the wind and the rain - 31. lightning

by nick nelson

part 31 of ?

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midnight. a 1927 pierce arrow approaches from the east on an otherwise empty road. lightning from an oncoming storm flashes in the west. harold brown is driving. his twin brother, walter wilson, sits beside him in the front passenger seat. aunt edith and cousin jeffrey sit in the back. aunt edith does not look pleased. cousin jeffrey chews a very long, but empty, cigarette holger, and looks bored. nobody speaks. aunt edith and cousin jeffrey not only do not speak but avoid looking at each other. they drive on. i thought this road had a turning, walter wilson finally breaks the silence, of course it has a turning, harold brown replies amiably, every road has a turninng. they drive on. so far as they can tell in the darkness, the landscape on either side of the road is empty. a raindrop hits the windshield. next

the wind and the rain - 30. open the door

by nick nelson

part 30 of ?

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further down the same road. it is raining. another vehicle, a 1930 packard roadster approaches from the opposite direction. richardson oibinson is driving. arlene sits beside him, with a grim expression on her face. cousin waldo and marlowe, the butler, sit in the back, marlowe behind richardson, and waldo behind arlene. waldo finally opens his mouth. i tell you i saw something, he announces plaintively. none of the other three replies. they drive on. the wind and rain pick up. a slight figure appears by the roadside. to the consternation of aunt arlene and waldo, richardson stops the car. marlowe chuckles softly. that is her! waldo cries. that is her! the one i saw in the tree! that is she, waldo, arlene corrects him. learn to speak proper english, please. open the door, waldo, richardson says, and ask her if she wants a lift. but she will bring bad luck! waldo exclaims. and be soaking wet , arlene adds tartly. open the door, waldo, richardson repeats., and ask her if she wants a lift. waldo has trouble opening the passenger door, but finally manages to get it open. wind and rain blow into the car. * fade out next

the wind and the rain - 29. the hitchhiker

by nick nelson

part 29 of ?

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a dark night. an empty road. a five year old black toyota. briggs is driving. he needs a shave. constance johnson, stylish as ever, sits beside him in the front passenger seat. jack and jill sit quietly in the back. they drive along. silence. it is raining. a hitchhiker appears. briggs passes the hitchhiker by. none of the three passengers comments on the hitchhiker or the fact that briggs passes him by. the toyota proceeds down the road. the rain gets heavier. jack asks if briggs has lost his way. constance johnson and briggs both assure him that they are on the right road. how can you tell if you can’t see it? i can see it, says briggs. and there is no other road, constance adds. the road gets narrower and the night gets darker jill says, i think i see something ahead. jack replies - at last! suddenly a building appears - an abandoned barn. briggs says, i think we should push on. no, constance replies quietly, i think we should stop a while they stop. * fade out next

the wind and the rain - 28. else

by nick nelson

part 28 of ?

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constance johnson sat under her favorite tree. the sun was shining, and constance looked more aristocratic than ever. briggs approached, looking a little more disheveled than before.. ah, there you are. where else would i be? we have new instructions. again. yes, again. this operation is being shut down, and we are to report to headquarters for our new assignment. is that not a bit abrupt? everything is abrupt. what about our two young proteges? i have an address where we can drop them off on our way to headquarters. is it out of the way? only a hour or two. if we don’t get lost. i hope we don’t get lost. i don’t see why we would. i am glad you are so confident. do you remember the last time? of course i remember the last time. how could i forget it? i suppose we might as we might as well get going then. have you informed the children? i thought you might prefer to do that. whatever, i will do it. next

the wind and the rain - 27. next

by nick nelson

part 27 of ?

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what do you think? it needs work. that is what they all say. it needs saying. should i go on? no, i will take it from here. i did what you told me. i used all those words. you need to do more. give me some more words. later. i will take it from here. is there any end in sight? i will let you know. when? later. next

the wind and the rain - 26. phil

by nick nelson

part 26 of ?

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then the newest member of the council rose and made a sensational announcement. things suddenly took a subversive turn. the newest member was a contemplative young person of a beneficent disposition who had no thought of deliberately promoting apocalyptic notions. but in the seething tinderbox of the kaleidoscopic modern world, the most judicious statement could be construed as inflammatory. the name of the contemplative young person was phil graves. phil had an exhaustive upbringing which kept the student under strict surveillance and precluded gregarious happenstance . phil had many teachers, each one more fulminating than the last. but the curricula were lilliputian. phil’s selection to the council at such a tender age raised eyebrows all over the world. the initial reaction was less than magnanimous, somewhat delimiting in fact. but as nothing compared to the firestorm that exploded at phil’s tentative speech - what phil construed as a tentative speech - merely putting a toe in the water, to use a hoary old fashioned expression which phil thought would not hurt a fly or raise the dead. next

the wind and the rain - 25 - earlier

by nick nelson

part 25 of ?

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i am sorry about your loss, joe. my what? i am sorry the old lady is dead. i am sorry too. i liked her a lot. was there any kind of a funeral service? i am sorry i missed it. no, i just chucked her the swamp, like she always told me to. i see. i don’t know what the board of health might think, but i suppose what they don’t know won’t hurt them. i took her out a ways. she always wanted big al to have her, cause they went back a ways. yes, they must have been the two oldest inhabitants of the swamp. well, joe, what are you going to do? i suppose you will stay on at the store with mr higgins. you are a big boy now, you should be able to take care of yourself. what exactly did you want to see me about? i wanted to ask you something. and what was that? i don’t know if you can help me, but i don’t know anybody else to ask. yes? the old lady before she died, she told me something she wanted me to do. i mean, she told me about it before, but just before she left, she sort of - what do you call it -? emphasized it? that’s it . empha -a - sized it. and what was it that she emphasied? she wanted me to tear down the world and build it up again. i see. rather a tall order. i wasn’t really all that sure what she meant by that. wiser men than you or i might well wonder what she meant. i would hate to disappoint her. i feel like she is still watching over me, and i would hate her to think i was not trying my best to please her. tear down the world and build it up again, eh? did she give you any hint as to how t she wanted to build it up again? well, sir, i think she tried to, but i am not sure i exactly understood her. i can believe that. no offense to you, joe, but her pronouncements could be a bit on the murky side. like all great prophets and philosophers. do you have a book you could give me, or maybe i could get one from the library. that is an excellent idea, joe. i think i know a couple of books you could ask miss carter at the library about. here, let me write the titles down for you. next