It's only been eleven days, but I am struggling. There's something wrong with my left side. The work I have to do is too hard for me. I'm thinking of giving up.
Something happened. There were strange sensations around me. A coldness and my rhythm was overtaken by another's for a time. I feel better though. My rhythm is stronger now.
***
It's been three years now and I was struggling again. It was hard to keep my rhythm steady and then it was overtaken again. This time was different though. There was slashing, sharp pain. There was coldness and sharpness. I wanted to struggle but something kept me steady. The pain lingered for awhile, but I healed. I have a scar now.
***
Is this how it is always going to be? I have been here, keeping my rhythm, for five years now. The struggle was increasing again. Then it happened, the cold, the pain, the sharpness. I felt all back together, but something was still wrong. There was something that didn't belong. Something hanging inside me. Unlike last time, I went through it all again almost immediately. I was assaulted by slashing pain and coldness, but the thing hanging inside me was removed. I am healing with more scars.
***
I have struggled a long time now. Nearly twenty one years of my rhythm, but my left side is so weak. The scars are a problem. I was on the brink of giving up when something was inserted into me. Some type of wire. It was strange, but it helps with my rhythm. It wasn't enough and I was still going to give up, but again I experienced the sharp coldness. There was so much pain. A piece of me was removed. It was replaced by some type of mechanical device. I am healed now. The device stayed. The wire stayed. It is strange, but I am doing better. The scars though, I have so many of them now.
***
I made it another ten years. The mechanical device is failing with me. I think it was too small to really do the job. I expect the sharp coldness soon. It's what happens when I start to struggle this badly.
It came as expected, the sharpness, cold and pain. I didn't handle it really well. It lasted more than twice as long as any other time. There are just too many scars. The mechanical device was replaced with a new one. Then another piece of me was removed. I have a second mechanical device now. They are both on my failing left side. I am not sure I can do this again.
***
I have been here thirty eight years now. It's been a hard road. My scars show my story. I'm tired and struggling. I'll keep my rhythm as long as I can.
**************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 15. The topic this week was “Patchwork Heart". This is a fictional perspective from my sister's heart. She has had six open heart surgeries. She had to have a pacemaker at 21. Her aortic valve has been replaced twice and the mitral valve once.
Something happened. There were strange sensations around me. A coldness and my rhythm was overtaken by another's for a time. I feel better though. My rhythm is stronger now.
***
It's been three years now and I was struggling again. It was hard to keep my rhythm steady and then it was overtaken again. This time was different though. There was slashing, sharp pain. There was coldness and sharpness. I wanted to struggle but something kept me steady. The pain lingered for awhile, but I healed. I have a scar now.
***
Is this how it is always going to be? I have been here, keeping my rhythm, for five years now. The struggle was increasing again. Then it happened, the cold, the pain, the sharpness. I felt all back together, but something was still wrong. There was something that didn't belong. Something hanging inside me. Unlike last time, I went through it all again almost immediately. I was assaulted by slashing pain and coldness, but the thing hanging inside me was removed. I am healing with more scars.
***
I have struggled a long time now. Nearly twenty one years of my rhythm, but my left side is so weak. The scars are a problem. I was on the brink of giving up when something was inserted into me. Some type of wire. It was strange, but it helps with my rhythm. It wasn't enough and I was still going to give up, but again I experienced the sharp coldness. There was so much pain. A piece of me was removed. It was replaced by some type of mechanical device. I am healed now. The device stayed. The wire stayed. It is strange, but I am doing better. The scars though, I have so many of them now.
***
I made it another ten years. The mechanical device is failing with me. I think it was too small to really do the job. I expect the sharp coldness soon. It's what happens when I start to struggle this badly.
It came as expected, the sharpness, cold and pain. I didn't handle it really well. It lasted more than twice as long as any other time. There are just too many scars. The mechanical device was replaced with a new one. Then another piece of me was removed. I have a second mechanical device now. They are both on my failing left side. I am not sure I can do this again.
***
I have been here thirty eight years now. It's been a hard road. My scars show my story. I'm tired and struggling. I'll keep my rhythm as long as I can.
**************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 15. The topic this week was “Patchwork Heart". This is a fictional perspective from my sister's heart. She has had six open heart surgeries. She had to have a pacemaker at 21. Her aortic valve has been replaced twice and the mitral valve once.
Naya had finally found what she was looking for. Her clan. Only to discover, as she sat here at the campfire with them, she would never belong. She could do more with her ability to change her shape than the men sitting with her. To them, she was unusual or lying.
If she proved her heritage to their satisfaction, then she was still left with the knowledge that she was different from any other clan member. Naya’s dream had always been to find the clan. To find a place where she would belong. There would be no feeling of belonging somewhere. How could they accept a stranger who was so different?
“This isn’t how I imagined my search would end. Very well gentlemen. It seems I must prove my heritage, or give you a very good reason why I change differently than you. Since I change the way I was taught, I don’t know what to tell you on that front. That only leaves my heritage.”
“Your mother never mentioned that your changes were any different than hers, Naya.” Laron, her friend and companion, tried to offer her comfort. He knew where her thoughts had led. He had always understood what drove her to search endlessly for the clan. ”I remember that she never actually changed her shape very often. I always thought the reason for that was that she didn’t want to call attention to herself, so she only changed rarely. You were a young girl learning new things. Of course you would explore your ability more.”
“Naya, who was your mother?” Naytor asked.
Naya looked over at the members of the clan that had tracked her down. Naya’s mother had always said life was neither fair nor unfair, it just was. It helped to remember that now.
“My mother’s name was Canara. She was the only child of Candar and Hana of the Clan Krill.”
Six of the seven men across the fire visibly blanched at her words. Only one, the youngest, did not react to her mother’s name. She looked carefully at the men. Only now noticing that all six were much older than him.
“What is it? You knew my mother didn’t you?” Naya was excited to discover someone who knew her mother. At the same time she didn’t know what to make of their reaction. It didn’t look like it was a good memory.
“Canara’s daughter? But, she died.” Naytor stared at Naya in shock.
“Yes, eight years ago.” Naya frowned. She wondered how Naytor had known of her mother’s death.
“Eight years ago! Impossible! Twenty-seven years ago, I watched Canara go over the side of the Dusty Moon. We were crossing the Volar Sea on our way to Gyrfaltin. I never found out exactly what happened, but I heard her scream as she fell. By the time I got to the railing, she had already sunk below the surface. Several crewmembers and I jumped in after her, but we never found her. We searched for as long as the sea allowed, but a storm was coming and the captain finally turned the ship for land.” Naytor paused.
Naya listened to the pain in the voice of the man across the fire from her. What happened to him that day had affected him deeply. Naya didn’t understand. Not that that was an unusual state of mind this day. She was beginning to think she would never understand anything again.
“Her scream still echoes in my dreams.” He whispered softly.
Naya felt sorrow for the loss this man had experienced. Naya did not know what need could be so great that her mother would wish the people who knew her to think she was dead. Her mother had never told her any of this. The most frustrating thing to Naya was that she should know why. However, her mother had never discussed her past. No matter how much Naya had tried to get it out of her. There were just some things she would not speak of.
Naya sighed. She regretted what she was about to say. “Naytor, my mother did not die that day.” Naya stated.
Naytor’s head snapped up. “She did die. I saw her go under. She had to have died, otherwise she would have come back.”
“My mother could take the form of a dolphin. She once told me it was the second form she had learned. She said it was rare to find an aquatic creature with a magical essence that the clan could learn. It was difficult, but my mother loved the sea.”
“You lie.” Naytor nearly spat the words at Naya. “I knew all of Canara’s forms. If she could be a dolphin I would have known.”
Naya spoke patiently to the man in front of her. She knew that what she was going to say was only going to bring him pain. By his reactions she could tell that he had cared very deeply for her mother.
“My mother was a tall slender woman. She had lighter hair than I do. Her eyes were a light brown in color. There was a scar through her left eyebrow. She once told me she received that scar fighting as a child with a wretched boy who had stolen her sword. The way she always said that I finally decided it was a fond memory for her.” Naya watched Naytor carefully as she finished describing her mother.
Naytor slowly absorbed what Naya had said to him. He did not make a sound or change his expression in the least as he recognized the woman this girl was describing to him. He had been the wretched boy who had stolen Canara’s sword from her when she was seven. That was the first time he had underestimated her. He had tried to teach the younger girl a lesson about playing with a toy she could not control with the older boys. Canara retrieved her sword from him and then challenged him for his insolence. She beat him soundly.
He had always underestimated her tenaciousness when going after something she wanted. Canara had surprised him many times as they had grown up, but to let him believe she had died. That was too much to accept. That she had not died, that she had run away for some unfathomable reason, this was the idea he now struggled with.
“Naytor.” The man next to him spoke up again.
“What Jao.” He snapped.
“I remember that sword fight. I had to break you two up, before she stopped toying with you and decided to slice you to ribbons. I don’t know who was more surprised, you, that a little slip of a girl beat you, or Canara, that you asked to practice with her afterwards.”
“Yes Jao. I know. It is just hard to accept.”
“This will be even harder then.” Jao said.
The expression on Naytor’s face as he looked over at Jao was bleak. “What do you mean?”
“Her name.” Jao said simply as he gestured at Naya.
Naytor looked at Naya as if he had just taken a blow to the body. He stared intently across the fire at her. Taking in all her features. Scrutinizing her.
“Sweet Enu…” Naytor nearly hissed the words. His confusion and pain turned to rage. “It is true.” Naytor jumped up and stalked around the fire. “How dare she do this to me! How could she? Why did she leave?” He shouted.
Naya scrambled up as Naytor advanced on her. He was livid. He reached for Naya as if he was going to grab her to shake the answers from her, but she jumped back quickly out of his range. Laron interposed himself between the two. He put his hand up as though to stop Naytor, though he didn’t actually touch him.
“Easy Naytor. Naya will answer what she can. Whatever has upset you is not Naya’s fault. You know this. Control your anger.” His words were calm, but full of steel.
Naytor looked at the man standing in front of him. He looked so calm, so solid. Laron was a wall between him and the answers he sought if he didn’t get a hold of himself. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration.
“I am sorry.” He said. He turned and sat down close to were Naya had been sitting previously. He watched Naya and Laron as they returned to their seats.
Much more calmly Naytor asked, “Why did she leave?”
“I know a lot of the clan’s history and heritage. My mother taught me a great deal of it.” Naya began. “The one thing she would never talk about was her own life. I know the names of my grandparents, and that she was an only child. I don’t have any answers. That is all I know.”
Naytor put his head in his hands when he heard this. It was almost as if he was shielding himself from Naya’s words. “For as long as I can remember we wandered. We never stayed anywhere for more than a few months. The need to find the clan and discover my mother’s past has driven me my whole life.”
Naya waited. The fire popped into the silence as the logs shifted. When Naytor looked up at her again he had tears coursing slowly down his face.
“Why did my name upset you so much?” She asked softly.
“It was the Naming.”
“The Naming?”
“Do you not know of this tradition?” Naytor asked her.
Naya shook her head.
“Canara was the daughter of Candar. When she was born she took the first letters of his name into her own. This is the Naming. Jao believes you were named for your father also Naya.”
Naya stared at Naytor. An idea of where this was going growing quickly in her mind. She had to ask.
“That would be?”
“Canara and I loved each other very much. Our love was enough to defy tradition. It is frowned upon to marry another member of the clan. We did not care, and Candar finally relented. We were betrothed and our Promise year was nearly over when I lost her. You were named for me.”
Suspicion crystallized into truth. It was Naya’s turn to be shocked. She stared at Naytor stunned by his words. This revelation on top of everything else that had happened today was too much. Her mind raced as it tried to grasp the implications. The clan had found her. And she had found her father.
“How old are you Naya?” Naytor asked.
Naya just stared at him. She was unable to speak through the tears that were closing off her throat and burning behind her eyes.
Laron spoke for her. “Naya is twenty and seven years. She was born the night of the Harvest moon in the third year of the Cycle of Eagles.”
“You know her very well Laron.” This statement was said with what seemed to be a small amount of regret. “That makes the timing right.”
She had found her father. The secrets revealed here at this fire, would change her world.
*************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 14. The topic this week was “Campfire Stories".
If she proved her heritage to their satisfaction, then she was still left with the knowledge that she was different from any other clan member. Naya’s dream had always been to find the clan. To find a place where she would belong. There would be no feeling of belonging somewhere. How could they accept a stranger who was so different?
“This isn’t how I imagined my search would end. Very well gentlemen. It seems I must prove my heritage, or give you a very good reason why I change differently than you. Since I change the way I was taught, I don’t know what to tell you on that front. That only leaves my heritage.”
“Your mother never mentioned that your changes were any different than hers, Naya.” Laron, her friend and companion, tried to offer her comfort. He knew where her thoughts had led. He had always understood what drove her to search endlessly for the clan. ”I remember that she never actually changed her shape very often. I always thought the reason for that was that she didn’t want to call attention to herself, so she only changed rarely. You were a young girl learning new things. Of course you would explore your ability more.”
“Naya, who was your mother?” Naytor asked.
Naya looked over at the members of the clan that had tracked her down. Naya’s mother had always said life was neither fair nor unfair, it just was. It helped to remember that now.
“My mother’s name was Canara. She was the only child of Candar and Hana of the Clan Krill.”
Six of the seven men across the fire visibly blanched at her words. Only one, the youngest, did not react to her mother’s name. She looked carefully at the men. Only now noticing that all six were much older than him.
“What is it? You knew my mother didn’t you?” Naya was excited to discover someone who knew her mother. At the same time she didn’t know what to make of their reaction. It didn’t look like it was a good memory.
“Canara’s daughter? But, she died.” Naytor stared at Naya in shock.
“Yes, eight years ago.” Naya frowned. She wondered how Naytor had known of her mother’s death.
“Eight years ago! Impossible! Twenty-seven years ago, I watched Canara go over the side of the Dusty Moon. We were crossing the Volar Sea on our way to Gyrfaltin. I never found out exactly what happened, but I heard her scream as she fell. By the time I got to the railing, she had already sunk below the surface. Several crewmembers and I jumped in after her, but we never found her. We searched for as long as the sea allowed, but a storm was coming and the captain finally turned the ship for land.” Naytor paused.
Naya listened to the pain in the voice of the man across the fire from her. What happened to him that day had affected him deeply. Naya didn’t understand. Not that that was an unusual state of mind this day. She was beginning to think she would never understand anything again.
“Her scream still echoes in my dreams.” He whispered softly.
Naya felt sorrow for the loss this man had experienced. Naya did not know what need could be so great that her mother would wish the people who knew her to think she was dead. Her mother had never told her any of this. The most frustrating thing to Naya was that she should know why. However, her mother had never discussed her past. No matter how much Naya had tried to get it out of her. There were just some things she would not speak of.
Naya sighed. She regretted what she was about to say. “Naytor, my mother did not die that day.” Naya stated.
Naytor’s head snapped up. “She did die. I saw her go under. She had to have died, otherwise she would have come back.”
“My mother could take the form of a dolphin. She once told me it was the second form she had learned. She said it was rare to find an aquatic creature with a magical essence that the clan could learn. It was difficult, but my mother loved the sea.”
“You lie.” Naytor nearly spat the words at Naya. “I knew all of Canara’s forms. If she could be a dolphin I would have known.”
Naya spoke patiently to the man in front of her. She knew that what she was going to say was only going to bring him pain. By his reactions she could tell that he had cared very deeply for her mother.
“My mother was a tall slender woman. She had lighter hair than I do. Her eyes were a light brown in color. There was a scar through her left eyebrow. She once told me she received that scar fighting as a child with a wretched boy who had stolen her sword. The way she always said that I finally decided it was a fond memory for her.” Naya watched Naytor carefully as she finished describing her mother.
Naytor slowly absorbed what Naya had said to him. He did not make a sound or change his expression in the least as he recognized the woman this girl was describing to him. He had been the wretched boy who had stolen Canara’s sword from her when she was seven. That was the first time he had underestimated her. He had tried to teach the younger girl a lesson about playing with a toy she could not control with the older boys. Canara retrieved her sword from him and then challenged him for his insolence. She beat him soundly.
He had always underestimated her tenaciousness when going after something she wanted. Canara had surprised him many times as they had grown up, but to let him believe she had died. That was too much to accept. That she had not died, that she had run away for some unfathomable reason, this was the idea he now struggled with.
“Naytor.” The man next to him spoke up again.
“What Jao.” He snapped.
“I remember that sword fight. I had to break you two up, before she stopped toying with you and decided to slice you to ribbons. I don’t know who was more surprised, you, that a little slip of a girl beat you, or Canara, that you asked to practice with her afterwards.”
“Yes Jao. I know. It is just hard to accept.”
“This will be even harder then.” Jao said.
The expression on Naytor’s face as he looked over at Jao was bleak. “What do you mean?”
“Her name.” Jao said simply as he gestured at Naya.
Naytor looked at Naya as if he had just taken a blow to the body. He stared intently across the fire at her. Taking in all her features. Scrutinizing her.
“Sweet Enu…” Naytor nearly hissed the words. His confusion and pain turned to rage. “It is true.” Naytor jumped up and stalked around the fire. “How dare she do this to me! How could she? Why did she leave?” He shouted.
Naya scrambled up as Naytor advanced on her. He was livid. He reached for Naya as if he was going to grab her to shake the answers from her, but she jumped back quickly out of his range. Laron interposed himself between the two. He put his hand up as though to stop Naytor, though he didn’t actually touch him.
“Easy Naytor. Naya will answer what she can. Whatever has upset you is not Naya’s fault. You know this. Control your anger.” His words were calm, but full of steel.
Naytor looked at the man standing in front of him. He looked so calm, so solid. Laron was a wall between him and the answers he sought if he didn’t get a hold of himself. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair in a gesture of frustration.
“I am sorry.” He said. He turned and sat down close to were Naya had been sitting previously. He watched Naya and Laron as they returned to their seats.
Much more calmly Naytor asked, “Why did she leave?”
“I know a lot of the clan’s history and heritage. My mother taught me a great deal of it.” Naya began. “The one thing she would never talk about was her own life. I know the names of my grandparents, and that she was an only child. I don’t have any answers. That is all I know.”
Naytor put his head in his hands when he heard this. It was almost as if he was shielding himself from Naya’s words. “For as long as I can remember we wandered. We never stayed anywhere for more than a few months. The need to find the clan and discover my mother’s past has driven me my whole life.”
Naya waited. The fire popped into the silence as the logs shifted. When Naytor looked up at her again he had tears coursing slowly down his face.
“Why did my name upset you so much?” She asked softly.
“It was the Naming.”
“The Naming?”
“Do you not know of this tradition?” Naytor asked her.
Naya shook her head.
“Canara was the daughter of Candar. When she was born she took the first letters of his name into her own. This is the Naming. Jao believes you were named for your father also Naya.”
Naya stared at Naytor. An idea of where this was going growing quickly in her mind. She had to ask.
“That would be?”
“Canara and I loved each other very much. Our love was enough to defy tradition. It is frowned upon to marry another member of the clan. We did not care, and Candar finally relented. We were betrothed and our Promise year was nearly over when I lost her. You were named for me.”
Suspicion crystallized into truth. It was Naya’s turn to be shocked. She stared at Naytor stunned by his words. This revelation on top of everything else that had happened today was too much. Her mind raced as it tried to grasp the implications. The clan had found her. And she had found her father.
“How old are you Naya?” Naytor asked.
Naya just stared at him. She was unable to speak through the tears that were closing off her throat and burning behind her eyes.
Laron spoke for her. “Naya is twenty and seven years. She was born the night of the Harvest moon in the third year of the Cycle of Eagles.”
“You know her very well Laron.” This statement was said with what seemed to be a small amount of regret. “That makes the timing right.”
She had found her father. The secrets revealed here at this fire, would change her world.
*************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 14. The topic this week was “Campfire Stories".
"Come back my child."
"I cannot Grandmother."
"You must come back or be forever lost."
"You don't understand."
"I understand much my child. I understand that you wish to choose this path. You go against my council."
No, Grandmother, I..."
"Yes! This path you are on will lead to your downfall. I cannot have that. You must come back. The path you take will only lead to ruin. Many have followed it before. None have come back. If you proceed, I cannot help you. You will be lost to me. You will be lost to this place where you belong."
"That is what you do not understand Grandmother. Here, in this place that I belong, I am and always have been lost."
"Do not speak foolishness child."
"Grandmother, I know that you do not understand. To you, this path leads to a terrible unknown. To me, this path is my salvation. I will walk it with assurance and courage. I have faith that I will find myself and all that I have ever truly wanted."
"Foolish child! You must stop at once. You are on the brink of disaster. A single step more and you will not be able to return."
"With this step, I become what I was meant to be. No longer constrained by fear."
"My child!"
"Goodbye Grandmother."
*********************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 4. This week was an "Open Topic".
"I cannot Grandmother."
"You must come back or be forever lost."
"You don't understand."
"I understand much my child. I understand that you wish to choose this path. You go against my council."
No, Grandmother, I..."
"Yes! This path you are on will lead to your downfall. I cannot have that. You must come back. The path you take will only lead to ruin. Many have followed it before. None have come back. If you proceed, I cannot help you. You will be lost to me. You will be lost to this place where you belong."
"That is what you do not understand Grandmother. Here, in this place that I belong, I am and always have been lost."
"Do not speak foolishness child."
"Grandmother, I know that you do not understand. To you, this path leads to a terrible unknown. To me, this path is my salvation. I will walk it with assurance and courage. I have faith that I will find myself and all that I have ever truly wanted."
"Foolish child! You must stop at once. You are on the brink of disaster. A single step more and you will not be able to return."
"With this step, I become what I was meant to be. No longer constrained by fear."
"My child!"
"Goodbye Grandmother."
*********************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 4. This week was an "Open Topic".
"Andrew, I have several ideas for the Music Hall's inaugural concert. The trustees approved my plans."
"The New York Symphony Society has been a passion of mine for years, Walter. It is why I constructed the Music Hall. As musical director of the society, you have a great influence on who the trustees choose for the inaugural concert. I want the opening to be grand and memorable."
"You will get your wish, I assure you. Before I explain that, I have something else of import. The trustees have asked that I play upon our friendship to make an appeal to you."
"What would they ask of me?"
"They wish you to put your name on the hall. Instead of Music Hall, it would be known as Carnegie Hall."
Andrew leveled an exasperated look on his friend. "Preposterous! I do not need my name emblazoned upon the facade in some grandiose form of accolade to myself. The building is for the Society and will be called the Music Hall."
"Take heed, my friend. They will continue with this. A single no may not suffice. However, I have done my duty in asking."
"You may be right. Now what else do you have for me today?"
"On May 5th of this year 1891, I, Maestro Walter Damrosch, will conduct the inaugural concert of Music Hall with the great composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky!" He said with a grand flourish of his hands.
"Tchaikovsky! That is excellent news. It will be a great coup to have the famous Russian composer for the inaugural concert."
Andrew clapped Walter on his back as he moved towards a decanter set on a table nearby. He quickly poured two drinks and handed one to his friend.
"A toast to the success of the Music Hall and the many contributions to music it will provide in the future."
************
In 1893, the trustees talked Andrew Carnegie into allowing the use of his name.
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 3. The topic this week was “Getting to Carnegie Hall". This is a work of creative fiction using facts about Carnegie Hall.
"The New York Symphony Society has been a passion of mine for years, Walter. It is why I constructed the Music Hall. As musical director of the society, you have a great influence on who the trustees choose for the inaugural concert. I want the opening to be grand and memorable."
"You will get your wish, I assure you. Before I explain that, I have something else of import. The trustees have asked that I play upon our friendship to make an appeal to you."
"What would they ask of me?"
"They wish you to put your name on the hall. Instead of Music Hall, it would be known as Carnegie Hall."
Andrew leveled an exasperated look on his friend. "Preposterous! I do not need my name emblazoned upon the facade in some grandiose form of accolade to myself. The building is for the Society and will be called the Music Hall."
"Take heed, my friend. They will continue with this. A single no may not suffice. However, I have done my duty in asking."
"You may be right. Now what else do you have for me today?"
"On May 5th of this year 1891, I, Maestro Walter Damrosch, will conduct the inaugural concert of Music Hall with the great composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky!" He said with a grand flourish of his hands.
"Tchaikovsky! That is excellent news. It will be a great coup to have the famous Russian composer for the inaugural concert."
Andrew clapped Walter on his back as he moved towards a decanter set on a table nearby. He quickly poured two drinks and handed one to his friend.
"A toast to the success of the Music Hall and the many contributions to music it will provide in the future."
************
In 1893, the trustees talked Andrew Carnegie into allowing the use of his name.
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 3. The topic this week was “Getting to Carnegie Hall". This is a work of creative fiction using facts about Carnegie Hall.
I would sit here rocking, but I don't have a rocking chair. I do have a wicker chair. It has a foot stool. So, I can put my feet up at least. It's not the same as rocking with the breeze blowing gently against me. The smell of honeysuckle teasing my nose. The sound of Gram in the kitchen, cooking up her wondrous delights.
It's been many years since those things have been a part of my life. This wicker chair that doesn't rock just can't compare. Her death changed the course of my life. Dealing with the unexpected, large inheritance by disappearing off to college had worked. Who gets seventy six million dollars as they turn eighteen? I took the time to figure out what I was doing.
Cynthia and I traveled each summer. We toured Europe that first summer. Dublin, Ireland was where the second life changing event happened. Seeing the Book of Kells gave me a passion to pursue. That gorgeous illuminated manuscript inspired my life long collection of those wonderful works of art. The Porta Caeli manuscript is the pinnacle of my collection. Tomorrow, I would possess the key to open it.
Even though the La Chiave Fiore didn't in any way look like a key, I have a growing conviction that this is it. Negotiations to purchase the key from the church outside of Florence took longer than I expected. Cyn was coming over tomorrow to be with me when I finally open the manuscript.
***
"Alright Meredith, let's do this!" Cynthia grabbed my arm excitedly.
I looked over at her. I was just as excited as she was. I took the Porta Caeli out of the vault and laid it gently on the table in my office. I picked up the small gold flower. It really did just look like a button.
"Here we go," I said as I fit the loop on the back of the key to the small hole on the lock of the manuscript.
With a click, they key slid into place and the lock fell open.
"It worked."
With gentle fingers, I opened the leather cover. A blinding light lit the room suddenly.
"Meredith!" Cynthia grabbed my arm again. "What is that?"
I stared, frightened as I saw my office fade away. Cynthia was looking around as well.
"Oh my, Cyn, do you know what Porta Caeli means? It means Gate of Heaven."
*************************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 2. The topic this week was “Front Porch".
It's been many years since those things have been a part of my life. This wicker chair that doesn't rock just can't compare. Her death changed the course of my life. Dealing with the unexpected, large inheritance by disappearing off to college had worked. Who gets seventy six million dollars as they turn eighteen? I took the time to figure out what I was doing.
Cynthia and I traveled each summer. We toured Europe that first summer. Dublin, Ireland was where the second life changing event happened. Seeing the Book of Kells gave me a passion to pursue. That gorgeous illuminated manuscript inspired my life long collection of those wonderful works of art. The Porta Caeli manuscript is the pinnacle of my collection. Tomorrow, I would possess the key to open it.
Even though the La Chiave Fiore didn't in any way look like a key, I have a growing conviction that this is it. Negotiations to purchase the key from the church outside of Florence took longer than I expected. Cyn was coming over tomorrow to be with me when I finally open the manuscript.
***
"Alright Meredith, let's do this!" Cynthia grabbed my arm excitedly.
I looked over at her. I was just as excited as she was. I took the Porta Caeli out of the vault and laid it gently on the table in my office. I picked up the small gold flower. It really did just look like a button.
"Here we go," I said as I fit the loop on the back of the key to the small hole on the lock of the manuscript.
With a click, they key slid into place and the lock fell open.
"It worked."
With gentle fingers, I opened the leather cover. A blinding light lit the room suddenly.
"Meredith!" Cynthia grabbed my arm again. "What is that?"
I stared, frightened as I saw my office fade away. Cynthia was looking around as well.
"Oh my, Cyn, do you know what Porta Caeli means? It means Gate of Heaven."
*************************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 2. The topic this week was “Front Porch".
We were headed to New York for Christmas a few years ago. We didn't leave Friday as planned, because a snow storm blew in Friday morning. We waited until the next day so that it would be daylight and the roads would have time to be cleared. My husband, my nine month old baby, two dogs, and I left the house at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. Our trip usually takes about 12-13 hours.
I should have known something was up when it took us four hours to get to I-81. That was twice the time. No big deal though. Once we hit Virginia and I-81, the roads were clear and we cruised along. We stopped for lunch, topped off the gas and hit the road after about an hour. It wasn't ten miles up the road when we hit the stopped traffic. After four hours, we had only gone thee miles. We spent a lot of time on the phone getting updates on the road from my Mom in New York. Sometime around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., we found were back to cruising. My husband and I decided to push on a few more hours and then find a hotel. We hadn't gone very far.
Thirty miles up the road we were stopped again. Around 6:00 p.m., Mom started calling hotels in the next two towns trying to find us a room. Nada, zip, zilch. She found a hotel in Staunton that still had rooms, could we make it thirty miles to there? The hotel wouldn't take a reservation. Maybe we should just turn around and go home? I let her know that if turning was an option, we might consider it. By 11:30 p.m., Mom was going to bed, but if we needed her to look for or call for anything, wake her up.
I wouldn't recommend our hotel. Hotel Hyundai on I-81 mile marker 181. The service sucked, but there was a wake up call! Spending the night in the van, with a nine month old and two dogs sucks big time. We never moved. There was nowhere to go. Men have it so much easier when stuck on the highway overnight! That is all I am going to say about that! By 12:15 a.m. I had decided that alternating napping in case we moved was dumb. We should just sleep and if we moved, someone would honk if we didn't wake up.
I moved into the drivers seat so my husband could stretch out in the passenger seat. I would sleep for forty-five minutes then wake up, crank on the van, wait fifteen minutes, turn it off, then go back to sleep. I repeated that pattern until 6:15 a.m. I saw a flashlight floating around at that point way up the line. A cop was walking down the middle knocking on any trucks or cars that weren't awake. Finally, movement!
We finally arrived in Staunton and decided to stop and have breakfast. We hung around there for two hours. There was a brief consideration of getting a hotel room and just relaxing and hitting the road again Monday morning. However, I decided I was ready for this trip to be over, so we soldiered on. Luckily, it was nearly noon by then and the roads were getting better as it was a nice sunny, but cold day. We arrived safely at my parents house at 8 p.m. on Sunday evening. A trip that takes twelve hours, took thirty six. If you have a chance to get off the road, take it!
*******************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 1. The topic this week was “Not Throwing Away My Shot".
I should have known something was up when it took us four hours to get to I-81. That was twice the time. No big deal though. Once we hit Virginia and I-81, the roads were clear and we cruised along. We stopped for lunch, topped off the gas and hit the road after about an hour. It wasn't ten miles up the road when we hit the stopped traffic. After four hours, we had only gone thee miles. We spent a lot of time on the phone getting updates on the road from my Mom in New York. Sometime around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., we found were back to cruising. My husband and I decided to push on a few more hours and then find a hotel. We hadn't gone very far.
Thirty miles up the road we were stopped again. Around 6:00 p.m., Mom started calling hotels in the next two towns trying to find us a room. Nada, zip, zilch. She found a hotel in Staunton that still had rooms, could we make it thirty miles to there? The hotel wouldn't take a reservation. Maybe we should just turn around and go home? I let her know that if turning was an option, we might consider it. By 11:30 p.m., Mom was going to bed, but if we needed her to look for or call for anything, wake her up.
I wouldn't recommend our hotel. Hotel Hyundai on I-81 mile marker 181. The service sucked, but there was a wake up call! Spending the night in the van, with a nine month old and two dogs sucks big time. We never moved. There was nowhere to go. Men have it so much easier when stuck on the highway overnight! That is all I am going to say about that! By 12:15 a.m. I had decided that alternating napping in case we moved was dumb. We should just sleep and if we moved, someone would honk if we didn't wake up.
I moved into the drivers seat so my husband could stretch out in the passenger seat. I would sleep for forty-five minutes then wake up, crank on the van, wait fifteen minutes, turn it off, then go back to sleep. I repeated that pattern until 6:15 a.m. I saw a flashlight floating around at that point way up the line. A cop was walking down the middle knocking on any trucks or cars that weren't awake. Finally, movement!
We finally arrived in Staunton and decided to stop and have breakfast. We hung around there for two hours. There was a brief consideration of getting a hotel room and just relaxing and hitting the road again Monday morning. However, I decided I was ready for this trip to be over, so we soldiered on. Luckily, it was nearly noon by then and the roads were getting better as it was a nice sunny, but cold day. We arrived safely at my parents house at 8 p.m. on Sunday evening. A trip that takes twelve hours, took thirty six. If you have a chance to get off the road, take it!
*******************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Second Chance, Week 1. The topic this week was “Not Throwing Away My Shot".
And, into Second Chance I go!
"La Chiave Fiore, The Flower Key."
"What's that Cyn?" Meredith called over her shoulder as she rummaged through the open box in front of her. Where had she put that auction pamphlet?
"This is one of your museum magazine things Meredith. It has a flower key."
Meredith paused and looked up at what Cynthia was holding. "Oh that one, yeah, I got that one about a year ago. It's something that's been in a church in Italy for the past 150 years or so. The name caught my eye."
"Did you go to Italy to get it?"
"What?" Meredith frowned. "Oh, no, it's not a key at all. Just a gold flower. There is a little loop on the back. I think it was a piece of a necklace or maybe a button." Meredith turned back to the box in front of her. "Aha! I found the pamphlet. There's a collection of antique keys being sold in France next week. The nobleman that created the collection was fond of delicate gold keys."
"It says here that the Chiave Fiore is displayed in a private collection at a church outside of Florence. They don't know why it is called the Flower Key as the piece is not a key at all." Cynthia continued reading.
"Exactly. The Porta Caeli Manuscript is locked with a gold clasp. No one has been able to pick the lock without damaging the clasp. It's too valuable to damage. It definitely requires a key."
"I still can't believe you bought that illuminated manuscript last month for so much money and you can't even open it and look at it." Cynthia shook her head. "Meredith, I know that this doesn't appear to be what you're looking for. It doesn't look like a key at all, but I think you should look at this." Cynthia walked over to her friend and handed her the magazine. "Look at the flower. It looks just like one of the flowers entwined around the gate on the manuscript."
Meredith studied the picture of the flower. She jumped up and went to the vault across the room. Quickly she opened the door and moved to the case where she stored the 13th century manuscript. She held the magazine close to the gilded gate on the front of the book.
Cynthia peered down at the two items. "It is exactly the same flower."
"I don't know how this could be it, but I think I need to go to Italy tomorrow. You're right. They are exactly the same in every detail." Meredith said.
Cynthia smiled at her excited friend. Maybe she would actually get to see why that manuscript was worth over a million and a half dollars in this lifetime after all.
*******************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 9 Sudden Death Write-Off!. This was an 'Open Topic'. I wrote about these two characters before. Once in 2013 with Treasures Unique, and in 2014 with Rainy Days.
"What's that Cyn?" Meredith called over her shoulder as she rummaged through the open box in front of her. Where had she put that auction pamphlet?
"This is one of your museum magazine things Meredith. It has a flower key."
Meredith paused and looked up at what Cynthia was holding. "Oh that one, yeah, I got that one about a year ago. It's something that's been in a church in Italy for the past 150 years or so. The name caught my eye."
"Did you go to Italy to get it?"
"What?" Meredith frowned. "Oh, no, it's not a key at all. Just a gold flower. There is a little loop on the back. I think it was a piece of a necklace or maybe a button." Meredith turned back to the box in front of her. "Aha! I found the pamphlet. There's a collection of antique keys being sold in France next week. The nobleman that created the collection was fond of delicate gold keys."
"It says here that the Chiave Fiore is displayed in a private collection at a church outside of Florence. They don't know why it is called the Flower Key as the piece is not a key at all." Cynthia continued reading.
"Exactly. The Porta Caeli Manuscript is locked with a gold clasp. No one has been able to pick the lock without damaging the clasp. It's too valuable to damage. It definitely requires a key."
"I still can't believe you bought that illuminated manuscript last month for so much money and you can't even open it and look at it." Cynthia shook her head. "Meredith, I know that this doesn't appear to be what you're looking for. It doesn't look like a key at all, but I think you should look at this." Cynthia walked over to her friend and handed her the magazine. "Look at the flower. It looks just like one of the flowers entwined around the gate on the manuscript."
Meredith studied the picture of the flower. She jumped up and went to the vault across the room. Quickly she opened the door and moved to the case where she stored the 13th century manuscript. She held the magazine close to the gilded gate on the front of the book.
Cynthia peered down at the two items. "It is exactly the same flower."
"I don't know how this could be it, but I think I need to go to Italy tomorrow. You're right. They are exactly the same in every detail." Meredith said.
Cynthia smiled at her excited friend. Maybe she would actually get to see why that manuscript was worth over a million and a half dollars in this lifetime after all.
*******************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 9 Sudden Death Write-Off!. This was an 'Open Topic'. I wrote about these two characters before. Once in 2013 with Treasures Unique, and in 2014 with Rainy Days.
predicaments, plights
the situation is fraught
the right thing, or not?
right is expected
the other is seductive
the pull to wrong gains
******************************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 9. The topic this week was “Trolley Problems".
the situation is fraught
the right thing, or not?
right is expected
the other is seductive
the pull to wrong gains
******************************
This is my entry for LJ Idol: S10 Week 9. The topic this week was “Trolley Problems".
Comments