Guy--Part Two

Splog # 5

Two

   The man who was standing behind Guy, close enough to cover him with his shadow, was wearing a long grey coat, that went down to below his knees. Guy thought at first that the coat must be awfully warm in the summer heat. He was feeling comfortable in short pants and short sleeves, but knew he wouldn't have enjoyed it if his parents had wanted him to wear a jacket. The man's coat was open and, when it moved in such a way that Guy could see inside it, he thought he caught a glimpse of many different colors.

   Guy stood there between his parents, music in the background, his head turned to see a man in a long coat and funny hat, whose sparkling eyes were fixed on him. He felt just a touch of fear and started to reach out his hands, one to his mother and one to his father, when the music was abruptly cut off and the sun went out. Well, it couldn't have gone out completely because he could see everything around him but, instead of the bright sunshine that had flooded the scene a moment ago, all was now in shadow. He looked up to see what kind of a cloud had covered the sun so quickly and completely, but the sky was cloudless. Instead of a glowing sun that made him squint, he was looking at a ball of ebony floating in a bright blue sky. He had seen pictures of what an eclipse of the sun was supposed to look like and assumed that that was what was happening. He turned to his right to ask his mother if this was his first eclipse and that's when he realized that something definitely out of the ordinary was on today's agenda.

   His mother had been trying to find him in the crowd. She had started to turn away from her husband but had stopped in mid-turn as if seeing something that surprised her, and now stood half-facing away from Guy, absolutely motionless. Her left hand, which had been in the crook of her husband's right elbow, was still in mid-air and her right hand had stopped halfway to her face. Her right foot was up on its toes as she had been about to step away. She looked a little like a picture of a ballerina.

   As the shock of this strange apparition of his mother was wearing off, Guy realized that there was no movement around him at all. His father, too, stood motionless, turning halfway opposite from his mother, so that he was standing between two similar statues, both turned slightly away from him. The singer had the harmonica up to his mouth. His eyes were half-closed and his cheeks were puffed out. He looked a little silly - like a cartoon. People were standing around like statues in a museum. Some had hands before them as if they were just about to clap. Some were bent slightly at the waist as if swaying. There were open mouths and closed mouths but not a trace of sound.

   Just as Guy was getting used to the silence, he heard a slight whistle behind him and turned to see the man in the long coat still looking intently at him.

   "I thought you might be the one," he said with a cheerful smile, "but I got a little confused when I saw that chap over there."

   He pointed to where a little boy was sitting on a stool beside a stall where there was a wide assortment of books to be sold or borrowed. The boy was holding a book on his lap that looked to be almost as big as he was. He was trying to keep the book from falling off his lap and turning a page at the same time - but neither was happening as he and the book both seemed to be frozen in time.

   "I hope he'll be OK when things start up again...maybe we should prop the book up a little better so he doesn't lose his grip."

   He walked over to where the boy was sitting and rearranged both the book and the boy.

   "There! That should last him a little while, and he's young enough that finding himself in a different position from one moment to the next won't be a real shock. When I think what would happen if I did that to a grownup..." And he burst into a hearty laugh that gradually changed to a very solemn look. No, sir! That wouldn't be funny at all.

   "Now what to do - do we keep everybody still while we conduct our business? Or do we let them get back to theirs? Of course, if we let them resume, there's the problem of your parents. I don't suppose they'll take your disappearance for a few hours, or even longer, very well."

 

Reviews

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I have to admit. That 2nd to last paragraph made me laugh. And the last sentence is a great hook to keep people reading. Well done here.