Eric--Part Eleven

Splog # 61

Eleven

   "Cor!" the voice cried. "Come on inside! They're probably all ready and waiting to hear what you're going to say! This foolishness about not wanting to participate is going to make the whole enterprise fall apart!"

   The voice was getting closer and Eric, taking a deep breath, decided to stand his ground. He planted his feet firmly and placed his arms by his sides and lifted his chin, hoping the face that came around the corner would be a friendly one.

   "Cor, I'm taking you inside if I have to wrestle you to the ground and throw you over my shoulder! A fine sight you'll make, being brought in like a..."

   The voice trailed off as its owner came into view and caught sight of Eric. Eric, who hadn't any idea of who or what might appear, was nevertheless completely astonished to see a very tall man, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, with the dark facial features and tight, black, curly hair of a south sea islander.

   Eric stood straight and tense, curious as to how the tall man would react. The man just looked at Eric and slowly a big grin spread across his face. Then, without a word of warning, the man made a dive for Eric's knees. Eric lost his balance but, before he could fall, the man bounced up, grabbed him around the waist and threw him, knapsack and all, over his shoulder.

   Eric was too surprised to react in any way. He just hung there as the man started to walk back around to the front of the building. He was chuckling as he said, "That's the first time I've caught you off guard like that. I take it you were woolgathering, off in some little dream world all your own. Well, I told you I was going to bring you in whether you wanted to come or not. We'll let you go as soon as we've made some decisions and then you can return to wherever you were or you can follow your train tracks until they arrive at the land of dreams. Anyway, here we are. Allez-oop! Now, straighten yourself up and we'll make our entrance."

   The man placed Eric on his feet and then started touching the stars on the door, muttering something to himself. Eric was trying to figure out how to tell the man that he was mistaking him for someone else, when the door swung inward and the man grabbed him by the arm and pulled him inside.

   The interior of the building was one large room. There were lamps along the walls at intervals. Not electric lamps, Eric noted, but the kind you had to light with a match and then blow out when it wasn't needed. There was also a large fireplace opposite to the door. The room seemed to be bare of furniture except for chairs here and there along the perimeter. It took a few seconds for Eric's eyesight to adjust to the dimness of the room. When it did, he became aware of a scattering of people, maybe twenty or thirty. They looked like they had been indulging in various conversations and had been interrupted by the entrance of the two newcomers. There were some greetings of "Cor!" and "Nol!". A couple of people standing nearby said, "Much time" to which the man (Nol? thought Eric) responded, "No waste."

   As they stood there and the door swung shut behind them, the man looked at Eric as if expecting him to say or do something. Eric had forgotten his surroundings and was wondering why Nol would think he was someone named Cor and how he could explain that he wasn't.

   Finally, Nol turned to the people in the room and started talking.

   "Some of you know that Cor has ambivalent feelings about what we're trying to do here. I think we all agree that, for what we hope to accomplish, there isn't anyone else who has the imaginative spirit and the perspicacity of our friend Cor. It's not our intention to coerce anyone into doing anything they don't want to do," he said this with a sly smile and winked at Cor, "but we want to impress upon him how much it would mean if he would take part in our conference and share his thoughts and ideas with us at this time."