Safe Heart

I work at a bank. I wake up every morning, brush my teeth, get dressed, catch a bus, go to work. Every morning, every day. It seems I do nothing but work.

But I have a secret. I know a secret. It has to do with the bank.

Deep in the basement, where the safes are, there is one certain one that I'm sure hasn't been opened in a very long time.

And I know what's inside.

It's a tiny heart.

A teeny tiny heart.

I hear it beating sometimes when I walk past the safe it's in. Sometimes it will be beating quietly, and I'll crane my head and jam my ear up against the safe. Then I hear it beating...whoosh...bloosh...whoosh...bloosh...

Maybe that isn't the sound it makes, but I'm not sure how to explain what it sounds like with onomatopoetic words. If you want a more solid explanation, it sounds like your lover's heart when you're lying on the couch with your head on his chest. That's what it sounds like when it's quiet. When it's loud, it sounds like your own heart does when you suddenly realize you're in trouble, and have to run.

This is a very secure bank; nothing has ever been stolen from it ever. I don't know who is keeping their heart here, but it won't get stolen either. I kind of feel sorry for whoever it belongs to, though. I think they forgot about it; who would lock their heart up in a safe, in the bank where I work, every morning, every afternoon, and some evenings too?

You Can't Go Back (And Find Everything Intact)

“Twelve years,” he thought to himself, “Twelve long years since I left home.” He stood on the deck of the ship, turning this over in his mind. Maxwell Luthor VanVendrig was standing on the deck of the ship destined to bring him back to the home he had abandoned long ago. Twelve years ago he had fled the small town in which he had grown up in, secretly joining the crew of a hauling ship. He had let a few of his closest friends know the time he was leaving, and as the ship had pulled away from the dock they ran after it, crying out various farewells. “Goodbye Max! Have an adventure!” “You bastard! Running away without taking me with!” “Stay safe, and don’t forget us!” “I haven’t forgotten you,” he mused. “Especially not you…” Lena McCorskova. One of the local girls, and if not the prettiest or best dancer, doubtlessly the most artfully inclined. She was always making sketches of whatever happened to be about in her notebook, and writing small couplets as captions beneath them. And that was only one of her intriguing qualities in the eyes of Maxwell. She had long hair that looked black, but if you looked closely was simply an extremely dark brown. Under certain light it was possible to detect a sheen of red permeating through it. Her eyes were hard, and oddly colored, with a watery green that sparked with many colors when she was excited or angry. Her skin was milky white, burning light pink in the summer. Some of the other boys said that she looked strange, but Max always beat them until they changed their opinion, or at least learned to hide it. He thought the combination of her features and the light, flowery dresses that she was always wearing made her seem exotic and supernatural, like an elf that had decided to take up life among humans.
“Yes, it has been a long time,” he murmured. “But now I’ll see you again, and how much all of you have changed.” The island was coming up, and he returned to his cabin to finish packing up his few belongings. Some clean, practical and thoroughly without airs clothes, a pair of dark leather boots, a journal, the hunting knife his old captain had given him when he had left his service, and a copy of the Bible, blessed by the priest of his old parish. This was all his worldy possessions, not including a fairly heavy bag of money that was hanging from his belt. A member of the crew called out that they had reached land, and he straighted up, and walked through the corridors up to the deck of the ship.
Looking out at the dock, he saw that his letter had arrived in time, and he had a greeting party. John MacCutcheon, Phineas Franklin, and Gerry Ladlen; his best pals in the world when he had left. And down the road came Lena, walking onto the dock as the boat was made fast by the crew. She looked almost completely the same as he remembered her, except maybe a bit taller and more slender. A slight thinning of the face, which only improved her beauty, he thought to himself. And then it hit him, in strong, unquenchable waves, like the ones washing in from the sea. He had missed her. More than anything else. He knew what the feeling deep inside him that he had lived with for years was now. He finally recognized it for what it was, namely, a deep, aching loneliness. More accurately, the absence of Lena McCorskova in his life. And now he had her, and he was finally going to be content. He laughed out loud and barged down the ramp like a drunken man, staggering with the shifting of the boat and the ruckus in his heart.
He clasped hands and then embraced in a bear hug each of his old friends. Then he came to Lena. His eyes swiftly ran down her face and her body, and then they moved into a close, strong hug. As they parted, he noticed a glint of gold on her finger. He stared at it, as it revealed itself to be a ring. John lifted up his hand, laughing as he showed off his own matching ring, and stated, “Married last August! What a surprise, eh? That she chose an old ruffian like me.”
For a couple seconds, no one moved. Then he replied, slowly and carefully, “Well. That is a surprise. I had no idea. Congratulations.” They closed in around him, and the group began to walk up towards the town.
That night, there was a returning party at the MacCutcheon home. Many old friends had gathered once they heard the news, and at eleven o’clock the party had still not even begun to break up. However, Max took his chance to have a few private words with Lena once most of the others had started to feel the effects of the beer that had been consumed all evening, and they slipped out into the night. He asked, “Mind if we walk while we talk?” She nodded, and they went out onto a path leading into the woods that started at the back of their property.
They walked in silence for a while, and then Maxwell began to speak. He had some difficulty finding what words he wanted, though, and just choked out some garbled words. He was trying to form his thoughts into coherent words, when Lena spoke up. “Max…Please don’t say ‘I love you’ because if you do, that will make everything I’ve done be pointless, useless, and impossible to take back. I’ve married, made a name for myself under his name, and begun to really live life. And if you say you love me, that will turn all my plans upside down and then I have no idea what I’d do.” “But Lena…” he murmured, “That’s all that I can think of to say…”
He grabbed her in a tight embrace, kissed her on the lips, she returned it for a moment, then broke away sobbing. She started to run, losing her shoes in a mad dash to stay ahead of him. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness. He chased her through the forest, and then they broke out into a field. There was a ring of stones standing in the middle, and a hole leading down into the earth at a slope. She dashed through the ring, and swiftly ran down into the hole. He followed a couple seconds behind. Once inside the hole, he witnessed her beating on a stone table, crying out “Father! Mother! Please! Let me come back to the fold! I realize now this was a mistake! I am not meant for life among mortals, for love! Please, let me return!” Her hair was flying about like in a high wind, and her eyes were sparking brighter than he had ever seen them before. When nothing happened, and she saw that he had followed her down into the cave, she cried out and pushed past him, knocking him into the wall. He recovered, and raced out to follow her.
As they reached the other side of the field, he became aware of a dull roaring. The Great Drain, the waterfall which all the mountain streams gathered to supply. They drew closer and closer, until she was standing on a large stone at the edge of the river. “Please, Lena…just come with me, we can try to make it alright,” he begged. “No! No! Stay away!” she shouted to make herself heard over the roar of the waterfall. “Stay back! Don’t come any closer!” she cried as she shuffled backward to match his forward pace. “I don’t want-“ Her words were cut off as she slipped on the wet rock, and fell into the river. He lunged forward, grabbed at her hand, pulled it out of the water and saw that he was gripping a branch. He looked down the river, saw her floating for one last second, then she went over the waterfall. Though he knew he was too late to save her, he jumped in after her anyway.

Vampires Don't Bleed

I’m scared. John’s been gone for almost 15 minutes, probably. And I’m scared. He gave me a knife, and told me to be careful and quiet, and leave our hiding spot and try to get out of this dumb old castle if he wasn’t back in 15 minutes. I’m sure it’s been maybe almost that long, but I don’t want to leave. What if he comes back, and I’m gone? Or maybe he might need help, and I leave the wrong way and don’t find him, or just wait here while he’s lying out there dying…No. I have to do what he said. I wish we hadn’t come here, but we did, and now I should listen to what he said, because after all, he’s older, and smarter, and he loves me. I just know he does, because he said so, and I could tell he meant it. “Mary, you mean so much to me…I love you.” That’s what he said. And I’ll have to trust him.
Though I really wish we hadn’t come out here to the castle. I mean, it’s so creepy. I’ve never even been here during the day, and it must be close to midnight by now.
I guess it’s been 15 minutes by now…Okay, I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna leave, and have his knife close beside me, and I’m gonna sneak out of here, all careful and silent, and I’ll meet him back at his car, and he’ll take me home and I’ll kiss him outside before I sneak back inside the house and go to bed. Yes, that’s exactly what’ll happen…Okay, here’s the door…Alright, now, down the hallway…turn left, another left, a right, through the room with the suit of armor, a left in this hallway, what was that? I swear, I thought I saw something white at the end of the hallway…No, there’s nothing there. Wow, this is just so creepy…I wish he hadn’t gone. I need him. But he said not to call out for him, so I won’t. I’ll pretend I’m not scared, and just remember I have his knife with me, and I can protect myself, and I’ll make it out of here okay, and meet him by the car. Okay, I can handle this…
Down the stairs…open the door. OKAY, I KNOW I SAW SOMETHING WHITE! Okay, okay, calm down…It was probably a bird, or a shadow or something…Moonlight, that’s what I bet it was. Just some moonlight that happened to get in through a hole in the wall or something. Walk across the creepy hall, peer around the door just to make sure OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD THERE’S SOMEONE OUT THERE. Okay, okay, okay, calm down, I have his knife, I’ll be okay, this stuff doesn’t happen in real life, it’ll all turn out okay, I’ll just quick cross the hallway, the guy was turned the other way, he won’t see me, I’ll be quiet and quick, and I’ll be out of here and he’ll never know anyone was here. Oh no…Maybe he got John? No…No, that can’t be…but it probably is…I know, I’ll get out of here, get to the car, and if he isn’t there I’ll run down to the village and get the police, they’ll come up here and they can chase off this tramp or whoever it is and find John and everything will be okay. It’ll all be okay…
Alright, now, peer around the corner, yep, still there, okay, tighten my grip on the knife, dash across the hallway, oh no, I made some noise, just run, he won’t catch me, oh no, he is he is he is he’s coming up behind me okay when he gets close I’ll turn around and just stab him with the knife and run okay yeah HERE HE IS…
Oh my god, I just stabbed him right in the heart…he’s staggering backward, and the knife is stuck in him…He looks young…or old…neither, I guess, I don’t know…But he’s so pale…and his clothes are all white, and OH MY GOD, he’s pulling the knife out, and laughing, HE’S LAUGHING, THERE’S NO BLOOD? HOW CAN THERE BE NO BLOOD! I HIT HIM RIGHT IN THE HEART, I…Oh no, he’s saying something…what is it…”Little darling…didn’t you know? Vampires don’t bleed…”

The Man And The Genie

Once there was a man traveling through the desert. He had been traveling for many days and many nights, without meeting any other travelers. One day, as he was traveling, he discovered that he was running out of water. He began looking for a well, but he could not find one. Being thirsty and tired from the heat, he decided to rest in a cave that was situated halfway up a rock formation near the road. He scrambled up the rock, leaving his camel outside.

Within the cave it was cool, with a strange scent that the man seemed to remember. Suddenly, he spotted a bowl with incense burning in it. He cautiously looked about, and called out, "Hello? Is there anyone here?" It was a small cave, and he could see that no one was in it. The smell of incense began to grow stronger, and he noticed the incense swirling around in the bowl. As he was watching it, a man appeared before him. There was no flash of light, nor was the appearance dramatic. The man was simply there.

"Who- who are you, sir? I am merely a tired traveler, looking for a place to rest. I saw the cave, and not realizing it was yours, came inside it. I hope I did not intrude upon you." The man stood regarding the traveler, and then replied, "I am a genii. I will give you gifts, if you give me something in return." The man realized that the man must be one of the genies of legend, and that to refuse would be losing a great opportunity. "Sir, I will take one of your gifts, if I can give you something worth it in return."

The genii looked at him with a blank look, and then asked him, "I see you have a woman you desire. Her skin is dark, and her hair is curly. She has dusky eyes, and does not wish to marry you. Neither does her father wish marriage between you two. Would you like them to become accustomed to the idea, even wanting it?" "Sir, can you- can you give love? True love?" The genii replied, "I can." "Then do it, please do it sir!" the man cried. "I will require a price; your finger." "What? My finger? What do you mean?" the man implored. "Lay your hand upon that stone. Then extend your fingers to their fullest extent, and I will cut off your left little finger with this knife." "My- my finger? This is your price? My little finger for my love?" "Yes." The traveler looked at his hand, focused on his finger. He moved it, bending and unbending. Watching it move smoothly, its excellent engineering. He looked at it a moment longer, then replied, "Yes. For love, this is nothing."

The genii led the man over to a rock, and told him to lay his hand upon it. The man placed his hand on the cool stone, felt it smooth underneath his fingers. He trembled, and tried to stop his hand from shaking. Then the genii, with a swift cut, chopped of the man's finger. The man clutched at his hand in pain, and held it moaning. The genii gave him herbs to stop the bleeding, and then the man looked at his hand. He watched the glistening stump of his finger, absorbing the new absence. Then the genii spoke. "Would you give another finger for your love's health? Her long life, free from sickness?" The man thought, pondered. Then he said, "What is pain for me, if I'm doing it for her? I will do it. A man can be successful without two fingers." The ceremony was repeated, then the genii spoke. "A drought will take the life of all those in your village. Another finger, and the wells shall not go dry." The man thought. Was he, who had already sacrificed two of his fingers, to give a third for his village? He decided yes, he shall. For who could turn down the chance to save his home at such a comparatively small cost? "Yes. I shall save the village from drought."

Again and again, the genii offered the man chances to forestall various disasters, until the health of the village was assured for hundreds of years to come. The man was curling up in pain, now only having the fingers of his right hand left. The genies price had started to take on a greater significance. One finger for each disaster, and two toes for the same. When then man had quieted down, the genii spoke again. "Your family will be large. You shall have handsome, strong sons, prides of the father. Beautiful daughters, prides of the mother. And when you are not yet an old man, an enemy militia shall come and kill you all. You shall watch your children and wife die, and then your life shall be taken. I can ensure that the militia will bypass your town....But it will cost all of the fingers on your right hand." The man, confused with pain, considered this. "Genii, what choice do you give me? Death for me and my family, or being almost a cripple!" the man cried "How can I make this choice?" The genii replied, "How can you not make this choice?"

The man considered it, then made his decision. His hand trembled, violently shaking as he laid his hand on the stone, now slick with blood. Though the day was hot, the man felt chilled and cold. When the cuts came, five quickly in a row, the man yelled aloud. His pain was audible, but the genii looked on impassively. After the man was sitting, crouched against the side of the cave, the genii said, "Your sacrifices are impressive. But so far they have been only for your village and family. What would you do for everyone? All people under Heaven's dome? Would you guarantee that someday, all diseases will be vanquished? No one shall ever be sick again? No mother shall have to watch her child sicken and die in front of her own eyes. No more death due to sicknesses. Would you do that for all people of the world, people you shall never meet, nor know?" The man sat silent, then replied, "What is your price?" "Your left eye." the genii replied. "How can you ask me this? I've already given up so much, and now you ask even more of me? How can you do this?" the man asked. The genii watched him, waiting for a reply. Finally, after sitting in silence for many minutes, the man said, "I shall give up my eye. I should take this chance, for it may be one that no one else will have." "Then, I shall remove your eye," the genii replied.

By now, with all of his fingers and toes removed, and now one of his eyes, the man could barely keep from writhing in pain. When the genii opened his mouth again, the man swiftly interrupted the genii. "Genii, I cannot take anymore. I have gone through so much pain, that I should be dead. I am maimed. When, and if, I make it back to my village, my love will love a cripple. Do not ask anymore of me. You have done good things, but I cannot take the price anymore." "But what would you give," the genii asked, "to eventually end all wars and conflict? No more fighting among any tribes, no more fighting among nations and creeds." "That would be a good thing, genii," the man replied, "But I will not agree. I cannot give in to this offer. I can only imagine your price. My leg? My arm?" "Your other eye," the genii said. "Your other eye, and all wars shall someday end." The man began to weep. "This- this makes no sense! All these horrors of our world, and it my chance to stop them! But, I cannot! All of this worldly suffering can be stopped through my own! But, I cannot! This- this is not right, that I should be asked this..." "What is your choice then," the genii said, "Keep your sight and leave the world full of war? Or lose your eye, and bring peace?"

The man gave his answer.

He lay on the floor of the cave, slumping in pain. Panting, panting, hoping the pain would end. The genii began to speak, when the man cried, "Foul genii! Do not speak anymore! I do not wish to hear your voice! It grates on my ears, offering offers I cannot ignore, but which will only cause me pain! Nothing more, I implore you! Be silent! Leave me be!" Then the genii leaned in close to the man, and whispered, "I can do this. Give me your memory, erase your past, and art shall grow in the world. No more madness, except for the glorious kind which is felt by the poets as they weave their tales. Would you give this to the world, in exchange for your past?" "YES!" the man cried, "Yes! Do this, damned genii, and erase my past! Make me forget everything, so the pain shall be erased also!" The genii waved his hand, and the man could suddenly not remember anything. Except the pain. Waves of pain would come, and be forgotten as they appeared. The man could not help screaming. He was in agony, left experiencing nothing but pain.

Then the genii said in a loud voice to him, "You have done much. And as a reward for your services, I will give your back your fingers and toes. They shall be there, stiff and painful, but you shall have them. I will give you back your sight, though it shall be blurry and like that of an old man's. I will give you back your past, but leave you with headaches. All this I will do, to honor your sacrifice for the good of the world, and people you shall never meet." "Thank you, genii," the man said. He then blacked out. When he awoke, he was in the arms of the women he loved.

A Love Story

The house was lit up, all the windows letting out light and the joyful celebration contained inside shown to all the world. The house had been keeping all the heat and happiness bottled up inside, except for a few snowballers with a lust for the icy cold feeling you get when a snowball hits you square in the back of the neck and drips down your back, but they had all gone inside a long time ago. Presently a car came up the hill, its tires slipping a bit here and there, but making it despite the adverse conditions for driving. The car pulled into the already over filled driveway, and a young man got out. His face looked about twenty or so, but it had that curious, utterly contented look that usually only comes to a person after a lifetime of joyful marriage. The man and that curious face made their way up the steps to the house, and quietly inserted themselves into that festive gathering.

Hanging up his coat on one of the already overfilled pegs in the hallway, he walked into living room. He was greeted by surprised and happy exclamations, and he returned them with merry hellos and how are yous. He wandered from room to room, inquiring, Have you seen a certain person? but no one had. Finally he came to a room at the back of the house. As soon as he opened up the door, a guilty silence came over the room. That feeling that comes when the witnesses to something suddenly realize they should have done their duty and intervened, but did nothing. Anyway, in the middle of the room were a young man and woman, kissing fiercely underneath the mistletoe. The intruder stepped forward and said, "I made it! And I see you've met a new friend." She quickly pushed her mistletoe lover away and responded, "Oh, um, I can't believe you got in! I thought your flight was canceled?" "I did too, but they decided to try it. Can I talk to you?" She left the other man underneath the mistletoe, and followed her fiance out of the room. They walked to the front hall and collected their coats, and made their way outside.

They started walking aimlessly, in no particular direction, but eventually, they found their way to a line of pine trees, cut off from view of the house. Tired, she sat down on the garden bench underneath one of the trees, while he remained standing. She watched his back as he watched the stars, then let her eyes drop as he began to speak.

"You should know, I still love you. I don't care what reason you had for kissing him; if you had one and what it was are nothing to me. I love you, and that's all that matters. Love connects you to someone in a way that is so deep, so strong, there is no way we can even comprehend it. If we were to die right now, and you were sent to Heaven, and I was sent to punishment in Hell, my voice would ring out across that great void between the two realms, and I would be happy, knowing, even as I burn, that you can hear my voice and I can still speak to you and tell you I love you. Love. I would give everything I can for our love. If I had all the power in God's universe, and could smite all life or make all the suns go out at once with a blink of my eye, I would do it without a thought for the consquences if you wished me to. I would undergo more pain than my physical body can bear; I could not be happy without you, even in paradise. What does it matter to me if you kiss one man; what does it matter if you make love to a thousand? I Love you, I've welded our souls together, and if you stray or if you stay by my side, it will change nothing between us. I know what it is like to be God, for my love for you closes in upon the Love He has for all His people. I Love you."

She replied, "I must have had too much eggnog; anyway, just before you came into the room, it was he who came up as I was walking under the mistletoe and kissed me." She began to cry, and he moved with infinite care and tenderness to comfort her.