Fin by A.R.C. (ink ebook reader TXT) 📕

Clock Radio: Good morning, Anywhere, USA. You're waking up to Walt Stiner, giving you the daily news and weather report. The heavy thunder storms left us from yet another night and now there will be a chance of yet another scorching day through out. So let's try to stay cool, calm, and collect and hope for better days to come....


The drops from last night's storm was having a relay race on my bedroom window pane. I watched them as they travled downward each with it's on pace. By the size of the drops and the amount of it, the storm gave us rain its heaviest by 20 lbs. It has been increasing it's rage by a hundred each night while the sun have been sending down serious rays of hot heat. Lakes of water and heat for the past week has been the forecast of our city.

It would feel like someone has to put a lasso around me just to yank me up for the grueling routinely day. And each morning, I would rub my left leg hoping it won't be a drag metaphorically while it remains a limp with me, my gimpy right hand to not be an extra set of attention, and for my hearing aide to not loose it's juice in the battery.

The mirror tells two sides of my story.

My reflection shows a twenty-something year old woman who was born from the "not-so-normal" patch. I was a fatty baby and the blubber kept with me half of my adolescent life. Kids would think I was born from a rotten cabbage like a deformed Cabbage Patch Kid. Now I'm all grown up and a hundred pounds lighter, the era of the twenty-first generation of the young adults and kids claim I'm slightly the female replica of The Hunch Back of Notre Dame-without the hunch back and my bell tower is my run down apartment which is the highest floor up. I live simple and I live alone.

But ask me what's the world behind my refelction; what could, should and would happen if there was discovery of stepping through the mirror to get to the other side?....I couldn't tell you. I grew what I could grow but my imagination stayed a seed that was never planted. I had to take care of my mother and see to her up until the day she passed. So no rememberence of a decent childhood. My "twin" sees what I only see but without feeling. After I stopped the rubbing and hoping, get the dressing and cooking, gather up the belongings and head on out to an alert world that doesn't wait on no one but the babies that are born in it.


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*COLLIN*


"Here she comes..." I let my crew know. We're suppose to be at our bus stop that's only a block away but Rod always want to go terrorize this woman that catches the city bus which is the bus stop across the street from ours. That's how we seen her for the first time. She's alright looking to me. Eyes that are light brown and seems to be focused and can clearly see straight through people, decent lips, and I know her hair is long and black but to the majority of the group-three guys and one girl, she's damaged goods because of her body parts inflicted. "I bet she's wearing that plain long skirt, shoes, knee highs, those solid color shirts, and bun her hair". Rod said with a smirk.

She came from around the corner.

"Hey, tower gimp! You're off to your job as a lame cartoon character?! Wearing the same clothes every week?! I'm talking to you gimp!" Of course the crew would laugh at Rod's jokes but I only would pretend to. And then I would find an excuse so he could stop and we could leave. "Our bus is coming in ten minutes and the corner store is open now..." I would say for the perfect distraction. It get's Rod and the rest of them everytime. We watched a fight break out between a small group of women-one with two kids, beat a guy who just had came out of an apartment building grinning and blow kissing a woman from the fifth floor, and Rod pushing the neighborhood's local homeless guy and his cart out the way. I pretend to laugh as they laugh...but I always turned around and give the man a sheepish look. He stares at me with those beedy eyes and watches us intently as we always walk down to the store and back to our bus stop.


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I like the quietness of the morning as the sun began to turn up it's heat to start the day. Not because I'm partly deaf but because I start and end each day at the Brown Moore Library. Not so much hassel unless you are dealing with a ton of new arrivals coming in and you have to shelf them by code order. One of the greatest perks I enjoy from my job too is renting whatever book i want out and movies. The movies...all the classics...I dont' see the point in book or video stores. So I stay a turtle in its shell and manage my simple time.

It's the same old morning really: Get up and hope and pray for my appearence, take the abuse from the teenagers and kids around my place, wait for the 72 to come by and pick up from the stop and it's a whole other story once you get on that bus. CROWDED. It head to the downtown area so everyone that's thankful for a job and wants to keep it, crowds their way on. And all the way in the back sits a lady with two glass eyes and a Holy Bible in her right hand that she lifts up and say every morning: "This world is not our home! Be ready for Judgement Day or else your souls will be damned! Hear the Ten Commandments because God's word id truth!..." And she would recite what the commandments were and preach on through out the hot morning.

That particualr morning was the first morning that I could say that I didn't mind the groaning, pushing and shoving. He catches the same bus every week and gets off at the same stop as me. Through the bus bunch of on- lookers and gawkers, he was the one that stood out. He had no choice but to look straight ahead on the count that he is blind but...I can't help but to think what is he imaginging he is staring at? He looks to be around my age and dresses so laid back-casual. And it just so happens we get off at the same stop since Browns Morroe Library is right acrss the University he attends.

As the bus stops in front of the library, everyone is sure to be careful to let him

move his way out. He passes by me and I always be the next person to the person behind him to exit off. And yet, the day moves on as I go my way and he goes his.


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*JUSTIN*


I always have to prepare myself for my World History on the count of Professor Nelson Braddock. He's a good teacher and all...but he attends to mix his beliefs in with what had happended in history. It can be amusing yet, intense and tidious all because, well, we don't all agree that aliens will come or we will take some shape or form. I tapped my stick against the ground to listen for that hollow spot that let me know i'm right in the door way of Braddock's class. And as always, he greets me with "Good morning Mr. Hall. Glad you came on time to my class."

"I'm always on time to your class Professor Braddock."

"Ah, but 'The memories of men are too frail a thread..."

" 'to hang history from. ~John Still, The Jungle Tide", I finished. He nods in approval and say "Perfect timing."

"Oh, and Professor Braddock?" He looks up at me again from his desk. "History is a novel for which the people is the author."

This quote had really brought a smile with teeth to his face. "Welcome to my class, Mr. Hall." Yep, I know my teacher a bit. The tricky thing about him though is that I don't know by me impressing him will have me called on through out the today's lesson or a slack off. I'm not sure why me but Braddock likes to play that challenge game with me. So they sword has two sides of the blade...what can I say?

I sat down in my side next to a sympathetic peer who thinks she has a heavy duty to help me as much as she can because I'm blind. People like her I take as an "inside joke". "I found the book that is required for this class." She said. "Can you believe that?"

"What I can't believe is you waited this long to get it when we are in the third week of this class."

"I've been doing most of the work. Thanks to your help..." I can feel her grinning shyly at me. And she thinks I'm the handicap one. "I still believe that it's a miracle. There's only but two helpful librarians in that place. Fustrating."


"Ok class. Time to pick up where we left off. I hope your paper is coming along beacuse-excuse me. You all know about my policy about cell phones during class."

I can hear the person to the left of me, three stands up who had the cell phone. Apparently, he didn't care about abiding my the rules because I can also hear the person on the other end talking frantically.

"Wait, Professor Braddock this sounds like an emergency from my mom-"

"Well, try to solve it some where else. Not in my class-"

The sound sounded like hundreds of feet stampeding down the hall. I can hear Braddock rushing to the door to see what was the comotion. "What is going on out here?!" He yelled at what sounded like panicing people. "Professor Braddock..." the gentleman on the third stand said cautiously yet terrified. "Turn on the tv."


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*NELSON*


The University seemed like it turned into a high school seeing how many students were running. Almost got myself ran over and pushed against my classroom door. I heard one of my students say to turn on the t.v.. I rushed over to turn it on. The screen showed the President's face, stern and long. There was some words on the bottom that was scrolling side ways...World may be in chaos and terror

? The President addressed the reason why the weather had been going from nearly flash floods to life breaking heat strokes and how he has gotten word from NASA that they seem to be a pull with the earth towards the sun...what? That is ridiculous. That can't be scientifically possible.

There were sobs echoing around the room and when my eyes peeled away from the t.v., my students