IMAGINATION'S PLACE
FICTION
JOURNEY TO THE LIGHT
By Speaker Gerald Polley
All rights reserved.
Chapter 4
Carol tried not to stare but finally her companion
grinned and remarked "My name is Irish by the way. And he's my
brother."
"Who?" Carol asked.
"Red!" Irish answered, "He's my brother. We never
met 'til we got here. He was born in the states and I was born in
Ireland. But genetic tests confirm it without a doubt. He's my
brother. Apparently dad got around and he associated with a lot
of unsavory people. There's three more of us here, one even from
Japan."
Carol couldn't help it. She leaned back and laughed
hilariously. "FIVE of you?" she remarked, "And you all ended up
here?"
Her young companion nodded. They finished
their lunches and got back to work. But Carol kept
thinking...five of them, from all over the world! And they all
end up here! She shook her head.
Things went on for several months. Irish would bring
his roasts, Carol would cook them, and they'd share the meal.
Sometimes she'd share her stuff. One afternoon they were eating
when Carol heard a "Um hm!" she looked down to see a very handsome man
in a business suit. Irish looked down and cried "Mr. Asad!
What brings you here? Not going to move the installation or
something are we?"
"No," he answered, "but we got a report that individuals
were passing stuff over the fence, and they needed to send someone out
to check on it. I happened to be headed out this way anyway, and
they asked me to check on what was going on."
"Oh!" Carol sighed. "Don't tell me there's some kind
of trouble about me cooking his food and us sharing meals. He's a
terrible cook!"
The stranger nodded his head. "I cannot argue
that!" he commented, "as his cooking nearly killed me once."
"I really didn't know the stuff was spoiled!" Irish commented. "How's your daughter, by the way?"
"She is just fine," the man answered, "and sends her
deepest regards. She will be permitted to begin supervised visits
next year."
Irish looked like about the happiest person in the
world. Carol stared at the two men but wasn't about to ask for an
explanation. "Well," their guest continued, "no more passing over
the fence. From now on we'll simply have the roasts delivered to
this young lady and she can cook them and at meal time you can go out
to the front gates and your most delightful neighbor will pass things
around. Comprende?"
"Comprende!" Both Carol and Red answered.
"Oh, why I was here, apparently, young lady, just
before you had your difficulties you bought some books. They were
delivered to the jail, somebody stuck them in the storeroom, and they
were never given to you. Somebody came acrossed them and decided to
ship them out to you. My original purpose was to drop them
off. Is this a subject you are truly interested in?"
Carol had to think. "Well, if it's the books I
think they are," she answered, "it's a subject I'm very much interested
in. Now that I've gotten used to things I was thinking of seeing
if I could get some courses and continue to pursue that line."
The man nodded. "An interesting pursuit," he
remarked, "something I've been rather interested in myself! I'll
see if I can get ahold of someone. We like to have our guests
continue their education. You never know when it might be of
benefit to everyone. Got to get going! Red! When my
daughter visits no more little problems?"
"Yes, sir!" Red answered, "I mean, no sir, there won't be!"
The man grinned and hurried off. "Little problems?" Carol asked.
"Not so little any more," Red answered. "We
talk on the internet every night. She can't understand why her
and her mother can't come to visit yet. Sometimes you can really
bum up your life! You can do some really stupid things!
You're lucky when there's nice people around."
Carol smiled. "Is she gonna move in?"
"She'll probably visit for a year or so," Red
answered, "and then move in. I should have things a little bit
more together by then."
Carol tried not to lose it. But she just
couldn't help it. Red's expression was just absolutely
precious! They got back to work. When Carol finally got to
go in the house she found the books on the table. "The Principles
Of Elementary Astronomy," "How To Use A Telescope And Enjoy The
Stars." "Well, I won't be gettin' one of them for a while,"
she thought. She opened the first book and started reading.
She never got supper! She realized it was bed time and went to
bed.
Several days later Zorba stopped by a second time. "Got somethin' for you!" he snapped.
Two men carried in something. "Put it up on
the roof!" Zorba ordered. "She's not going to be able to lift
it! If you need any help assembling it," he remarked, "I'll come
by."
Carol went up to the roof with them. After
they left she examined the box. "A telescope!" she
muttered. "A telescope, and, a big one!"