet figure waits, extending a hand upon sight.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMiZoDdiBb
He grasps it.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCVhaVJAjmG
"Ready?"922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOWeSVvxdM
The person answers. "Ready."922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6iAyKNn7n
He can tell that they're not, really, but they're going to do this anyway.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpY07hYtJ3R
They can hear all the noise from inside the hall, growing louder as they open the door.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZneJ0DZeU
Silence.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuFjiIbmFWT
Everything stops.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxijmicdaJT
And he thinks of his wish, still strong in his mind, and walks, hand in hand, into the room.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZe2fVczKrV
I wish…922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPF9BvAiBIq
I wish…922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDpnUWTd8fc
Esme cries.
-extract from memoir of a ghost by david whishaw-
When Adam delved, and Eve span,922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4L0Bc6dP5
Who then was a gentleman?
I'm walking new territory now, no footsteps in the sand before me. I've thrown everything that I knew and loved to the winds, and I'm scared that I'll take the journey alone. Everything is different now, but even in those first, tentative steps, I know that however hard this will be, something magical is waiting for me at the end. And when I glimpse that beautiful thing, still so far away, rising over the horizon, I'm going to run, oh, I'll run, and I'm never looking back.
Just watch me go.922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3DdgG4w7jL
-chalkboard stories-922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbW7UoNmR8V
its only an enigma922Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMHUDV4l8B
if you want it to be
