The Image
George was late coming home from work. The traffic was really heavy but was moving very fast on the freeway.
As he drove, he saw two trucks trying to change lanes at the same time. Suddenly they struck each other and there was a huge crash and
explosion. The explosion rolled and he could feel the heat coming!
For a moment, George looked and saw that edges of the scene seem to curl back and only blackness was in view.
But as the force of the explosion diminished, the scene again became solid.
However as George looked around, he was far past the scene of the accident and couldn’t even see it in the rear view mirror.
George drove on home dazed and confused.
He’d been heading right into a tremendously intense explosion and came out far beyond it in normal traffic.
This explosion was to become knows as the “xplosion.”
At home he popped open a beer and turned on the tube.
The local station was showing footage of the huge pile up and the tremendous damage done by the explosion of the fuel tankers.
Four city blocks were leveled and 43 people were killed.
George couldn’t figure out how he could have been right behind the tankers that exploded and come out far beyond the effects of the
xpulsion.
There didn’t seem to be any explanation.
Several days passed and George didn’t seem to be able to get back to normal.
Something seemed to keep pulling him back to the explosion.
At night he would dream the explosion over and over. What kept coming up in the dreams were the edges curling up and then he was on
unobstructed freeway.
George was getting exhausted and was being unable to concentrate on his work.
He was a freelance write for a local magazine and all he could think of was the mystery of driving into a huge explosion and coming out far
beyond the disaster area.
He decided he needed to investigate this.
Just the decision fired him up with energy and revitalized him. He felt alive again.
He took out his pad and outlined a rough plan.
First, he decided he would drive down to the area of the explosion. That was the end of the outline that he could think of right now. But at
least he could do this.
He grabbed his scratch pad and digital camera. He sometimes liked to draw and sometimes, he just took pictures.
George went down stairs and entered the garage through the living room door exit.
His Ford sedan fired up reluctantly. He really needed to stop saving every penny and splurge on something new and fun to drive. But that
would have to wait until he solved this mystery.
He headed to the freeway and rapidly drove towards the area of the 210 freeway that was in ruins on both sides.
The xplusion had not damaged the solid concrete of the freeway but had leveled everything on both sides and damaged much more
beyond.
George slowed as he approached the area of the explosion. He didn’t see anything beyond wreckage.
This was disappointing as he didn’t have any other ideas.
He drove beyond the area and decided he should just turn around and go home.
He exited the freeway and got back on heading north.
As he approached the area of the explosion, it all started to come back to him.
He saw the two trucks as if they were right in front of him now and then the explosion. He even felt the heat on his face.
He saw the scene and again, saw the edges curling back like burning newspaper and blackness in the middle.
But the image was gone and he was still driving down the 210 just leaving the area of ruin.
As he drove, he realized that the scene curling back was what had kept the whole matter alive in his life.
There are no edges to curl back in an intense explosion.
He thought about this all the way home and felt he was about to figure it out but it kept slipping away like the memory that’s just on the tip of
your tongue.
Every time he got close to it, it would vanish.
When he got home, he fixed a stake and salad. He opened a cold beer and ate slowly. The
memory kept nagging at him. The answer was so obvious that it was invisible.
He went to bed early and had difficulty going to sleep.
During the night, it came to him. It wasn’t the edges! It was the blackness...
The conclusion is written, email me to read it. Carl
Next story is named STORM GODS. Click here to enjoy.
George was late coming home from work. The traffic was really heavy but was moving very fast on the freeway.
As he drove, he saw two trucks trying to change lanes at the same time. Suddenly they struck each other and there was a huge crash and
explosion. The explosion rolled and he could feel the heat coming!
For a moment, George looked and saw that edges of the scene seem to curl back and only blackness was in view.
But as the force of the explosion diminished, the scene again became solid.
However as George looked around, he was far past the scene of the accident and couldn’t even see it in the rear view mirror.
George drove on home dazed and confused.
He’d been heading right into a tremendously intense explosion and came out far beyond it in normal traffic.
This explosion was to become knows as the “xplosion.”
At home he popped open a beer and turned on the tube.
The local station was showing footage of the huge pile up and the tremendous damage done by the explosion of the fuel tankers.
Four city blocks were leveled and 43 people were killed.
George couldn’t figure out how he could have been right behind the tankers that exploded and come out far beyond the effects of the
xpulsion.
There didn’t seem to be any explanation.
Several days passed and George didn’t seem to be able to get back to normal.
Something seemed to keep pulling him back to the explosion.
At night he would dream the explosion over and over. What kept coming up in the dreams were the edges curling up and then he was on
unobstructed freeway.
George was getting exhausted and was being unable to concentrate on his work.
He was a freelance write for a local magazine and all he could think of was the mystery of driving into a huge explosion and coming out far
beyond the disaster area.
He decided he needed to investigate this.
Just the decision fired him up with energy and revitalized him. He felt alive again.
He took out his pad and outlined a rough plan.
First, he decided he would drive down to the area of the explosion. That was the end of the outline that he could think of right now. But at
least he could do this.
He grabbed his scratch pad and digital camera. He sometimes liked to draw and sometimes, he just took pictures.
George went down stairs and entered the garage through the living room door exit.
His Ford sedan fired up reluctantly. He really needed to stop saving every penny and splurge on something new and fun to drive. But that
would have to wait until he solved this mystery.
He headed to the freeway and rapidly drove towards the area of the 210 freeway that was in ruins on both sides.
The xplusion had not damaged the solid concrete of the freeway but had leveled everything on both sides and damaged much more
beyond.
George slowed as he approached the area of the explosion. He didn’t see anything beyond wreckage.
This was disappointing as he didn’t have any other ideas.
He drove beyond the area and decided he should just turn around and go home.
He exited the freeway and got back on heading north.
As he approached the area of the explosion, it all started to come back to him.
He saw the two trucks as if they were right in front of him now and then the explosion. He even felt the heat on his face.
He saw the scene and again, saw the edges curling back like burning newspaper and blackness in the middle.
But the image was gone and he was still driving down the 210 just leaving the area of ruin.
As he drove, he realized that the scene curling back was what had kept the whole matter alive in his life.
There are no edges to curl back in an intense explosion.
He thought about this all the way home and felt he was about to figure it out but it kept slipping away like the memory that’s just on the tip of
your tongue.
Every time he got close to it, it would vanish.
When he got home, he fixed a stake and salad. He opened a cold beer and ate slowly. The
memory kept nagging at him. The answer was so obvious that it was invisible.
He went to bed early and had difficulty going to sleep.
During the night, it came to him. It wasn’t the edges! It was the blackness...
The conclusion is written, email me to read it. Carl
Next story is named STORM GODS. Click here to enjoy.
page created 2006, modified 9/17/08,
10/15, 11/8/08, 12/3/08, 1/22/09
10/15, 11/8/08, 12/3/08, 1/22/09
