JUST FOR BUTTON
CLEANING OUT THE ATTIC
BOOK 1
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Christine Forshner
Copyright © 2013 Chris Forshner
Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Christine Forshner's Website
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JUST FOR BUTTON: CLEANING OUT THE ATTIC
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Table of Contents
Introduction by Kai
Interview with Goldy (Life as a Goldfish)
Open Letter to the Suicidal
One Gnome to Change the World (Monologue)
The Last Case
The Listeners
Chapter 31 The Grapes of Wrath
The Truth of it All
Tortured Dreams
Scraps (Unfinished Works)
A Bloody Mess
The Stake is Mightier Than the Laptop
Dangerous Descent
The Masque of Theophania
A Spritely Situation
Children of the Night
Foot Prints in the Snow
Tiv's Tale
Twisted Strands of Fate
Introduction by Kai
In folklore, it is said that words – especially names – have power.
No one knows the power of words better than a writer. The writer is the one who holds the key to your emotions. To your hopes, and fears and yes, even your dreams. The writer becomes the puppeteer, the conductor of his own orchestra, the tour guide into the wild landscapes of dreams.
The reader, then, becomes the audience. The passenger. The tourist. The reader slips off the safety of every day life to dip her toes into the pool of fantasy and eventually to take the plunge into the realm of the writer's imagination.
The journey is mutual, for the writer and the reader. A trip into the world that they will eventually share. Though, one perhaps, knows the way a little bit better than the other.
Despite all of this, it takes a certain level of skill to be able to work the magic and the powers that words hold, in a manner that can conjure up whatever emotions one pleases. Some are more skilled than others, but that is something that goes without saying.
The stories contained within this collection are wrought with love and care. They are collections of words rendered in a way that you can feel the power thrumming behind every syllable, that evoke such imagery that you can lose yourself within them, and that can ultimately make you swell with happiness or bring you to your knees in grief and despair and sorrow. These are words that are worked with the magic of a love of storytelling and at once build and destroy, give and take from both reader and writer.
So step forth into this journey, with Chris as your guide and let yourself feel the magic, and the power, that the words hold.
Yours in spirit,
-Kai Kiriyama
https://www.theraggedyauthor.com/
An Interview With Goldy
Life as a Goldfish
I can't believe they named me that, can you? I mean, what kind of name is Goldy? Especially for a fish like me. I won't answer to it, I've changed my name. I changed it to Snapper, but you can call me Snap, and hope that I don't.
So, you want to know about me. Feels weird, talking to a reporter and all, not that I don't deserve the fame. Well, let's start with my home. We've got a big tank here, 'bout 35-40 gallons I'd guess. Got some real plants too, not just some of those stupid neon plastic ones. That's a real treat.
I've got a cave in one of the back corners, in the shade. Nice and dark. There's a little castle in the other corner. Gave that to my little bro. I can't fit in there anymore anyway.
My little brother's the only other guy in here. All the rest are chicks. I like it that way. In fact, the only real downside to this whole arrangement is when the humans decide to look in. Nothing's a bigger eyesore than the water-blurred face of a two-legged land walker. Ugly creatures. No scales. Got no gills either. They wouldn't know how to use them.
There's one of 'em now. Oh no . . . By the Bright Light Bulb no! You'd think they'd catch on after the first few times the new ones turned belly up, but nooooo . . . They've got to bring more in. Look at 'em up there, all safe and snug in that plastic bag . . . They don't know what they're in for. Look at 'em, watching me circle around. I'll get them . . . They'll be in there for a while, but I'll be waiting. Just swimming around waiting.
Bet you're wondering what happened to me. I know, goldfish aren't supposed to have teeth, and the ones I've got are pretty sharp now. And I'm not very orange anymore. Turning crimson. Fitting I think. I've evolved.
Well, what happened is this: the brat of a kid dropped me in a bucket of something. Some kind of chemical, but I'm not sure what. I couldn't breathe! Thank the Light Bulb the brat's keeper fished me outta there quick, or I woulda been done for. It was after that that I started to change. It hurt at first, having teeth burst out. Felt like my scales were burning most of the time, but it doesn't hurt anymore. Just an itchy feeling. I keep changing. I think I'll evolve out of this tank eventually. I'm already starting to be able to breathe pure air, and I'm getting pretty big. Can you guess what the first thing I'm gonna do when I get outta here is? I'm going after that kid. I'm gonna find out what he dropped me in, then I'm gonna take him out. I mean, it's nice of him to put me on the path to evolution, but that wasn't what he was trying to do. The brat tried to kill me! After I'm done out there, I'll get some more of that stuff, and get my little brother outta here too. And maybe one of the chicks . . . We'll see . . .