Vehemence

Introduction to Mother's favorite book, Vehemence by Aleksandr Vasiliev.

Chapter Two: Vehemence

 

When I was eleven years old, my mother told me, "One day you'll be smarter than me," and I said, "No. I already am." Which made us both laugh because that was absolutely absurd. No one is smarter than Mother.

 

Sometimes… frankly, sometimes I disliked life with the crazily dedicated English professor. She was the epitome of the diligent worker who stoically fights for others' lives, puts them before herself, advertising her extreme love of her work which she put before her own well-being, right? But she overdid it. She really did. Who teaches a ten year old about Zeno? Much less make him memorize idioms? And Shakespeare's sonnets? Insane! Not to mention holding weekly philosophy and literature discussions, which to her were "fun" and to me"well, sometimes they were fun, other times they were downright tedious.

 

She truly made me an outcast. No sixth grader wants to talk to someone who knows what "allegoric" and "stoically" mean. I talk like an English professor, for heaven's sake. I've swallowed an encyclopedia and every time I open my mouth I regurgitate some of it. I am not normal.

 

Yet mother always told me, normal doesn't mean anything, normal is "overrated" to use the middle school term. You are special she would say.

 

Bullsh*t.

 

But I still love her. I mean, there's sort of this unwritten contract between mother and child that the child has to love his mother and the mother has to love him back. I mean"I'm not saying I love her simply because I have to. I honestly do. And I know that she makes me learn all these things because she loves me back.

---

One day she had me read her favorite book, this novel called "Vehemence" by this Russian author Aleksandr Vasiliev. It was basically a novel where Love and Hate and Compassion and Greed and all those other traits took the forms of humans, with those exact characteristics at a magnified quality. There wasn't really a plot, just a lot of philosophy involved, exactly the kind of book that Mother would like.

 

Then, as usual, after reading the book she had me analyze it. And it was a 572 page book, filled top to bottom with totally obscure allusions and metaphors and symbolic references. Somehow Mother could easily pluck them out from the small print letters of our vintage leather-bound version, but I was lost when I tried to process all the hidden meanings.

---

"Where is Fairness?" cried Curiosity. "The Great And Virtuous Fairness? In the broils of war we lay caught and in the chains of Conflict we lay ensnared, where is he to rescue us among the clashing titans of Happiness and Hate? Where is he to rip the spears from our hearts? Fairness, oh Wandering Saint, come and rescue us from this prison cell! For all Time we must fight, if you cannot save us!"

 

"Fairness does not exist," replied Interpretation.

---

"Okay, this quote's moral is obvious. Fairness does not exist. Right?" I asked Mother.

 

"That's one of them. Find some more."

 

"More?"

 

"Yes, Aden, more. In greater quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number. More."

 

"Um. Clashing titans. I suppose that means that Happiness and Hate are the titans, or the bigger, more important traits or whatever?"

 

"Kind of. It's not that they are exactly more important, more likely they are the overall, looming feelings that dominate a human's thoughts. Everything is somehow interconnected with Happiness and Hate, they are the"hm. How do I put this. They are a massive summary of a person's thoughts. Get it?"

 

"Yeah, I think so."

 

"Also, when it says 'for all Time we must fight,' do you see the hidden, or I guess, not really hidden meaning there?"

 

"Happiness and Hate are always inherent in a person."

 

"Yes. The overarching concept of Happiness including Joy and Amazement and Content, as well as the overarching concept of Hate including Unhappiness and Fear and Dislike. Not only that, but don't forget it includes 'in the chains of Conflict we lay ensnared.' There will always be conflict."

 

I nod. "Can I go to the bathroom now?"

 

"Go ahead."

---

"What is Pain doing here?" Curiosity asked Love as he entered her cottage.

 

"Pain is always here," she replied. "But sometimes he's hard to notice."

Author's Note

Is Vehemence a real book? I shall never tell MWAHAHAHAHA. Actually it's not. I made it up. Just like John Green in The Fault in Our Stars.

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

"When I was eleven years old, my mother told me, "One day you'll be smarter than me," and I said, "No. I already am." Which made us both laugh because that was absolutely absurd. No one is smarter than Mother."
Such good story and wisdom in this chapter. When we are young. We think we know everything. With time we understand. World is hard to control. No weakness in the chapter. A very strong ending to a excellent chapter.
Coyote

[Alice Locke]

Thanks for reviewing!

[InsanityWriter]

I really liked this chapter. (: It had a lot more personality then the last. ^_^

[Alice Locke]

Thanks!... I guess. No, seriously, thanks, I needed reviewers! x)