Sneak Preview - First chapter and a half of "A Home with no Roof" Just released on amazon.com. Click on the blog title to go to amazon and download it to be further entertained!!! Much appreciated...
~~ 1 ~~
I know from whence I came, although I have no memories. In my unfinished home I accept visitors daily, although they are uninvited. I see everything and everyone around me, yet no one can see me. Flashbulbs sear my eyes every day, although I never have my picture taken. A grassy knoll creates a luxurious carpet in my living room, which is surrounded by stone archways that support no roof. I slink from my tunnel and gaze up into the open sky at night, when all the guests that visit my humble abode have departed. Music plays in my head, classical tones that should be soothing and calming although no peace exists within my tortured mind. I am continually at odds to discover and confront who I am.
Often times the music is so loud and intrusive that I have to beat my head continually against the stone wall to make it stop. I pass the really bad days secluded in a secret place where none of the visitors to my home can see me. A few times a month, not that I truly feel the passage of time, real music plays within the open walls of my home for a while. I do not invite the musicians into my home, although they play here for hours. This music seems to drown out the tortured tones issuing from within my synapses for awhile. The musicians are accompanied by numerous visitors to my home. Often a ceremony is held within the open walls of my living room although I don’t invite them to hold their court here. The sky above my home creates an artistic backup for the ceremonies. Very picturesque I think. The ceremonies appear to celebrate two figures, one clad all in white and the other all in black. I would rather wear black. When the ceremonies occur, it is a dangerous time for me. I hide in one of my many secret spots and spy on the intruders, trying to hold back the black thoughts that run through my head. The music played outside during the ceremonies eases the pain in my head. I never ask any of the visitors to stay and keep me company on days when it plays. Part of me knows that it would be too dangerous to do so. I don’t always listen to that voice; I try to, but it’s hard sometimes. It’s nice and quiet once they all leave. I like the quiet. Sometimes I also wish that I could have a radio in my home. It would be really nice to play what I want on the radio. When I hear a song I liked, I could turn it up loudly and sing along. It’s not always fun having a radio if other people always get to decide what plays on it. That’s what I think anyways. It would also be fun to have a bird. A cute little parrot. Repeating everything I said. Funny, but cute.
Lying on my back now, buffeted by the springy grass beneath me, I stare up at the sky in my living room. Tiny dots of bright searing brilliance litter the night sky above me. I like that the roof of my home was never finished, as I enjoy staring up and seeing the brilliant dots of light. At least I think I do. I ponder for a moment when she will come for me. I know that she will, but I don’t know when. Seven times a day I turn this thought over in my mind. Not six, or eight, but seven times every day I think of her, although I can’t visualize her face in my head. She will come for me, although I don’t know if she will be happy with my new home. Maybe she’ll want a roof over our heads. I wouldn’t want to finish the roof of my home, it’s perfect without one. This way we can lay back and stare up at the dots of light. Fun.
A flood of thoughts pulls me out of that place in my head where I go to think of her. As I return to the present, I can still feel the cool grass blades caressing my body. I know that when I arise there will be a depression of my shape remaining in the green carpet. I know that the depression will fade quickly as it always does, although I wish that it would stay there forever. I also bet that the back of my legs will have thin marks up and down them, where I laid on the grass blades. Those marks are neat.
Standing now, I stride toward the vaulted stone archway that leads to where I sleep. I’m not at all sleepy at the moment but I know that I have to attend to the visitor that I have staying with me now. She might be awake, although I doubt it as I hit her pretty hard on the head earlier before I left to roam out into the night. She has been with me for two days now. I took her after all the other visitors had left my home the other day. She wasn’t too smart to loiter around after everyone else had gone because that’s when I come out to play and find a special visitor to stay with me. They never say no, although they don’t get the chance to argue. I like having guests stay with me to keep me company. They don’t have much fun, but I do, so it’s okay.
~~ 2 ~~
Detective First-Grade Scott Mathias was enjoying his morning so far as he walked from police headquarters down to the immense cruise ship docked at port, butting up to the pier at Hamilton. Having been promoted up to First-Grade a couple months ago after solving a string of high level cases, Scott felt as if he was living life to the fullest. This morning it seemed as if the sun was shining down on his little part of the island solely in an effort to brighten his day. Everything seemed more colorful and brilliant today. The pastel colors on houses that he had passed a hundred times before seemed more vivid today for some reason. Scott’s new wife Lily had announced to him that she was pregnant last night and nothing could darken his mood today. He was so full of good thoughts this morning as his mind filled with joy at the wonderful times that he would have with a child of his own. Everyone that he knew kept telling him that he would make a great father and he was so looking forward to it. He felt that he was truly walking with his head up in the clouds today. Having met Lily last year during an intense bank theft case that he had been working, the two of them had been truly inseparable ever since. They had happily married about two months ago because they were truly in love and also so that Lily could stay on the island. She had only been on Bermuda on a graduate visa to engage in a work study program at the Bermuda Underwater Exploratory Institute (the BUEI). By getting married, she could now stay on the island as long as she wanted. Of course the paperwork involved had still been extremely daunting to complete.
Striding easily along the sidewalk teeming with tourists from the massive cruise ship, Scott weaved through the throngs of people. They were all hungrily seeking out good shopping spots and bringing large amounts of tourist money to the island. Scott smoothed his navy gabardine trousers with one hand, holding a cup of coffee in the other and crossed the street. His purposeful gait propelled his six foot two frame across the busy intersection of downtown Hamilton as he headed for the cruise ship. He could have easily given this morning’s task to one of the junior detectives, but he figured that it would be nice to get out in the sun, so he took the call himself to go and see what was amiss on the ship. Ruffling his hand through his dark brown hair, Scott looked up at the huge vessel dwarfing the pier against which it rested. All of the cruise ships had their own security personnel on board, but if something happened to a guest while they were out engaging in activities in town, then the local police were called in to provide their expertise. Having received just such a call about twenty minutes ago, Scott headed up the gang plank to find security officer Ron Jonas who had contacted them from the ship.
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