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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Fairy Tales & Fantasy
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 11/19/2019
Openings.
Born 1951, M, from Wilmington NC, United States“STOP…NOW!”
I froze. I had never, not once, in my century and half of training, heard Shiona use the Weirding Voice on me. Not even when I accidentally left an opening portal in mid-air. Three thousand lemmings found themselves falling; not into the sea as was natural, but into a very surprised small town in Minnesota next to a statue of a Pelican. She placed an opening at the base of the Pelican so the Lemmings could continue their drop into the sea.
I was only sixteen when that happened, barely a year into my two century apprenticeship. Too cocky not to try and use some of my new skills, too stupid to realize I didn’t have any skills. I guess that comes with both youth... and being the youngest “Opener” trainee in millenniums. Talent I had. Sense…I had none.
Shiona had merely laughed out loud:
“Those poor Lemmings. They must have wondered why they follow each other blindly for a bit as they scurried around the base of that Pelican. Having no idea what to do next.“
And she laughed again.
That is Shiona’s normal reaction to almost all of my mistakes. Even when I created an opening for myself (to reach in and get donuts from a bakery- don’t judge me, I left more coin than that Baker will make in the next year) she just explained why it shouldn’t be done. All the time smiling as she ate one of the Maple Logs I had taken from the opening I had created.
“These are good. You have a knack for finding the best Artisans among these Human Time Lines.”
I smiled at the compliment.
“If you ever do it again, I shall have to push you through the opening myself.”
I shivered with fear. As sweet as Shiona was, as gentle as her voice is, the Iron Fist of what would happen had let the velvet slide off. Pushed through an Opening for our Kind, meant being trapped for a lifecycle of whatever species we made the opening for. I would have tumbled into that Baker’s Life Cycle- making me an apprentice and having to live as a Human. I would eventually die, or be killed - and that was the only way back through the Opening. I would be fully “HUMAN” until I died.
Suicide wasn’t an option to move back through the Opening. If you tried, you merely suffered for a bit until you recovered your health, then right back to being Human. Believe you me…the few who ever got trapped, or punished by being pushed through an Opening, were much humbler, more wise, and much more careful when they finally rejoined us on our Time Line.
I did not want to be a hairy sack of water with a limited brain, no understanding, and so short lived…even if they did make good donuts. I learned that lesson well.
I hope you get a glimpse now of how the Weirding Voice affected me. I simply froze in place. Even without the Weirding Voice, just hearing Shiona yell at me with worry and fear in her voice would have been just as effective in stopping me in mid heart beat.
Shiona floated to me. That was a bad sign. It meant she had broken contact with the surface. Without contact, anything that happened to her would be permanent. She would simply cease to be on our Time Line, or in our Life Cycle. No one. NO ONE. EVER broke contact when someone was holding an Opening. Or, as in my case, holding a heart shaped vessel that held Openings for Individual Humans. Luckily, the Openings were still in the container.
I was just going to browse through them to see what possibilities the Opening would present on the Human Time Line.
Now, I just wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Or any when.
*****
Shiona took the Heart Shaped Vessel filled with “Openings” from my fronds. (You would call them hands, but you would be wrong.) Only after she had the heart shaped Vessel in her possession did she float back to Contact with the Surface.
“You didn’t open this…did you?”
“No.”
Even through my fear I could feel the relief flow from her.
“Good. Go Home.”
I did.
*****
Going “Home” is the highest rebuke our kind can give. I had no title. I hadn’t become an Opener. I was merely a trainee. No matter what skill you were being taught- even those few who were in charge of Change (the highest and most difficult skill to learn- Change) went “HOME” without finishing their training.
Oh sure, everyone treated me kindly. That was part of the punishment. Everyone knew you screwed up- but not how, or why. But you got sent “HOME.” No one knew what to do with you. Heck, you didn’t even know what to do with yourself. People gave you chores, or assignments to fill your time. Your old friends would make sure to bring you out on special nights- and your classmates would drop in once in a while to make sure you were okay.
You were fine. A lie that everyone accepted at face value.
Time went by. It always does. I waited for…well, an Opening.
It never came.
Until…
*****
I was under the Shingora Tree, just pulling petals off of a dewberry, then pitching them out into the wind. They spun in such hectic colorful spirals that few Dance Groups could match their movements. It helped while away the TIME for me.
A shimmer appeared. It was an Opening.
In it stood Shiona.
I stood slowly. Not believing my orbs. (You would call them “eyes” and you would be wrong.)
Her normal smile was as warm and welcoming as I remembered. I understood immediately. She stepped to the side as I stepped into the Opening. I wasn’t “Home” anymore, I was where I belonged.
The Opening closed.
I was in.
*****
It is unnecessary to tell you how thrilled I was to be “back”. Shiona spent months teaching me how close I came to destroying one of the best things about being Human. Had I opened that heart shaped vessel- I might have destroyed both Hope, and Love. Two things that Humans cannot live without.
Shiona explained to me that "Openings for Love", and for Hope…had to be thought out carefully. Chance encounters could change History. Personal History AND Human History. Chance encounters (among Humans) were too valuable to be left to Chance. A bumped arm with a Latte in it- a quick: “Oh, I am so sorry. Here let me help you clean up, and I will buy you another one.” Cannot be left to mere Chance.
An Opening must be placed in just the right moment to let the encounter blossom.
“That is not necessary. I am fine.” Followed by a false smile, a harried turn to get away and back to work - leaves no room for an Opening.
An Opening must be present for them to make eye contact…meaningful contact. It has to be just so…in that pause before the perfunctory polite dismissal. An Opening that hints at trust, humor, companionship- one that wipes away any false smile, polite dismissal, or hurry.
“Oh, I know you are fine. Even an Idiot like me can see that. I know that sounds like a pick up line, but I mean it.”
She blushes- his adolescent attempt to make the word “fine” convey a whole survey of her good looks, intelligence and charm- was all the Opening needed. She thought it was cute, and he was adorable.
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
The laugh that came with her words was all the Opening he needed.
An hour later, and two lattes, a cinnamon roll, a quick trip to the loo for both of them, and they left hand in hand. The Opening closed in around them.
*****
I watched as Shiona showed me how to place these Openings among Humans. After a while I got pretty good at figuring out where, and when, to place an Opening. Shiona knew I was ready when she handed me the heart shaped vessel.
“Now, you do one.”
I was ready.
*****
The little girl didn’t even see the bully that pushed her off the swing. She felt a hard push, fell off the swing into a small pile of gravel. Her knee hurt and the swing would have hit her in the back of her head if - as out of nowhere, a small red headed kid hadn’t stepped over her to catch the swing.
The little red headed kid caught the swing with one hand, the other chain wrinkling and kinking in a hurry to stop gyrating. With his other hand, he reached down and offered it to help pull the little girl to her feet.
The little red headed kid wasn’t looking down at the girl as she reached for his hand. He was staring with deadly calm at the bully boy who had pushed the little girl off of the swing.
“Scram.” Was all the little red headed boy said.
It was a warning. It was a command. It was a vow.
The bully boy scrammed.
The little girls hand took a firm grip on the little red headed boy’s fingers. He gently tugged to pull her up. That first contact was all the Opening the boy needed. The thankfulness, joy, and gratefulness contained in that first touch of her hand in his…well, that made the little red head turn and look down as she struggled to her feet. It was a good Opening.
Even Shiona smiled as she nodded for me to continue.
The little girl knew at some level, she would always reach for the little red headed boys hand when she needed it.
The little red headed boy looked down as the little girl got up. One hand holding his, the other hand brushing some gravel off her knee. One of the bigger pieces had stuck in her skin. It wouldn’t brush out. And it hurt.
Then her eyes met the little red headed boys eyes. She was too young to realize the look she saw was her future. It was. It was an Opening that let both souls soar through the look he gave her.
He moved his hands to her waist and lifted her onto the swing. She didn’t want to let go of his hand, but knew she had to. She held the chains with both hands, as the little red headed boy knelt to look at her knee. He wiped it with a clean handkerchief then said:
“I can pull out that stone. It will bleed a little but I don’t think it is deep enough to really do damage.”
She smiled. She knew she could pull it out herself. She knew she would not.
“I can pull it out if you are ready?”
“Okay. Ready.”
The little red headed kid pulled the stone out. Her knee did bleed a little. But he had a soft deft touch and pulled the stone out with little discomfort on her part.
“Are you okay? I mean I didn’t hurt you did I?”
There!
I placed the second Opening. In that single moment she realized that he would never hurt her on purpose. The little red headed boy understood at some deep level, almost instinctive, that he would never want to hurt the little girl in any way.
The Opening closed in the present moment.
Sealing a future for them both.
*****
I turned to look at Shiona. Her orbs were bright and shiny. (You would have called them “eyes” and you would be wrong.)
“That was nicely done. Very nicely done.”
My training was finished. I had found my niche. I had a talent. I had a knack for Openings from the Heart Vessel for Humans. It would become my Life’s work. Shiona beamed as she created the Opening for my Graduation.
I could hear her laugh as I created an Opening to the Bakery. I could feel the joy in her words:
“A Maple log would be nice.”
Openings.(Kevin Hughes)
“STOP…NOW!”
I froze. I had never, not once, in my century and half of training, heard Shiona use the Weirding Voice on me. Not even when I accidentally left an opening portal in mid-air. Three thousand lemmings found themselves falling; not into the sea as was natural, but into a very surprised small town in Minnesota next to a statue of a Pelican. She placed an opening at the base of the Pelican so the Lemmings could continue their drop into the sea.
I was only sixteen when that happened, barely a year into my two century apprenticeship. Too cocky not to try and use some of my new skills, too stupid to realize I didn’t have any skills. I guess that comes with both youth... and being the youngest “Opener” trainee in millenniums. Talent I had. Sense…I had none.
Shiona had merely laughed out loud:
“Those poor Lemmings. They must have wondered why they follow each other blindly for a bit as they scurried around the base of that Pelican. Having no idea what to do next.“
And she laughed again.
That is Shiona’s normal reaction to almost all of my mistakes. Even when I created an opening for myself (to reach in and get donuts from a bakery- don’t judge me, I left more coin than that Baker will make in the next year) she just explained why it shouldn’t be done. All the time smiling as she ate one of the Maple Logs I had taken from the opening I had created.
“These are good. You have a knack for finding the best Artisans among these Human Time Lines.”
I smiled at the compliment.
“If you ever do it again, I shall have to push you through the opening myself.”
I shivered with fear. As sweet as Shiona was, as gentle as her voice is, the Iron Fist of what would happen had let the velvet slide off. Pushed through an Opening for our Kind, meant being trapped for a lifecycle of whatever species we made the opening for. I would have tumbled into that Baker’s Life Cycle- making me an apprentice and having to live as a Human. I would eventually die, or be killed - and that was the only way back through the Opening. I would be fully “HUMAN” until I died.
Suicide wasn’t an option to move back through the Opening. If you tried, you merely suffered for a bit until you recovered your health, then right back to being Human. Believe you me…the few who ever got trapped, or punished by being pushed through an Opening, were much humbler, more wise, and much more careful when they finally rejoined us on our Time Line.
I did not want to be a hairy sack of water with a limited brain, no understanding, and so short lived…even if they did make good donuts. I learned that lesson well.
I hope you get a glimpse now of how the Weirding Voice affected me. I simply froze in place. Even without the Weirding Voice, just hearing Shiona yell at me with worry and fear in her voice would have been just as effective in stopping me in mid heart beat.
Shiona floated to me. That was a bad sign. It meant she had broken contact with the surface. Without contact, anything that happened to her would be permanent. She would simply cease to be on our Time Line, or in our Life Cycle. No one. NO ONE. EVER broke contact when someone was holding an Opening. Or, as in my case, holding a heart shaped vessel that held Openings for Individual Humans. Luckily, the Openings were still in the container.
I was just going to browse through them to see what possibilities the Opening would present on the Human Time Line.
Now, I just wanted to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. Or any when.
*****
Shiona took the Heart Shaped Vessel filled with “Openings” from my fronds. (You would call them hands, but you would be wrong.) Only after she had the heart shaped Vessel in her possession did she float back to Contact with the Surface.
“You didn’t open this…did you?”
“No.”
Even through my fear I could feel the relief flow from her.
“Good. Go Home.”
I did.
*****
Going “Home” is the highest rebuke our kind can give. I had no title. I hadn’t become an Opener. I was merely a trainee. No matter what skill you were being taught- even those few who were in charge of Change (the highest and most difficult skill to learn- Change) went “HOME” without finishing their training.
Oh sure, everyone treated me kindly. That was part of the punishment. Everyone knew you screwed up- but not how, or why. But you got sent “HOME.” No one knew what to do with you. Heck, you didn’t even know what to do with yourself. People gave you chores, or assignments to fill your time. Your old friends would make sure to bring you out on special nights- and your classmates would drop in once in a while to make sure you were okay.
You were fine. A lie that everyone accepted at face value.
Time went by. It always does. I waited for…well, an Opening.
It never came.
Until…
*****
I was under the Shingora Tree, just pulling petals off of a dewberry, then pitching them out into the wind. They spun in such hectic colorful spirals that few Dance Groups could match their movements. It helped while away the TIME for me.
A shimmer appeared. It was an Opening.
In it stood Shiona.
I stood slowly. Not believing my orbs. (You would call them “eyes” and you would be wrong.)
Her normal smile was as warm and welcoming as I remembered. I understood immediately. She stepped to the side as I stepped into the Opening. I wasn’t “Home” anymore, I was where I belonged.
The Opening closed.
I was in.
*****
It is unnecessary to tell you how thrilled I was to be “back”. Shiona spent months teaching me how close I came to destroying one of the best things about being Human. Had I opened that heart shaped vessel- I might have destroyed both Hope, and Love. Two things that Humans cannot live without.
Shiona explained to me that "Openings for Love", and for Hope…had to be thought out carefully. Chance encounters could change History. Personal History AND Human History. Chance encounters (among Humans) were too valuable to be left to Chance. A bumped arm with a Latte in it- a quick: “Oh, I am so sorry. Here let me help you clean up, and I will buy you another one.” Cannot be left to mere Chance.
An Opening must be placed in just the right moment to let the encounter blossom.
“That is not necessary. I am fine.” Followed by a false smile, a harried turn to get away and back to work - leaves no room for an Opening.
An Opening must be present for them to make eye contact…meaningful contact. It has to be just so…in that pause before the perfunctory polite dismissal. An Opening that hints at trust, humor, companionship- one that wipes away any false smile, polite dismissal, or hurry.
“Oh, I know you are fine. Even an Idiot like me can see that. I know that sounds like a pick up line, but I mean it.”
She blushes- his adolescent attempt to make the word “fine” convey a whole survey of her good looks, intelligence and charm- was all the Opening needed. She thought it was cute, and he was adorable.
“I bet you say that to all the girls.”
The laugh that came with her words was all the Opening he needed.
An hour later, and two lattes, a cinnamon roll, a quick trip to the loo for both of them, and they left hand in hand. The Opening closed in around them.
*****
I watched as Shiona showed me how to place these Openings among Humans. After a while I got pretty good at figuring out where, and when, to place an Opening. Shiona knew I was ready when she handed me the heart shaped vessel.
“Now, you do one.”
I was ready.
*****
The little girl didn’t even see the bully that pushed her off the swing. She felt a hard push, fell off the swing into a small pile of gravel. Her knee hurt and the swing would have hit her in the back of her head if - as out of nowhere, a small red headed kid hadn’t stepped over her to catch the swing.
The little red headed kid caught the swing with one hand, the other chain wrinkling and kinking in a hurry to stop gyrating. With his other hand, he reached down and offered it to help pull the little girl to her feet.
The little red headed kid wasn’t looking down at the girl as she reached for his hand. He was staring with deadly calm at the bully boy who had pushed the little girl off of the swing.
“Scram.” Was all the little red headed boy said.
It was a warning. It was a command. It was a vow.
The bully boy scrammed.
The little girls hand took a firm grip on the little red headed boy’s fingers. He gently tugged to pull her up. That first contact was all the Opening the boy needed. The thankfulness, joy, and gratefulness contained in that first touch of her hand in his…well, that made the little red head turn and look down as she struggled to her feet. It was a good Opening.
Even Shiona smiled as she nodded for me to continue.
The little girl knew at some level, she would always reach for the little red headed boys hand when she needed it.
The little red headed boy looked down as the little girl got up. One hand holding his, the other hand brushing some gravel off her knee. One of the bigger pieces had stuck in her skin. It wouldn’t brush out. And it hurt.
Then her eyes met the little red headed boys eyes. She was too young to realize the look she saw was her future. It was. It was an Opening that let both souls soar through the look he gave her.
He moved his hands to her waist and lifted her onto the swing. She didn’t want to let go of his hand, but knew she had to. She held the chains with both hands, as the little red headed boy knelt to look at her knee. He wiped it with a clean handkerchief then said:
“I can pull out that stone. It will bleed a little but I don’t think it is deep enough to really do damage.”
She smiled. She knew she could pull it out herself. She knew she would not.
“I can pull it out if you are ready?”
“Okay. Ready.”
The little red headed kid pulled the stone out. Her knee did bleed a little. But he had a soft deft touch and pulled the stone out with little discomfort on her part.
“Are you okay? I mean I didn’t hurt you did I?”
There!
I placed the second Opening. In that single moment she realized that he would never hurt her on purpose. The little red headed boy understood at some deep level, almost instinctive, that he would never want to hurt the little girl in any way.
The Opening closed in the present moment.
Sealing a future for them both.
*****
I turned to look at Shiona. Her orbs were bright and shiny. (You would have called them “eyes” and you would be wrong.)
“That was nicely done. Very nicely done.”
My training was finished. I had found my niche. I had a talent. I had a knack for Openings from the Heart Vessel for Humans. It would become my Life’s work. Shiona beamed as she created the Opening for my Graduation.
I could hear her laugh as I created an Opening to the Bakery. I could feel the joy in her words:
“A Maple log would be nice.”
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Gail Moore
11/19/2019Another amazing story Kevin. I love your stories :-) always look forward to them.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
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JD
11/19/2019Awww... that was adorable and romantically sweet. It started out a bit strange, I thought, not bad-strange, just a bit odd. I wasn't sure whether it was going to be science fiction, or what it would become as I read. Then it turned into something I didn't really expect, and it made me smile and warmed my heart, so that is all that can be asked for in any story. Thanks Kevin!
And THANK YOU for sharing short story number 650 on Storystar! WOW! What a powerhouse of productivity you are! And most all of your stories are simply outstanding in every way, so you have created a truly amazing legacy of accomplishment as a writer, Kevin.
I think if you stop writing and never writer another thing, you have already surpassed what many of the world's most renowned writers have accomplished in their lifetime. But, personally, I am wishing and hoping for you to write 1,000 short stories in your lifetime, Kevin! I can't imagine that anyone could beat such a record during a 'human' lifetime. But if anyone can do it, you can! Just sayin! :-)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
JD
11/19/2019It is really amazing the way you can just write off the top of your head and come up with a great story, even when you have no idea where it is going!
700 sounds like a good number... Let's see how it goes...
Not sure if there are any dark and stormy nights in your future or not, but if there are... I'm sure you'll turn them into stories with lighter and brighter skies in the end! : )
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
11/19/2019I know Jd, when I started writing it, I had no idea where it was going either! I liked where it ended though. LOL
650 Stories?! Oh. My. Gosh. Remember back when I started and I had a goal of 100 stories? We both laughed about it. Now? Hmm...700 would be nice.
I am working on my next story already. I have the opening line:
"It was a dark and stormy night...." LOL
Hugs for all the kind words, ego boost, and solid support too!
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
11/19/2019Thanks Aziz,
I have much respect for your much deeper writings than mine too!
Smiles, Kevin
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Dave Lane
11/19/2019Kevin you have done it again. Another great read. I love your imagination.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Kevin Hughes
11/19/2019Aloha Dave,
Thanks a bunch buddy! I have been imagining things since I was little. LOL
Smiles, Kevin
COMMENTS (4)