fLoOd--Part One

Brighten the Corner Where You Are

oNe

   Smith, Brown, Jones, Murphy, Peterson, Johnson, Davis and Wilkerson were huddled together in a rowboat meant to seat four persons.

   Smith and Brown had gotten into the boat, which Smith kept upside down in his backyard, when the water from the overflowing river had reached the front steps of their houses, which were next door to each other. Brown had helped Smith turn the boat over and then run back to his house to get the urn that held his father's ashes. Smith, seeing Brown carrying the urn, got out of the boat and ran back into his house. After about a minute, he came running out again, carrying in his hands a brick. He got into the boat and the two of them sat there eyeing each others prize possessions. The water hadn't reached the back yard yet, though they could hear it rushing down York Street on the other side of the house.

   So they sat and waited. After a few minutes, Brown said,

   "A brick."

   "Yeah. A brick."

   Again they waited, listening to the water. When they could see it coming around the house, Smith said,

   "The San Francisco earthquake of 1906."

   Brown responded, "My father didn't want his body to get all moldy and decompose and be eaten by worms."

   To which Smith answered:

   "My grandmother was there. She thought it was the most glorious experience she had ever been through. When everything stopped moving, she picked up this brick and walked away from the city and never looked back."

   Some time later, drifting aimlessly, Jones floated toward them, sitting on a wooden stove and waving a gun. He fired the gun in the air and yelled,

   "You'll let me in that boat or, by temperance, you'll never live to see eighty-five."

   So, as soon as they were close enough, Smith paddled with both hands on one side of the boat and Brown did the same on the other, which caused the boat to start revolving. Meanwhile, Jones maneuvered the stove to bump against the boat, which stopped the spinning and then Jones flung himself into the boat by grabbing the side with both hands, squatting with his two feet on top of the stove and executing a neat somersault. He landed on his back right between the two seats, which was quite painful for him and, as he landed, the gun went off again and put a hole in the rowboat's side. Luckily, the hole was high up, just below the oarlock.

 

Reviews

[mirui]

This is good so far, only it could use some more description of smell and touch and other things of that nature.