Scenes from An Empty Marble Jar
It’s empty. The jar. It isn’t ever full, in fact it hasn’t ever been half full. It’s empty now, and that means there’s plenty of room.
*****
Marty shakes the can of spray again, and this time aims it lower. There it is. The extra strength mosquito repellant, splatters and sprays abundantly across Marty’s arms and legs.
Then, for good measure, a shot of the spray for the neck and shoulders!
After this shower of pesticide doom, Marty tosses the empty spray can in the grass beside the road. There was a new can waiting in the trunk of the car, for later.
Scenes from an empty marble jar
After the nine hour drive, which could have been seven, there was no time to waste. He hurries into the park and carefully avoids the shaded areas. If it is actually here, that would be incredible, however, he had been fooled before.
He walks along the jogging path, and searches carefully with his eyes as he walks. It would be too risky to linger here too close to sunset. Because this place would be overrun with mosquitoes. Soon. Marty feels an involuntary shiver work its way up his spine.
The sun is bright and hot, spotting the message should be easy enough, if it was here. Furthermore, the first one had been difficult to find. Because he hadn’t understood what he had found, when he had found it.
This led to the realization that he was crazy, but not wrong. Even better, was no longer feeling like he was the only one who knew about the problem. There were others.
Ten minutes later Marty finds himself about to exit the park, on the far side. Therefore, he stops and looks around carefully, the messages are always inside the park.
From An Empty
If he went on down to the pond’s edge, it would mean getting in the shade. Again with the shivers up the spine.
Then, he sees it, tied to a small branch of a tree. The tree sits at the waters edge. In the shade. This must be a joke, how could it be there?
There was no way he was going into the shade, next to the water, without reinforcements. Therefore he decides it won’t take long to get the spare can of spray, from the trunk of the car. Then, once ready, he could quickly get the message.
After a quick hustle back through the park, Marty returns to the same spot heavily spraying his arms and legs. As well as spraying more of the can, over the rest of his body. Then he continues, until the spray can is empty.
Now he can risk the water’s edge, in the shade. He slowly and cautiously eases his way to the tree branch with the message tied to it. It’s still so inconceivable that it would be here, in the most dangerous place possible. Why not somewhere safer? Were they in a hurry? Was there worry about the compromised thing?
What if they were compromised? And was this a setup? Stopping cold just a few feet away from the object, he looks nervously around. He can feel time slipping away, and the spray wearing off.
Marble Jar
He was now standing in the shade.
Deciding to go for it he starts moving again, towards the paper object hanging from the tree branch. Furthermore, he reaches out and pulls it free from the string. He quickly unfolds it and finds three words, written in crimson:
‘You are it‘
A mosquito lands on his nose. Several more join the first and Marty’s knee jerk reaction is to smash them immediately. And he does, striking his nose so hard stars light up behind his eyes.
This causes him to slip on the moist bank of the pond, and he goes down hard, striking the back of his head as he lands. More stars explode behind his eyes, as he’s knocked unconscious.
When he awakens he is a pin cushion covered in a thick blanket of mosquitos. Millions and millions of them. Dinner is served!
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Scenes from an empty marble jar